Alt Text:

I really want the pandemic—the hundreds of millions with Long Covid, the tens of millions dead—to mean something. Like cleaner indoor air, normalised masking, funding for post-viral illnesses. Instead, we got mask bans, disability cuts and an anti-vaxxer in the White House

In a letter responding to Rutte’s proposals for next week’s Nato summit in the Hague, first reported by the Spanish newspaper El País, Sánchez declared his opposition for the proposed change arguing “it is not necessary to fulfil our commitments to the alliance.”

He explained that the figure “has nothing to do with the level of commitment to collective defence,” with Spain confidence it can do enough with lower spending.

He added that adopting the target would have adverse effects for the Spanish economy, as it would force the government to raise taxes, cut public services and slow down its plans on green transition. “We choose not to make those sacrifices,” he reportedly said.

The paper said that the new Nato target had been expected to be adopted unanimously, but Spain’s objection could now trigger further discussions on its adoption.

Putin says he would only meet Zelenskyy in ‘final phase’ of talks – Europe live

Putin’s comments come as fighting continues and Ukraine says Russia avoiding peace talks

^{Jakub Krupa (The Guardian)}

He gave the official green light to the deal in an executive order on Friday.

Nippon agreed to pay $55 per share and take on the company's debt, a deal worth $14.9bn together.

It said it had also promised the government it would invest $11bn in US Steel by 2028, including a new facility that would be completed after that year.

It also granted the US government a "golden share" in the company, giving the government say over key decisions, including the transfer of jobs or production outside of the US, and certain calls to close or idle factories.

Nippon and US Steel complete controversial merger

Nippon agreed to give a "golden share" to the US government to win approval of the takeover.

^{Natalie Sherman (BBC News)}

It's pulling the headline above but when I tap through it shows

MP once on benefits calls cuts 'brutal' - but colleague says 'moral' case for reform

Labour rebellion brewing over welfare changes

A bill to enact cuts – part of a package aimed at saving £5bn by 2030 – arrives in Parliament on Wednesday.

^{Iain Watson (BBC News)}

https://www.newarab.com/news/while-bombing-iran-heres-what-israel-did-gaza-west-bank

Scientists and engineers at UNSW Sydney, who previously developed a method for making green ammonia, have now turned to artificial intelligence and machine learning to make the process even more efficient.

Ammonia, a nitrogen-rich substance found in fertilizer, is often credited with saving much of the world from famine in the 20th century. But its benefit to humankind has come at a cost, with one of the largest carbon footprints of all industrial processes.
[...]
But in 2021, a UNSW team discovered a way to make ammonia from air and water using renewable energy, at about the same temperature as a warm summer's day.

New eco-friendly way to make ammonia could be boon for agriculture, hydrogen economy

Ammonia has sustained humanity since the early 20th century, but its production leaves a huge carbon footprint. Now researchers have found a way to make it 100 percent renewable.

^{Lachlan Gilbert (Tech Xplore)}

The CfMM report, published this week, examined more than 35,000 pieces of BBC content related to Israel’s war on Gaza between 7 October 2023 and 6 October 2024.

The BBC used the word “massacre” 18 times more often to describe Israeli deaths than Palestinian ones. It offered almost equal numbers of victim profiles for both populations - even though a vastly higher number of Palestinians have been killed. This is not a neutral editorial choice; it is a devaluation of Palestinian lives.

And it doesn’t stop there. Palestinian guests on BBC programmes were routinely interrogated, interrupted, and pushed to condemn Hamas - as if that were the price of being allowed to speak. Israeli spokespeople, many of whom defended war crimes on air, were treated with deference. Not one Israeli guest was asked to condemn the deliberate bombing of hospitals, refugee camps or schools - despite mountains of evidence and international outrage.

The asymmetry extends to reporting on hostages and prisoners. Israeli hostages were the subject of intense coverage, complete with emotional interviews, wall-to-wall updates, and sombre, humanising details. Palestinian prisoners - thousands of whom have been held without charge or trial - barely registered.

Even in cases of prisoner exchanges, BBC coverage focused almost exclusively on Israeli returnees. Who were the Palestinian prisoners? How long had they been imprisoned? Were they tortured, abused, or denied due process? These questions were largely left unasked and unanswered.

War on Gaza: How the BBC sanitises Israel's genocide

New report highlights a pattern in which the network relentlessly privileges Israeli voices, while dehumanising Palestinians 

^{Middle East Eye}

Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel has called on the UK government to back the US if it attacks Iran

Fuck off Priti Patel!

Priti Patel calls on the government to repatriate Britons in Israel

The UK's shadow foreign secretary says the government needs to do more to ensure Britons can return home from Israel.

^{Cachella Smith (BBC News)}

https://www.reuters.com/world/hungarian-opposition-party-has-15-point-lead-ahead-orbans-fidesz-poll-says-2025-06-18/

Recent versions of Lemmy have the ability to set a custom thumbnail for a post:

Is this possible with PieFed? This is especially helpful when some sites fail to get a thumbnail (e.g. YT videos is a common one).

Salesforce will increase prices by an average of 6% across key products including Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Field Service, and select Industry Clouds. The change applies to Enterprise and Unlimited plans, taking effect August 17, 2025 for renewals, and immediately for new customers. Renewals before that date can postpone the higher rates for about a year.

https://alternativeto.net/news/2025/6/salesforce-and-slack-announce-price-hikes-following-expansion-of-ai-integrations/

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

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

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

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

^{France 24 (FRANCE 24)}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• ToastedRavioli

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

Alt Text:

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

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