Session is pretty neat considering that it doesn’t require a cell phone number, unlike Signal messenger, which beats the purpose of anonymity.

I just purchased $20 in tokens. Perhaps one day in the future more people will start using it and nodes will start springing up all over, making the service much faster.

Has anyone else used or still uses Session? What are your thoughts? I think it has potential if more people have it a go.

https://www.jacoporanieri.com/blog/?p=42614

Can't we just ship Cruz off to Cancun permanently at this point?

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has a plan for spectrum auctions that could take frequencies away from Wi-Fi and reallocate them for the exclusive use of wireless carriers. The plan would benefit AT&T, which is based in Cruz's home state, along with Verizon and T-Mobile.

Cruz's proposal revives a years-old controversy over whether the entire 6 GHz band should be devoted to Wi-Fi, which can use the large spectrum band for faster speeds than networks that rely solely on the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. Congress is on the verge of passing legislation that would require spectrum to be auctioned off for full-power, commercially licensed use, and the question is where that spectrum will come from.

When the House of Representatives passed its so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill," it excluded all of the frequencies between 5.925 and 7.125 gigahertz from the planned spectrum auctions. But Cruz's version of the budget reconciliation bill, which is moving quickly toward a final vote, removed the 6 GHz band's protection from spectrum auctions. The Cruz bill is also controversial because it would penalize states that regulate artificial intelligence.

Instead of excluding the 6 GHz band from auctions, Cruz's bill would instead exclude the 7.4–8.4 GHz band used by the military. Under conditions set by the bill, it could be hard for the Commerce Department and Federal Communications Commission to fulfill the Congressional mandate without taking some spectrum away from Wi-Fi.

Senate GOP budget bill has little-noticed provision that could hurt your Wi-Fi

Cruz bill could take 6 GHz spectrum away from Wi-Fi, give it to mobile carriers.

^{Jon Brodkin (Ars Technica)}

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/06/30/the-north-atlantic-treaty-organizations-hallucinations/

Easy to moderate
7 mi out and back or short walk to falls only
1,496 ft elevation gain
Hiked 6/1/25

Located in the Thompson Falls recreation area not too far from Golden BC this is a great waterfall with an ok trail that could be shortened to maybe half a mile or so of a mild slope. Falls were way overfull at time of hike, but appear to be a worthwhile stop, perhaps while camping in the area.

Another view of Thompson falls from a little further away, which better shows the shelf under the rushing river.

The uppermost section of falls along the trail, looks like it would have been a small cascade on the far side with a rapid on the near. Currently very blown out, the downed trees on the farside are stuck.

A jumble of fallen trees suspended in the forest. (Marge voice: I just think they're neat!)

Bluesky link to post with Videos of the falls

https://www.top.org.nz/citizens-voice

Israel's Knesset House Committee voted to advance the impeachment of prominent lawmaker Ayman Odeh, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, on Monday, over comments he made earlier this year, which were perceived as being pro-Palestinian and against the war in Gaza.

Lawmakers from both the ruling coalition and opposition Yesh Atid and National Unity parties voted 14-2 in favour of impeachment, while two Knesset members from the Palestinian Ra'am and Ta'al parties opposed the move.

Odeh had earned the scorn of several Israeli lawmakers earlier this year when he welcomed a long-awaited ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

"I am happy about the release of the hostages and prisoners. From here, both peoples must be freed from the yoke of the occupation. We were all born free," Odeh wrote on 19 January after Hamas released three Israeli women after 471 days in captivity.

Israel's Knesset votes to impeach Palestinian lawmaker Ayman Odeh

^{Middle East Eye}

Israel's Knesset House Committee voted to advance the impeachment of prominent lawmaker Ayman Odeh, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, on Monday, over comments he made earlier this year, which were perceived as being pro-Palestinian and against the war in Gaza.

Lawmakers from both the ruling coalition and opposition Yesh Atid and National Unity parties voted 14-2 in favour of impeachment, while two Knesset members from the Palestinian Ra'am and Ta'al parties opposed the move.

Odeh had earned the scorn of several Israeli lawmakers earlier this year when he welcomed a long-awaited ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

"I am happy about the release of the hostages and prisoners. From here, both peoples must be freed from the yoke of the occupation. We were all born free," Odeh wrote on 19 January after Hamas released three Israeli women after 471 days in captivity.

Israel's Knesset votes to impeach Palestinian lawmaker Ayman Odeh

^{Middle East Eye}

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced that the United States has lifted sanctions that previously restricted the construction of the Russian-built Paks II nuclear power plant in Hungary.

According to Szijjártó, the sanctions were originally introduced under the administration of former US President Joe Biden and had complicated Hungary’s long-term energy plans.

In a statement published on June 29, Szijjártó credited current US President Donald Trump for reversing the measures, calling the decision a step toward ensuring Hungary’s future energy security.

“In light of the fact that there is now a president in Washington who considers Hungary a friend, the American government has lifted sanctions related to investments in the Paks nuclear power plant,” Szijjártó said.

US Lifts Sanctions, Clearing Path for Russia’s Nuclear Expansion in Hungary

The US has lifted sanctions affecting Hungary's Paks II nuclear power plant, enhancing the nation’s energy security, says Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.

^{Ivan Khomenko (UNITED24 Media)}

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5371548-hog-dnc-young-progressives-democrats-future/

https://apnews.com/article/patriotism-america-national-pride-decline-poll-gallup-0411dd2f28329a6b640d404db8626d3f

Hello! How are folks self-hosting online storage, similar to Google Drive?

Some options I've found:
- filebrowser.org/ (maintenance-only mode)
- seafile.com/en/home/ (weird disk layout scares me)
- tinyfilemanager.github.io/ (i like simple!)
- github.com/mickael-kerjean/fil…

A bunch more: github.com/awesome-selfhosted/…

I mainly just need basic file management features. I don't plan to share files outside of my tailscale VPN. I do need to support multiple users though.

I'm not considering Nextcloud because that seems too big. I'm also not considering syncthing for this project because I don't want copies on multiple devices.

I'm currently just using ssh+nautilus and that's worked great for just me, but something similar to Google Drive would be easier to onboard my family.

GitHub - mickael-kerjean/filestash: :file_folder: A file manager / web client for SFTP, S3, FTP, WebDAV, Git, Minio, LDAP, CalDAV, CardDAV, Mysql, Backblaze, ...

:file_folder: A file manager / web client for SFTP, S3, FTP, WebDAV, Git, Minio, LDAP, CalDAV, CardDAV, Mysql, Backblaze, ... - mickael-kerjean/filestash

^GitHub

cross-posted from: rss.ponder.cat/post/219242

From Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera via this RSS feed

Dutch memorial honours Palestinian children killed in Gaza

Thousands of shoes were laid out in the Dutch city of Almere to commemorate Palestinian children killed in Gaza.

^{Al Jazeera}

cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/32194427

GodlessCommie

2025-06-29 02:17:31

Capitalism ends poverty

cross-posted from: hexbear.net/post/5395820

Ras Ain al-Ouja is one of the largest Palestinian Bedouin villages in the occupied West Bank. Nestled amid a ridge of high silt hills just north of Jericho city, the village is facing intensified Israeli government-funded settler efforts to expel its residents.

The community’s 1,200 residents are surrounded from all sides by the illegal Yitav settlement and four illegal settler outposts, the most recent of which was built one year ago.

Settlers descend onto the village and raid residents’ homes on a daily basis, physically attacking people, stealing sheep, and terrorizing families. They also took over the nearby spring of Ain al-Ouja, one of the main springs in Palestine and a major water source for the entire area that drew local tourism. Today, all Palestinians are barred from accessing it.

Full Article

Major Palestinian Bedouin village faces expulsion by Israeli army and settlers

The Palestinians of Ras Ain al-Ouja are the latest Bedouin community targeted for expulsion by Israel. They are being forced out through violent settler harassment as part of Israel’s plan to annex most of the West Bank.

^{Zena al-Tahhan (Mondoweiss)}

U.S. officials said they would stop providing the satellite data online on July 31 rather at the end of June.

Data from this instrument also reveals sea ice extent, and that can't be allowed.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/climate/noaa-hurricane-data-offline.html?unlocked_article_code=1.S08.kqbU.j0qTfurfIEkT

On the wall of the League of Social Democrats office, the Chinese characters for freedom are spelt out with court admission slips.

Members of the party take turns speaking into a microphone connected to a loudspeaker. They stand in front of a banner that reads "rather be ashes than dust", written in Chinese. Founded close to 20 years ago, the party is known as the last protest group in Hong Kong.

"The red lines are now everywhere," Chan Po Ying, the chair of the party, tells the BBC. "Our decision to disband was because we were facing a lot of pressure."

One of Hong Kong's last major pro-democracy parties disbands

It is the third major opposition party to disband this year, ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Beijing-imposed national security law.

^{Danny Vincent (BBC News)}

Snip:

The pre-print of a new study led by Prof. Michael Spagat of Royal Holloway, University of London, and Palestinian political scientist Dr. Khalil Shikaki has revealed that Gaza's death toll from the ongoing conflict could be nearly 100,000, a figure significantly higher than official reports, Haaretz reported on 26 June.

The Gaza Mortality Survey (GMS), the most comprehensive to date, estimates around 75,200 violent deaths between October 2023 and January 2025—nearly 40 percent higher than the Gaza Health Ministry's reported death toll of 45,660 at the time.

Researchers carried out a detailed household survey, interviewing 2,000 families—around 9,700 individuals—to independently evaluate fatalities.

The study estimated 8,540 additional non-violent deaths through January, bringing the combined fatality count for that period to 83,740. Gaza's Health Ministry has recorded over 10,000 more deaths since then, raising the current total to nearly 100,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.

'Bloodiest 21st century war': New study finds Gaza's real death toll nears 100,000

More than 56 percent of violent deaths during the Israeli genocide of Palestinians have been women, children, or the elderly—more than double the proportions seen in previous wars

^thecradle.co

cross-posted from: hexbear.net/post/5417645

Snip:

The pre-print of a new study led by Prof. Michael Spagat of Royal Holloway, University of London, and Palestinian political scientist Dr. Khalil Shikaki has revealed that Gaza's death toll from the ongoing conflict could be nearly 100,000, a figure significantly higher than official reports, Haaretz reported on 26 June.

The Gaza Mortality Survey (GMS), the most comprehensive to date, estimates around 75,200 violent deaths between October 2023 and January 2025—nearly 40 percent higher than the Gaza Health Ministry's reported death toll of 45,660 at the time.

Researchers carried out a detailed household survey, interviewing 2,000 families—around 9,700 individuals—to independently evaluate fatalities.

The study estimated 8,540 additional non-violent deaths through January, bringing the combined fatality count for that period to 83,740. Gaza's Health Ministry has recorded over 10,000 more deaths since then, raising the current total to nearly 100,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.

'Bloodiest 21st century war': New study finds Gaza's real death toll nears 100,000

More than 56 percent of violent deaths during the Israeli genocide of Palestinians have been women, children, or the elderly—more than double the proportions seen in previous wars

^thecradle.co

Health departments around the country have noticed there's something strange happening with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: It's not showing up on schedule and there's been no communication about why.

The federal public health agency doles out most of the money it receives from Congress to state and local health departments, which then contract with local organizations. That's how public health work gets funded in the U.S.

According to two CDC staff members with knowledge of the agency's budget, the CDC has yet to receive its full funding for the 2025 fiscal year. NPR agreed not to name the staff members because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

[...]

"If they can delay until the end of September, then that's it," the staffer adds. "Those projects are not going to happen. That money goes straight back to Treasury."

That's why both CDC staffers who spoke with NPR say this amounts to impounding the agency's funding.

Dimitri Masin, CEO of Gradient Labs, argues that companies using AI agents for customer support should only pay when the bot does its job.

"If you look at Salesforce, they price the automation per conversation," he told The Register in a phone interview. "So essentially, if you have a conversation with AI, no matter what it leads to, you pay $2."

According to Salesforce's own researchers, leading LLM-based agents tested on the CRMArena-Pro benchmark successfully complete single-turn (prompt and reply) tasks about 58 percent of the time and only about 35 percent of the time for multi-turn (back-and-forth conversation) requests.

That's both bad for customers and bad for the progress of AI agents overall. Paying regardless of results, said Masin, "doesn't create any incentive for Salesforce to actually make their agent better."

Salesforce did not respond to a request for comment. But the stats it touts in its marketing copy are, unsurprisingly, a lot better.

Don't pay for AI support failures, says Gradient Labs CEO

interview: Paying for successful problem resolution is a better business model, argues Dimitri Masin

^{Thomas Claburn (The Register)}

https://apnews.com/article/uk-glastonbury-bob-vylan-bbc-israel-5f1c607d498c676378ff1540bda0ec23

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that a group of Maryland parents have a right to opt their elementary-school-aged children out of instruction that includes LGBTQ+ themes. By a vote of 6-3, the justices agreed with the parents – who are Muslim, Catholic, and Ukrainian Orthodox – that the Montgomery County school board’s refusal to provide them with that option violates their constitutional right to freely exercise their religion.

Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito acknowledged that “courts are not school boards or legislatures, and are ill-equipped to determine the ‘necessity’ of discrete aspects of a State’s program of compulsory education.” But he emphasized that “what the parents seek here is not the right to micromanage the public school curriculum, but rather to have their children opt out of a particular educational requirement that burdens their well-established right ‘to direct ‘the religious upbringing’ of their children’” under the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.

Court allows parents to opt their children out of school lessons involving LGBTQ+ themes

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that a group of Maryland parents have a right to opt their elementary-school-aged children out of instruction that includes LGBTQ+ themes. By a vote […]

^{Amy Howe (SCOTUSblog)}

The US Supreme Court on Friday upheld a key provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires health plans to fully cover many preventive health care services recommended by a federal panel.

The ruling means that tens of millions of Americans can continue getting a variety of preventive services for free under their plans. Those cost-free services include an array of screenings, such as cancer screenings like mammograms and colonoscopies, as well as screens for obesity, lead exposure in children, high blood pressure, diabetes, and some sexually transmitted diseases, to name a few. The free services also include recommended vaccines for children and adults, well-baby and well-child doctor visits, birth control, statins, PrEP HIV prevention drugs, and fluoride supplements and varnishes for children's teeth.

SCOTUS upholds part of ACA that makes preventive care fully covered

Cancer screenings, statins, vaccines, PrEP, will continue to be covered in full.

^{Beth Mole (Ars Technica)}