Stubsack: weekly thread for sneers not worth an entire post, week ending 22nd June 2025
Need to let loose a primal scream without collecting footnotes first? Have a sneer percolating in your system but not enough time/energy to make a whole post about it? Go forth and be mid: Welcome to the Stubsack, your first port of call for learning fresh Awful you’ll near-instantly regret.
Any awful.systems sub may be subsneered in this subthread, techtakes or no.
If your sneer seems higher quality than you thought, feel free to cut’n’paste it into its own post — there’s no quota for posting and the bar really isn’t that high.
The post Xitter web has spawned soo many “esoteric” right wing freaks, but there’s no appropriate sneer-space for them. I’m talking redscare-ish, reality challenged “culture critics” who write about everything but understand nothing. I’m talking about reply-guys who make the same 6 tweets about the same 3 subjects. They’re inescapable at this point, yet I don’t see them mocked (as much as they should be)Like, there was one dude a while back who insisted that women couldn’t be surgeons because they didn’t believe in the moon or in stars? I think each and every one of these guys is uniquely fucked up and if I can’t escape them, I would love to sneer at them.
(Credit and/or blame to David Gerard for starting this.)
Stubsack: weekly thread for sneers not worth an entire post, week ending 15th June 2025
Need to let loose a primal scream without collecting footnotes first? Have a sneer percolating in your system but not enough time/energy to make a whole post about it? Go forth and be mid: Welcome to the Stubsack, your first port of call for learning fresh Awful you’ll near-instantly regret.Any awful.systems sub may be subsneered in this subthread, techtakes or no.
If your sneer seems higher quality than you thought, feel free to cut’n’paste it into its own post — there’s no quota for posting and the bar really isn’t that high.
The post Xitter web has spawned soo many “esoteric” right wing freaks, but there’s no appropriate sneer-space for them. I’m talking redscare-ish, reality challenged “culture critics” who write about everything but understand nothing. I’m talking about reply-guys who make the same 6 tweets about the same 3 subjects. They’re inescapable at this point, yet I don’t see them mocked (as much as they should be)Like, there was one dude a while back who insisted that women couldn’t be surgeons because they didn’t believe in the moon or in stars? I think each and every one of these guys is uniquely fucked up and if I can’t escape them, I would love to sneer at them.
(Credit and/or blame to David Gerard for starting this.)
‘Not our war’: bipartisan US lawmakers back resolution to block involvement in Iran
Republican Thomas Massie joins with Democrats in effort to require Congress approval before Trump attacks Iran
As Donald Trump publicly threatens to join Israel in attacking Iran, an unlikely coalition of lawmakers has moved to prevent the president from involving US forces in the conflict without Congress’s approval.
On Tuesday, Republican congressman Thomas Massie, whose libertarian-tinged politics have often put him at odds with Trump, joined with several progressive Democrats to introduce in the House of Representatives a war powers resolution that would require a vote by Congress before Trump could attack Iran. Democrat Tim Kaine has introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
“This is not our war. But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution,” Massie wrote on X in announcing the resolution. Democrats Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez replied “signing on” to the tweet, while Massie’s office later announced that several others, including chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Greg Casar, would also sponsor the resolution.
Meta Invents New Way to Humiliate Users With Feed of People's Chats With AI
cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/31873332
In an industry full of grifters and companies hell-bent on making the internet worse, it is hard to think of a worse actor than Meta, or a worse product that the AI Discover feed.
Meta Invents New Way to Humiliate Users With Feed of People's Chats With AI
I was sick last week, so I did not have time to write about the Discover Tab in Meta’s AI app, which, as Katie Notopoulos of Business Insider has pointed out, is the “saddest place on the internet.” Many very good articles have already been written about it, and yet, I cannot allow its existence to go unremarked upon in the pages of 404 Media.If you somehow missed this while millions of people were protesting in the streets, state politicians were being assassinated, war was breaking out between Israel and Iran, the military was deployed to the streets of Los Angeles, and a Coinbase-sponsored military parade rolled past dozens of passersby in Washington, D.C., here is what the “Discover” tab is: The Meta AI app, which is the company’s competitor to the ChatGPT app, is posting users’ conversations on a public “Discover” page where anyone can see the things that users are asking Meta’s chatbot to make for them.
This includes various innocuous image and video generations that have become completely inescapable on all of Meta’s platforms (things like “egg with one eye made of black and gold,” “adorable Maltese dog becomes a heroic lifeguard,” “one second for God to step into your mind”), but it also includes entire chatbot conversations where users are seemingly unknowingly leaking a mix of embarrassing, personal, and sensitive details about their lives onto a public platform owned by Mark Zuckerberg. In almost all cases, I was able to trivially tie these chats to actual, real people because the app uses your Instagram or Facebook account as your login.
In several minutes last week, I saved a series of these chats into a Slack channel I created and called “insanemetaAI.” These included:
- entire conversations about “my current medical condition,” which I could tie back to a real human being with one click
- details about someone’s life insurance plan
- “At a point in time with cerebral palsy, do you start to lose the use of your legs cause that’s what it’s feeling like so that’s what I’m worried about”
- details about a situationship gone wrong after a woman did not like a gift
- an older disabled man wondering whether he could find and “afford” a young wife in Medellin, Colombia on his salary (“I'm at the stage in my life where I want to find a young woman to care for me and cook for me. I just want to relax. I'm disabled and need a wheelchair, I am severely overweight and suffer from fibromyalgia and asthma. I'm 5'9 280lb but I think a good young woman who keeps me company could help me lose the weight.”)
- “What counties [sic] do younger women like older white men? I need details. I am 66 and single. I’m from Iowa and am open to moving to a new country if I can find a younger woman.”
- “My boyfriend tells me to not be so sensitive, does that affect him being a feminist?”
Rachel Tobac, CEO of Social Proof Security, compiled a series of chats she saw on the platform and messaged them to me. These are even crazier and include people asking “What cream or ointment can be used to soothe a bad scarring reaction on scrotum sack caused by shaving razor,” “create a letter pleading judge bowser to not sentence me to death over the murder of two people” (possibly a joke?), someone asking if their sister, a vice president at a company that “has not paid its corporate taxes in 12 years,” could be liable for that, audio of a person talking about how they are homeless, and someone asking for help with their cancer diagnosis, someone discussing being newly sexually interested in trans people, etc.
Tobac gave me a list of the types of things she’s seen people posting in the Discover feed, including people’s exact medical issues, discussions of crimes they had committed, their home addresses, talking to the bot about extramarital affairs, etc.
“When a tool doesn’t work the way a person expects, there can be massive personal security consequences,” Tobac told me.“Meta AI should pause the public Discover feed,” she added. “Their users clearly don’t understand that their AI chat bot prompts about their murder, cancer diagnosis, personal health issues, etc have been made public. [Meta should have] ensured all AI chat bot prompts are private by default, with no option to accidentally share to a social media feed. Don’t wait for users to accidentally post their secrets publicly. Notice that humans interact with AI chatbots with an expectation of privacy, and meet them where they are at. Alert users who have posted their prompts publicly and that their prompts have been removed for them from the feed to protect their privacy.”
Since several journalists wrote about this issue, Meta has made it clearer to users when interactions with its bot will be shared to the Discover tab. Notopoulos reported Monday that Meta seemed to no longer be sharing text chats to the Discover tab. When I looked for prompts Monday afternoon, the vast majority were for images. But the text prompts were back Tuesday morning, including a full audio conversation of a woman asking the bot what the statute of limitations are for a woman to press charges for domestic abuse in the state of Indiana, which had taken place two minutes before it was shown to me. I was also shown six straight text prompts of people asking questions about the movie franchise John Wick, a chat about “exploring historical inconsistencies surrounding the Holocaust,” and someone asking for advice on “anesthesia for obstetric procedures.”I was also, Tuesday morning, fed a lengthy chat where an identifiable person explained that they are depressed: “just life hitting me all the wrong ways daily.” The person then left a comment on the post “Was this posted somewhere because I would be horrified? Yikes?”
Several of the chats I saw and mentioned in this article are now private, but most of them are not. I can imagine few things on the internet that would be more invasive than this, but only if I try hard. This is like Google publishing your search history publicly, or randomly taking some of the emails you send and publishing them in a feed to help inspire other people on what types of emails they too could send. It is like Pornhub turning your searches or watch history into a public feed that could be trivially tied to your actual identity. Mistake or not, feature or not (and it’s not clear what this actually is), it is crazy that Meta did this; I still cannot actually believe it.
In an industry full of grifters and companies hell-bent on making the internet worse, it is hard to think of a more impactful, worse actor than Meta, whose platforms have been fully overrun with viral AI slop, AI-powered disinformation, AI scams, AI nudify apps, and AI influencers and whose impact is outsized because billions of people still use its products as their main entry point to the internet. Meta has shown essentially zero interest in moderating AI slop and spam and as we have reported many times, literally funds it, sees it as critical to its business model, and believes that in the future we will all have AI friends on its platforms. While reporting on the company, it has been hard to imagine what rock bottom will be, because Meta keeps innovating bizarre and previously unimaginable ways to destroy confidence in social media, invade people’s privacy, and generally fuck up its platforms and the internet more broadly.If I twist myself into a pretzel, I can rationalize why Meta launched this feature, and what its idea for doing so is. Presented with an empty text box that says “Ask Meta AI,” people do not know what to do with it, what to type, or what to do with AI more broadly, and so Meta is attempting to model that behavior for people and is willing to sell out its users’ private thoughts to do so. I did not have “Meta will leak people’s sad little chats with robots to the entire internet” on my 2025 bingo card, but clearly I should have.
‘AI Instagram Influencers’ Are Deepfaking Their Faces Onto Real Women’s Bodies
AI 'influencers' on Instagram have racked up hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of views by stealing reels from real women to make the AI seem more "believable."Jason Koebler (404 Media)
How Card & Board Game Development Studios Are Changing the Industry
I wanted to share some quick thoughts on how modern Card Game Development Company and Board Game development company are reshaping the industry:
From Traditional to Digital
Game studios are now blending classic tabletop mechanics with mobile and web platforms, bringing beloved game styles to players worldwide with real-time multiplayer, AI-driven opponents, and cross-platform play.
Smarter Design, Faster Prototyping
We're using Unity, Unreal, and custom engines to rapidly prototype, test, and scale card/board games. What used to take months now takes weeks, with player feedback loops built in from day one.
Global Audiences, Local Flavors
New games aren't just Western-centric anymore. Studios are building culturally rich, regionally themed games that resonate with players globally, such as mythology-based card decks or strategic board games with historical themes.
If you're a developer, publisher, or player interested in the evolution of card and board gaming, I’d love to connect and hear your thoughts.
The finest card game developers in India
Our card game developers are experts at game logic and provide RNG-certified custom card game solutions which are cost-efficient, feature-rich and packed with viral factors.Logic Simplified
Meta Invents New Way to Humiliate Users With Feed of People's Chats With AI
In an industry full of grifters and companies hell-bent on making the internet worse, it is hard to think of a worse actor than Meta, or a worse product that the AI Discover feed.
Meta Invents New Way to Humiliate Users With Feed of People's Chats With AI
I was sick last week, so I did not have time to write about the Discover Tab in Meta’s AI app, which, as Katie Notopoulos of Business Insider has pointed out, is the “saddest place on the internet.” Many very good articles have already been written about it, and yet, I cannot allow its existence to go unremarked upon in the pages of 404 Media.If you somehow missed this while millions of people were protesting in the streets, state politicians were being assassinated, war was breaking out between Israel and Iran, the military was deployed to the streets of Los Angeles, and a Coinbase-sponsored military parade rolled past dozens of passersby in Washington, D.C., here is what the “Discover” tab is: The Meta AI app, which is the company’s competitor to the ChatGPT app, is posting users’ conversations on a public “Discover” page where anyone can see the things that users are asking Meta’s chatbot to make for them.
This includes various innocuous image and video generations that have become completely inescapable on all of Meta’s platforms (things like “egg with one eye made of black and gold,” “adorable Maltese dog becomes a heroic lifeguard,” “one second for God to step into your mind”), but it also includes entire chatbot conversations where users are seemingly unknowingly leaking a mix of embarrassing, personal, and sensitive details about their lives onto a public platform owned by Mark Zuckerberg. In almost all cases, I was able to trivially tie these chats to actual, real people because the app uses your Instagram or Facebook account as your login.
In several minutes last week, I saved a series of these chats into a Slack channel I created and called “insanemetaAI.” These included:
- entire conversations about “my current medical condition,” which I could tie back to a real human being with one click
- details about someone’s life insurance plan
- “At a point in time with cerebral palsy, do you start to lose the use of your legs cause that’s what it’s feeling like so that’s what I’m worried about”
- details about a situationship gone wrong after a woman did not like a gift
- an older disabled man wondering whether he could find and “afford” a young wife in Medellin, Colombia on his salary (“I'm at the stage in my life where I want to find a young woman to care for me and cook for me. I just want to relax. I'm disabled and need a wheelchair, I am severely overweight and suffer from fibromyalgia and asthma. I'm 5'9 280lb but I think a good young woman who keeps me company could help me lose the weight.”)
- “What counties [sic] do younger women like older white men? I need details. I am 66 and single. I’m from Iowa and am open to moving to a new country if I can find a younger woman.”
- “My boyfriend tells me to not be so sensitive, does that affect him being a feminist?”
Rachel Tobac, CEO of Social Proof Security, compiled a series of chats she saw on the platform and messaged them to me. These are even crazier and include people asking “What cream or ointment can be used to soothe a bad scarring reaction on scrotum sack caused by shaving razor,” “create a letter pleading judge bowser to not sentence me to death over the murder of two people” (possibly a joke?), someone asking if their sister, a vice president at a company that “has not paid its corporate taxes in 12 years,” could be liable for that, audio of a person talking about how they are homeless, and someone asking for help with their cancer diagnosis, someone discussing being newly sexually interested in trans people, etc.
Tobac gave me a list of the types of things she’s seen people posting in the Discover feed, including people’s exact medical issues, discussions of crimes they had committed, their home addresses, talking to the bot about extramarital affairs, etc.
“When a tool doesn’t work the way a person expects, there can be massive personal security consequences,” Tobac told me.“Meta AI should pause the public Discover feed,” she added. “Their users clearly don’t understand that their AI chat bot prompts about their murder, cancer diagnosis, personal health issues, etc have been made public. [Meta should have] ensured all AI chat bot prompts are private by default, with no option to accidentally share to a social media feed. Don’t wait for users to accidentally post their secrets publicly. Notice that humans interact with AI chatbots with an expectation of privacy, and meet them where they are at. Alert users who have posted their prompts publicly and that their prompts have been removed for them from the feed to protect their privacy.”
Since several journalists wrote about this issue, Meta has made it clearer to users when interactions with its bot will be shared to the Discover tab. Notopoulos reported Monday that Meta seemed to no longer be sharing text chats to the Discover tab. When I looked for prompts Monday afternoon, the vast majority were for images. But the text prompts were back Tuesday morning, including a full audio conversation of a woman asking the bot what the statute of limitations are for a woman to press charges for domestic abuse in the state of Indiana, which had taken place two minutes before it was shown to me. I was also shown six straight text prompts of people asking questions about the movie franchise John Wick, a chat about “exploring historical inconsistencies surrounding the Holocaust,” and someone asking for advice on “anesthesia for obstetric procedures.”I was also, Tuesday morning, fed a lengthy chat where an identifiable person explained that they are depressed: “just life hitting me all the wrong ways daily.” The person then left a comment on the post “Was this posted somewhere because I would be horrified? Yikes?”
Several of the chats I saw and mentioned in this article are now private, but most of them are not. I can imagine few things on the internet that would be more invasive than this, but only if I try hard. This is like Google publishing your search history publicly, or randomly taking some of the emails you send and publishing them in a feed to help inspire other people on what types of emails they too could send. It is like Pornhub turning your searches or watch history into a public feed that could be trivially tied to your actual identity. Mistake or not, feature or not (and it’s not clear what this actually is), it is crazy that Meta did this; I still cannot actually believe it.
In an industry full of grifters and companies hell-bent on making the internet worse, it is hard to think of a more impactful, worse actor than Meta, whose platforms have been fully overrun with viral AI slop, AI-powered disinformation, AI scams, AI nudify apps, and AI influencers and whose impact is outsized because billions of people still use its products as their main entry point to the internet. Meta has shown essentially zero interest in moderating AI slop and spam and as we have reported many times, literally funds it, sees it as critical to its business model, and believes that in the future we will all have AI friends on its platforms. While reporting on the company, it has been hard to imagine what rock bottom will be, because Meta keeps innovating bizarre and previously unimaginable ways to destroy confidence in social media, invade people’s privacy, and generally fuck up its platforms and the internet more broadly.If I twist myself into a pretzel, I can rationalize why Meta launched this feature, and what its idea for doing so is. Presented with an empty text box that says “Ask Meta AI,” people do not know what to do with it, what to type, or what to do with AI more broadly, and so Meta is attempting to model that behavior for people and is willing to sell out its users’ private thoughts to do so. I did not have “Meta will leak people’s sad little chats with robots to the entire internet” on my 2025 bingo card, but clearly I should have.
‘AI Instagram Influencers’ Are Deepfaking Their Faces Onto Real Women’s Bodies
AI 'influencers' on Instagram have racked up hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of views by stealing reels from real women to make the AI seem more "believable."Jason Koebler (404 Media)
Technology reshared this.
Antidepressants or running therapy
Antidepressants or running therapy: Comparing effects on mental and physical health in patients with depression and anxiety disorders - PubMed
Trialregister.nl Number of identification: NTR3460.PubMed
***Yo ho ho!, it's a Swiss-pirate... f-f-fishing boat?!?*** [*memories of Switzerland*, and a showcase of **Jared Muralt**'s lovely LC art] (8 pieces)
Okay, I'm not exactly sure what the precise story is above. Schweiz (Switzerland) being a completely landlocked country, I suppose we're to imagine the body of water here being either of lakes Geneva, Neuchâtel or Bienne, yeah?
So then, a couple personal reminiscences just below, and then let's get to Muralt's excellent art, yeah? (I promise it'll be over soon 😁)
jaredillustrations.ch/wp-conte…
As for me, I did visit Schweiz and Lake Geneva a long time ago as a youth, and was impressed by its supreme cleanliness, and (expensive, haha) charm. The chocolates were incredible, and I remember a nice sweetened, hot cocoa mix called... "Suchet," was it? (hmm, or was that an Italian one?) Point is, there wasn't anything quite like that hot chocolate across the two major US cities I grew up in, I think maybe because such brands processed cocoa solids a bit differently than in the American market. (side-note: I found the Toblerone chocolate imported to the USA quite excellent, but surprisingly clumsy in terms of marketing to the American market, but... whatever)
deih43ym53wif.cloudfront.net/l…
Oh, and I especially remember the super-pleasant little family hikes we took, around our hotel, I think around the base of Mt. Jungfrau or her 'sibs.' I also recall the countryside teeming with a sort of 'classic Teletubbies' landscape, i.e. vaast, perfectly manicured English-style lawns, featuring cattle grazing just as they pleased...
Now for some reason (as that little boy), and despite a previous visit to an uncle's ranch, I'd never really SEEN cows (i.e. female milk-producing-bred cattle) up close, before. The Swiss cows seemed so cute and placid to me, which impacted me nicely those days, specifically as a troubled kid with both 'high-energy' and 'low-energy' conflicting qualities. (oof, hard to explain the whole mess, really)
Anyway! Every time our family passed by a tourist-type shop, and for the duration of the trip, I would be SURE to pick up a couple more 'milker' postcards as I discovered them, which I eventually built in to a mighty stack of excellence, which in my mind rivaled or even surpassed (haha) my buddies' typical, lame baseball card collections. Now, far as I know, 'cows against cowboys' didn't start as a conscience thing at the time, but maaybee it was subconsciously a kind of earthy, spicy retort to 'putting people in boxes,' like-- "Well, my players give delicious milk (and beef); how many of your 'baseball stars' can claim the same, losers?" (lol, I'm so ridiculous)
For example: "I'll trade you my awesome "Swiss-kiss" card for one of your Babe Ruth's and a huge stack of Barry Bonds!" (no, I'm not implying nuttin, babe; absolutely not!) (I swear, though, that exact image was on one my beloved collectibles)
Haha, alright, one last little ramble before I get to Muralt's stuff. It's that my family's Euro trip way back when ignited in me a real appreciation and curiosity about Europe as a whole, that in fact turned in to something of a life-long pursuit, especially when it comes to BD. See, we also visited Italy, Austria and Hungary for the record, all equally-fascinating places. Altho Hungary being part of the Soviet bloc at the time, it was a little scary getting in and out.
Yeap yeap, /DearDiary
*phew*
Okay, let's get to it--
jaredillustrations.ch/wp-conte…
Muralt is a talented illustrator and comics artist from Switzerland. He has worked for many years in areas such as comics, games, industrial design and advertising. His style is characterized by a high level of detail, realism and emotional expressiveness. He skillfully combines traditional and digital techniques, which gives his work a special look. --"DSCVR" site
jaredillustrations.ch/wp-conte…
His most famous comic is "The Fall", released in 2018. This is a graphic novel that tells about life in a post-apocalyptic world where people are forced to fight for survival in a new reality. It received high praise from critics and was popular with readers.
cdn.imagecomics.com/assets/i/r…
While working on comics and illustrations, Muralt pays special attention to details and characterizes his characters, making them unique and recognizable. This helps him create unique worlds and atmospheres in his work that are unfamiliar and memorable.
jaredillustrations.ch/wp-conte…
jaredillustrations.ch/wp-conte…
For sure, be sure to check out these cool, amazing little sketchbooks in the link, below:
jaredillustrations.ch/wp-conte…
Oh dear, that could almost double as the Statue of Liberty... 😔
Muralt's site:
jaredillustrations.ch/category…
FundMECFS likes this.
Lac Léman
I feel like Capitain Haddock would know it for sure!
Lake Lemon, though... is that right?
FundMECFS likes this.
You know, there’s actually a Tintin book where they go there!
L’affaire de Tournesol (the Calculus affair).
I think Haddock would insult the pirates there though. One of his quips is “pirate d’eau douce!” ie. “soft water pirate!”
PS: Léman, actually comes from proto-Celtic “lem” which meant lake. So Lac Léman is “lake lake” 😂.
Chtitedev invite petit.e.s et grand.e.s à son auberge espagnol! Nous avons sélectionné pour vous un lieu kids-friendly afin que les personnes avec ou sans enfants puissent venir échanger autour d'un bon repas.
Ouvert à toutes et TOUS. N'oubliez pas de vous inscrire en mentionnant ce que vous ramenez. framadate.org/AubergeEspagnole…
A bientôt,
Chtitedev.
Trump prolongs TikTok sale deadline by 90 days in third extension
Trump prolongs TikTok sale deadline by 90 days in third extension
President Donald Trump will grant TikTok a new 90-day extension to secure a US-based buyer, the White House said Tuesday, delaying for the third time a ban originally prompted by national security concerns over its Chinese ownership.FRANCE 24
China sends mystery transport planes into Iran
A day after Israel attacked Iran on Friday, a cargo plane took off from China. The next day, a second plane departed from a coastal city. Then on Monday, yet another departed, this time from Shanghai – three flights in three days.
Data showed that on each flight, the plane flew westward along northern China, crossing into Kazakhstan, then south into Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan – and then falling off the radar as it neared Iran.
To add to the mystery, flight plans indicated a final destination of Luxembourg, but the aircraft appeared to have never flown near European skies.
Aviation experts have noted that the type of plane used, Boeing 747 freighters, are commonly used for transporting military equipment and weapons, and hired to fly government contract orders.
China sends mystery transport planes into Iran
Flight plans indicated a final destination of Luxembourg, but the aircraft appeared to have never flown near European skiesSophia Yan (The Telegraph)
That's Cargolux, the Luxembourgeois (yes, that's the actual adjective) flag carrier airline.
From the picture of the mystery flight, it seems like tracking signal was lost and the plane was simulated by flightradar to be continuing flying straight in its previous path.
It's pretty common, especially around the Black Sea. You often see planes supposedly fly into Ukraine for example. The Caucasus - Central Asia corridor has also become very crowded due to western airlines' refusal to use Russian air space for Asian travel.
Any mystery deliveries would probably happen with military planes, without transponders on. And definitely not with a western company.
China sends mystery transport planes into Iran
A day after Israel attacked Iran on Friday, a cargo plane took off from China. The next day, a second plane departed from a coastal city. Then on Monday, yet another departed, this time from Shanghai – three flights in three days.
Data showed that on each flight, the plane flew westward along northern China, crossing into Kazakhstan, then south into Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan – and then falling off the radar as it neared Iran.
To add to the mystery, flight plans indicated a final destination of Luxembourg, but the aircraft appeared to have never flown near European skies.
Aviation experts have noted that the type of plane used, Boeing 747 freighters, are commonly used for transporting military equipment and weapons, and hired to fly government contract orders.
China sends mystery transport planes into Iran
Flight plans indicated a final destination of Luxembourg, but the aircraft appeared to have never flown near European skiesSophia Yan (The Telegraph)
like this
appeared to have never flown ....
Unnamed aviation experts have noted that the type of plane used, Boeing 747 freighters, blah blah
Fixed that for them
Or maybe they were taking food and medicine to Gaza. Nobody knows, but if the western media industrial complex speculate and bullshit hard enough whatever they want will become true.
like this
Flight info is public. Aircraft has to disclose what it is and what its location is because UFO's get shot down.
This is how people know that Germany is refueling Israeli planes bombing Iran mid-air. And how the UK is sending spy flights to Gaza.
like this
like this
like this
NUG confirms construction of two bomb-proof underground hospitals in Myanmar
cross-posted from: lemmy.ca/post/45953900
The National Unity Government (NUG) has begun constructing two bomb-proof underground hospitals in its controlled areas, with plans to build up to eight, according to U Nay Phone Latt, spokesperson for the NUG Prime Minister’s Office.
IDF kills disabled Gazan in 'targeted' strike, says he was identified as 'terrorist'
The Israeli army killed a disabled Palestinian man in a targeted strike in southern Gaza at the end of May, claiming he was identified as a "terrorist."
The man was seen in IDF drone footage from Khan Yunis walking with a limp before being struck by munitions launched from either a drone or a loitering munition.
The IDF confirmed the strike, stating that the man had been "identified as a terrorist observing troops and moving between buildings used for terrorist activity."
An investigation by Haaretz revealed that the man killed was Muhammad al-Farra, an older civilian with cerebral palsy resulting from a childhood car accident. He walked with a limp and had special needs. His sister, Heba al-Farra, who survived the strike, identified him in the video.
Israeli army kills disabled Palestinian in Gaza 'targeted' strike, says he was identified as 'terrorist'
While the IDF claimed the target was 'a terrorist observing Israeli troops,' a Haaretz investigation found he had cerebral palsy and special needs.Nir Hasson (Haaretz)
Andrew Cuomo Wants to Get Away With All of It
At the heart of Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral run is the firm belief that none of the terrible things he’s done to the people whose votes he’s competing for will matter. Here’s a reminder of a few of the biggest scandals on that long list.
Trump merchandise sold at Fort Bragg for president's speech now under review - ABC News
Trump merchandise sold at Fort Bragg for president's speech now under review
An Army official said images of troops booing Democrats was regrettable.Anne Flaherty (ABC News)
like this
Under review for what? Are they going to tell him he can't sell it? That would require a spine.
What's the point of this "review" if the only possible conclusion is to just retroactively endorse what he did? It's not like Trump is going to allow them to rule against him, or abide by their findings if they do.
LAPD Chief shuts down Trump claim about city needing National Guard
He stressed that protests were "nowhere near" the level required to deploy the troops.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell sharply countered Donald Trump’s claims that the city needed National Guard support, emphasizing Wednesday that protests were “nowhere near” that level.
McDonnell’s remarks come after Trump cited the police chief as validating the White House’s decision to send in troops to address largely peaceful protests over immigration raids.
When asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins if Trump had correctly described his position, McDonnell disputed the president’s statement.
“No, we were not in a position to request the National Guard,” he said. “We’re nowhere near a level where we would be reaching out to the governor for National Guard at this stage. And my hope is that things are going in the right direction now and that we wouldn’t have had to have done that, or we won’t either.”
LAPD Chief Shuts Down Trump Claim About City Needing National Guard
He stressed that protests were "nowhere near" the level required to deploy these troops.Li Zhou (HuffPost)
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We are not using the Taurus, so just send them to Ukraine where they will be used.
If you think you need all those Taurus just buy more. Right now they are just depreciating assets. If it's to support Ukraine, you can even tax my wealth with 50%.
Réunissons-nous autour d'un verre lors de notre permanence ! Que vous soyez une chtitedev convaincue ou simple curieuse, que vous restiez deux heures ou 5 minutes, nous serons heureuses de discuter de manière informelle avec vous. Et pour celles qui ont une petite faim, le lieu a un grand choix de stands de nourriture ! Les organisatrices resteront jusque 21:00 (et plus si affinité ;)
Rendez-vous à Grand-Scène 31 rue de Béthune à Lille.
Pas besoin de s’inscrire. Venez quand vous voulez 😉
Accès PMR : Oui.
'Something much much bigger': Ex-Trump insider warns of 'chilling' new plan
Ex-Trump insider Lev Parnas over the weekend noted the situation surrounding the Los Angeles protests, saying "the clock is ticking" as Trump has "troops in the streets, tanks on standby, and plans to crush the resistance."
"I know a lot of you woke up this morning in shock—staring at the footage out of Los Angeles, asking yourselves: How could this happen? Is this real? Is this really happening in the United States of America? But let me be clear, folks—this is real. It is happening. And I need you to know that my sources deep inside Trump World have been warning me that what we witnessed overnight was no isolated event. It’s part of something much bigger. And what I have to tell you today is chilling," he wrote.
"Yesterday, when Donald Trump deployed over 2,000 federal troops into Los Angeles under the justification of 'restoring order,' most headlines ran with it like it was some isolated act of retaliation—just another example of Trump punishing blue states. And yes, part of this is personal. Make no mistake: this is revenge against California, against Governor Gavin Newsom, and against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. But it’s not just about settling scores."
According to Parnas, in reality, "This is about control."
"What happened yesterday in Los Angeles was a test run—a dry rehearsal for something much, much bigger. I’ve been hearing from multiple trusted insiders that Trump’s inner circle—particularly Pete Hegseth and some of the more radicalized loyalists embedded at the Pentagon—are actively drafting operational plans for the mass mobilizations expected on June 14th," he added. "This isn’t just about Trump’s birthday. This isn’t just about another vanity parade. This is about shutting down resistance."
Parnas added that Trump "fears the American people rising up on June 14th, in all 50 states, with signs that say No Kings—with voices that remind the world that we are still a democracy."
"That’s why he’s pushing for tanks. That’s why he wants the biggest military display America has seen since the Cold War. Because he wants the optics of power. He wants to smother the story before it even begins. He wants his parade to dominate the headlines, not the marchers in the streets fighting for democracy," he said. "But I need you to understand this: According to my sources, there are discussions happening right now—within Trump’s most trusted circle—about invoking martial law if the protests 'get out of hand.' They’re looking for any excuse. Any video. Any act of violence. Any disruption. That’s all they need to justify a crackdown."
He then warned people not to fall for a trap being set by Trump associates.
"And it gets worse. What I’m being told is that Trump allies—including elements connected to Proud Boys, III Percenters, and other far-right militia networks—are planning to infiltrate the June 14th protests. Not to support them. To sabotage them. Their goal? Create chaos. Spark confrontation. Trigger a response from law enforcement. And then hand Trump the justification he needs to clamp down," Parnas wrote. "Let me say this loud and clear: We cannot give them that excuse."
Parnas went on to encourage peace, and told protesters to "stay vigilant."
'Something much much bigger': Ex-Trump insider warns of 'chilling' new plan
Citing "sources deep inside Trump World," a former associate of the president issued a major warning on Sunday.David McAfee (Raw Story)
In my division, everyone unanimously agrees that the administration is absolutely stupid and indefensible. Of those, every last one would outright defy any order to "kill half the population". We talk about it all the time - including with my Chief. ~60% of the officers I speak to also believe that the administration is conducting unlawful actions, and about 70% believe the administration is engaging in actions harmful to the socioeconomic and geopolitical standing of the USA. >80% of the enlisted personnel in other divisions at my command likewise agree that the administration is making stupid and indefensible decisions, and all of them would outright defy any order to "kill half the population".
Any other questions, civilian?
Dollar divorce? Asia's shift away from the U.S. dollar is picking up pace
KEY POINTS
While de-dollarization is not exactly a new phenomenon, the narrative has changed.
De-dollarization in ASEAN is expected to pick up pace, according to the Bank of America.
Some Asian economies have the greatest potential to repatriate their foreign earnings or assets back to their local currencies.
Dollar divorce? Asia's shift away from the U.S. dollar is picking up pace
A mix of geopolitical uncertainties, monetary shifts, and currency hedging is prompting a meaningful move toward de-dollarization across the region.Lee Ying Shan (CNBC)
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Well we know that any power the world gives to the United States can be used by a petulant, insecure man-baby to serve nobody's ends but his own.
So yeah, America, if you had made better decisions, you would still be deserving of the title of the world's reserve currency. But here we are, times are a-changing.
That doesn't surprise me, because Drump's absurd import tariffs are interpreted by numerous economists as a sign that the US is actually bankrupt.
Judging by its national debt and weak economy, the US would probably have been bankrupt years ago if the dollar weren't a reserve currency. That's precisely why it's so absurd.
The so-called Mar-a-Lago Accord, which is anything but an agreement, seems to me to be a desperate attempt at blackmail, playing off the (conventional) military power of the United States against the rest of the world - as far as I know, most economists consider this to be completely bonkers.
I, on the other hand, think that this serves two main purposes: to maintain the illusion among the US population that the US is still the superpower it was in the 1980s (it is not), and to personally enrich the US president and his partners.
Honda lands a rocket as it pursues re-usable launchers
Japan set to join the re-usable rocket club after Honda sticks a landing
: France announced its own effort to build re-usable engines on the same daySimon Sharwood (The Register)
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NCA freezes £170m of UK property belonging to ally of ousted Bangladesh leader
Britain’s serious crime agency has frozen UK property worth £170m belonging to the former land minister of Bangladesh amid a crackdown on former allies of Sheikh Hasina, the autocratic leader deposed in last year’s student-led revolution.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed it had frozen assets belonging to Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, who is among allies of Hasina whose sizeable UK real estate portfolios have come under scrutiny by authorities in Dhaka investigating alleged corruption.
Analysis of Land Registry documents indicates that all of Chowdhury’s more than 300 properties are subject to asset freezing orders, preventing them from being sold or transferred.
These include a luxury home in St John’s Wood, London, bought for £11m in 2022, and an apartment block in Fitzrovia, bought for £12.65m a year earlier, part of a portfolio bought for an estimated £170m.
NCA freezes £170m of UK property belonging to ally of ousted Bangladesh leader
Saifuzzaman Chowdhury’s assets frozen as authorities in Dhaka investigate alleged corruption of former regimeRob Davies (The Guardian)
European journalists targeted with Paragon Solutions spyware, say researchers
The hacking mystery roiling the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing government is deepening after researchers said they had found new evidence that two more journalists were targeted using the same military-grade spyware that Italy has admitted to using against activists.
A parliamentary committee overseeing intelligence confirmed earlier this month that Italy had used mercenary spyware made by Israel-based Paragon Solutions against two Italian activists.
But the same committee, which launched an investigation into the hacking scandal in March, said it had been unable to determine who was behind the targeting of a prominent Italian investigative journalist, Francesco Cancellato, whose news outlet has been critical of the Meloni government.
Now a report by researchers at the Citizen Lab has revealed that a close colleague of Cancellato, Ciro Pellegrino, who is head of the investigative outlet Fanpage.it’s Naples bureau, was also targeted by a user of Paragon Solution’s spyware, which is called Graphite. The Citizen Lab said a third journalist, who chose to remain anonymous and is described as a “prominent European journalist”, had also been targeted with the spyware, it said.
Graphite Caught: First Forensic Confirmation of Paragon’s iOS Mercenary Spyware Finds Journalists Targeted -
We conducted a forensic analysis of devices belonging to two journalists who were notified by Apple that they were targeted with advanced spyware.Bill Marczak (The Citizen Lab)
Trump targets California with bill blocking ban on gas cars | The move sets up yet another political and legal battle with California
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I'll note that California was trying phase down new gas cars over a period of years, and still allowed 20% plug-in hybrids at the end of the phase-down.
Israel running low on Arrow missiles amid rising threat from Iran
Israel is facing a shortage of Arrow missile interceptors, raising concerns over its capacity to counter long-range ballistic attacks from Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing a senior US official.
The Jerusalem Post has reached out to the IDF and other sources for comment, but cannot verify this report at this time.
According to the report, the US has been aware of the issue for several months and has taken steps to bolster Israel’s missile defense systems by deploying additional US assets across multiple domains – land, sea, and air.
Israel running low on Arrow missiles amid rising threat from Iran | The Jerusalem Post
Since the beginning of Operation Rising Lion, the US Defense Department has increased the number of missile defense systems stationed in the region.The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com
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Ryanair to fine unruly passengers €500 or more
The fines will be a "minimum" punishment, and it will continue to seek civil damages for compensation for the costs incurred in more serious cases.
Ryanair, Europe's largest airline, announced Thursday that it will impose fines starting at €500 ($579) on passengers whose disruptive behavior leads to their removal from a flight.
The budget carrier said it hopes the fine will serve as "a deterrent to eliminate this unacceptable behavior onboard our aircraft."
"It is unacceptable that passengers are made to suffer unnecessary disruption because of one unruly passenger's behavior," a Ryanair spokesperson said.
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China-backed militia controls rare earth mines in Myanmar
A Chinese-backed militia is protecting new rare earth mines in eastern Myanmar, according to four people familiar with the matter, as Beijing moves to secure control of the minerals it is wielding as a bargaining chip in its trade war with Washington.
China has a near-monopoly over the processing of heavy rare earths into magnets that power critical goods like wind turbines, medical devices and electric vehicles.
But Beijing is heavily reliant on Myanmar for the rare earth metals and oxides needed to produce them: the war-torn country was the source of nearly half those imports in the first four months of this year, Chinese customs data show.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/3048041/china-backed-militia-controls-rare-earth-mines-in-myanmar
Good post, doesn't seem too biased
The post misses it with them claiming they need Myanmar, saying that it is heavily reliant (debatable)
it focuses mainly on mining and china has lead to a stable area in the north (even if it was for their own purpose) preventing any fighting nearby
LAPD Chief Denies Trump’s Claim That Police Asked for National Guard Help: ‘We’re Nowhere Near’ That
LAPD Chief Denies Trump’s Claim That Police Asked for National Guard Help: ‘We’re Nowher ...
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell denied on CNN that he asked President Donald Trump for help with the ongoing protests in the city.Charlie Nash (Mediaite)
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Trump Voter Gets Choked Up After ICE Detains a Third of His Staff
Trump Voter Gets Choked Up After ICE Detains a Third of His Staff
A Florida roofing boss backed the president’s tough immigration policies. Then six of his workers were taken away...Tom Latchem (The Daily Beast)
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He heard Trump describing migrants as criminals and asylum seekers as frauds and thought that couldn't possibly be describing his workers, who are not criminals or frauds.
He didn't stop to consider that the characterization was a lie.
The strongman’s MO | A study of political movements worldwide assesses the populists’ playbook — and how Donald Trump fits in
This post uses a gift link with a view count limit. There is a archived copy of the article for when it runs out
Notably:
“Economic damage from populist rule is typically severe,” they find. “Over 15 years, real GDP per capita is 10 per cent lower compared to the nonpopulist counterfactual.”
And
they rarely leave after losing elections, but more often amid “major scandals that lead to impeachment or resignations, constitutional crises and refusals to step down, as well as coups, suicides, or deadly accidents”. One of the paper’s authors, Schularick, has said it’s “totally naive” to imagine Trump will simply walk away in 2028
The strongman’s MO
A study of political movements worldwide assesses the populists’ playbook — and how Donald Trump fits inSimon Kuper (Financial Times)
Senate GOP plan would sell millions of acres of Western public land
TL;DR; Selling off land in places without jobs doesn't create useful housing for people. What it does do is turn what had been public space into private space for the wealthy.
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Every eight years we experience another turn of the Ratchet.
Republicans: We've privatized, deregulated, overpoliced, and gutted civil rights for another corner of civil society.
Democrats: Sorry, there's nothing we can do to fix this. You guys just should not have voted Republican. Anyway, here's Richie Torres, keynote speaker at Welcomefest, to tell progressives to fuck off.
Or Democrats: Hey, we started making some changes as part of this term. We are going to need more support to get additional items done.
Leftists: This isn't good enough so I'm not voting for you as punishment.
Republicans: Great, now we can deregulate more!
Hey, we started making some changes as part of this term.
Trump does more in six months than Biden managed in four years, despite having thinner Congressional margins and far less popular support.
Again, this goes back to DeJoy. It goes back to ICE administration. It goes to Biden's intervention to kneecap labor during the COVID era strike wave. It goes to Merrick Garland sitting on his hands for four fucking years while Republicans continued to commit crime after crime.
Biden didn't make progressive changes. He squandered his time in office, refused to impede Project 2025, and sent hundreds of billions of dollars into the pockets of Republican mega-donors that ultimately wrecked his VP's chances at an electoral win.
For what? So he could keep funding a genocide in Gaza?
Republicans: Great, now we can deregulate more!
Why did Jared Polis veto the anti-price gouging renter bill?
Jared Polis vetoes bill that would have restricted use of rent-setting software - The Durango Herald
Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday vetoed a measure that would have banned the use of many computer algorithms to set rent in Colorado, saying it could have outlawed some legitimate technologies used by lan...The Durango Herald
Which is fine for the ruling class
They just get to pass different policies over different terms that's all, they always benefit and the status quo remains.
Torture and Forced Disappearances: Inside Wagner’s Secret Prisons in Mali
Since arriving in Mali in 2021, Russian Wagner mercenaries have abducted and detained hundreds of civilians in former UN bases and military camps shared with the Malian army. Our investigation, as part of the Viktoriia project, reveals secret prisons where abuse and torture are carried out with total impunity.
Torture and Forced Disappearances: Inside Wagner’s Secret Prisons in Mali - Forbidden Stories
For more than three years in Mali, Wagner mercenaries have detained and tortured civilians in secret prisons located in military bases, according to Forbidden Stories’ investigation.Louise Berkane (Forbidden Stories)
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Bernie Sanders leads Democratic effort in Congress to ward off war with Iran
Democratic US Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont introduced legislation on Monday to prevent the use of federal funds for any "illegal wars” in or against Iran without approval from Congress.
Sanders introduced the "No War Against Iran Act", which contains an exception for self-defence as enshrined in the War Powers Act and applicable US law.
“It is imperative that we make clear that the President has no authority to embark on another costly war without explicit authorization by Congress,” Sanders said in a statement on Monday.
Bernie Sanders leads Democratic effort in Congress to ward off war with Iran
Democratic US Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont introduced legislation on Monday to prevent the use of federal funds for any "illegal wars” in or against Iran without approval from Congress.MEE staff (Middle East Eye)
thisisbutaname likes this.
Number of forcibly displaced 'untenably high' — UN
The number of people displaced by war, violence and persecution has almost doubled in the past decade, the UN says. But funding for its refugee agency UNHCR remains at about the same level as in 2015.
The number of forcibly displaced people across the world stood at 122.1 million by the end of April 2025, according to a report by the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR.
The agency called the number "untenably high," particularly at a time when aid funding is being heavily reduced.
The figure represents an increase of 2.1 million over the same time last year.
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Tuna, beans, Spam: Trump’s tariffs threaten the canned foods millions rely on to survive
Trump vowed to cut food costs, but experts warn metal tariffs may raise prices in a matter of months
Canned foods make up a big part of 20-year-old Cale Johnson’s diet: tuna, corned beef hash, beans, chicken soup, Spam and fruit. They’re affordable and have a long shelf life, which is essential for many people in the US like Johnson, who earns a low income and works two part-time jobs in addition to being a full-time student in Omaha, Nebraska.
In the days after Donald Trump’s recent decision to double tariffs on steel and aluminum, Johnson says he’s worried.
“I know that some people have been resorting to stocking up only on non-perishable goods now before they get more expensive,” said Johnson, who has used the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) to make ends meet. “There’s a feeling of panic and having to prepare in the coming months.”
Tuna, beans, Spam: Trump’s tariffs threaten the canned foods millions rely on to survive
The US president vowed to cut food costs, but experts warn metal tariffs may raise prices in a matter of monthsVictoria Namkung (The Guardian)
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Pentagon suspends Israel adviser from Joint Staff after discovering posts calling Israel a 'death cult' and the country's 'worst ally'
A senior officer at the Pentagon has come under scrutiny over a series of social media posts sharply critical of Israel, its leadership, and US foreign policy in the region.
Colonel Nathan McCormack, who leads the Levant and Egypt branch at the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s J5 planning directorate, has used a semi-anonymous account to post numerous comments targeting Israeli actions and US support.
The posts, reportedly written since the 7 October 2023, have sparked outrage among pro-Israel circles in Washington. Here’s what he said:
- “Netanyahu and his Judeo-supremacist cronies are determined to prolong the conflict for their own goals: either to remain in power or to annex the land.”
- “Israel’s actions over decades have prompted the accusations of ethnic cleansing and genocide.”
- “The Western states go to great lengths to avoid criticism of Israel, much out of Holocaust guilt.”
- “Our worst ‘ally.’ We get literally nothing out of the ‘partnership’ other than the enmity of millions of people in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.”
- “The US has not been an honest broker. We have overwhelmingly enabled Israel’s bad behavior.”
- Responding to the idea of relocating Gaza’s population, McCormack wrote that Israel wants “to expel them and cleanse ‘Eretz Israel’ (Greater Israel) of ethnic Palestinians.”
- Since June 2024 he also called Israel a “death cult”
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gerikson
in reply to BlueMonday1984 • • •ChatGPT Has Already Polluted the Internet So Badly That It's Hobbling Future AI Development
ChatGPT Has Already Polluted the Internet So Badly That It's Hobbling Future AI Development
Frank Landymore (Futurism)BurgersMcSlopshot
in reply to gerikson • • •