‘Trump’s private army’: inside the push to recruit 10,000 immigration officers
‘Trump’s private army’: inside the push to recruit 10,000 immigration officers
As Ice expands and standards are lowered, advocates and former US officials warn that misconduct may increaseSam Levin (The Guardian)
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Rising inequality is turning US into an autocratic state, billionaire warns
Rising inequality is turning US into an autocratic state, billionaire warns
Ray Dalio says business leaders scared to criticise Donald Trump as he warns of debt-induced crisis for the economyPhillip Inman (The Guardian)
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mensileOSM 4 (agosto 2024)
mensileOSM 4 (Agosto 2025)
🚨 Edizione straordinaria 🚨 mensileOSM raddoppia, da questo mese, su ispirazione del Mapper of the Month belga, ogni mensile ospiterà una chiacchierata con un membro della comunità italiana.OpenStreetMap Community Forum
Court of Appeal Throws Bell Canada a Lifeline in $291m Movie Piracy Lawsuit
cross-posted from: programming.dev/post/36745507
A group of movie companies known for targeting ISPs in the U.S. went on to file a similar lawsuit against Bell Canada. They argued that since Bell failed to forward ~40,000 infringement notices to its subscribers, the ISP can be held liable. After a series of setbacks, the Federal Court of Appeal has thrown Bell a lifeline in lawsuit worth up to CAD$400m (US$291m) in damages.
Court of Appeal Throws Bell Canada a Lifeline in $291m Movie Piracy Lawsuit
A group of movie companies known for targeting ISPs in the U.S. went on to file a similar lawsuit against Bell Canada. They argued that since Bell failed to forward ~40,000 infringement notices to its subscribers, the ISP can be held liable. After a series of setbacks, the Federal Court of Appeal has thrown Bell a lifeline in lawsuit worth up to CAD$400m (US$291m) in damages.
Court of Appeal Throws Bell Canada a Lifeline in $291m Movie Piracy Lawsuit * TorrentFreak
Canada's Federal Court of Appeal has thrown Bell a lifeline in a movie piracy lawsuit that began with a CAD$400m (US$291m) claim for damages.Andy Maxwell (TF Publishing)
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AOL announces September shutdown for dial-up Internet access
After decades of connecting Americans to its online service and the Internet through telephone lines, AOL recently announced it is finally shutting down its dial-up modem service on September 30, 2025. The announcement marks the end of a technology that served as the primary gateway to the World Wide Web for millions of users throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
AOL announces September shutdown for dial-up Internet after 34 years
Around 175,000 households still use dial-up Internet in the US.Benj Edwards (Ars Technica)
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Techno-pipe dreams: Thirty years ago, nanotech was about to change everything. Let’s not get tricked again by Silicon Valley’s magical thinking
In 2000, Bill Joy, the co-founder and chief scientist of the computer company Sun Microsystems, sounded an alarm about technology. In an article in Wired titled ‘Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us’, Joy wrote that we should ‘limit development of the technologies that are too dangerous, by limiting our pursuit of certain kinds of knowledge.’ He feared a future in which our inventions casually wipe us from the face of the planet.The concerns expressed in Joy’s article, which prompted accusations of Luddism from tech advocates, sound remarkably similar to those now being voiced by some leaders in Silicon Valley that artificial intelligence might soon surpass us in intelligence and decide we humans are expendable. However, while ‘sentient robots’ were a part of what had spooked Joy, his main worry was about another technology that he figured might make that prospect imminently possible. He was troubled by nanotechnology: the engineering of matter at the scale of nanometres, comparable to the size of molecules.
In fact, it would be more accurate to say Joy was troubled by the version of nanotechnology that he had read about in the book Engines of Creation (1986) by the engineer K Eric Drexler, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At the close of the 20th century, it was nanotechnology, not AI (which didn’t seem to be getting very far), that loomed large as the enabler of utopias and dystopias. Drexler’s book described a vision of nanotech that could work wonders, promising, in Joy’s words, ‘incredibly low-cost solar power, cures for cancer and the common cold’ as well as ‘[low-cost] spaceflight … and restoration of extinct species.’
No suffering, no death, no limits: the nanobots pipe dream | Aeon Essays
Thirty years ago, nanotech was about to change everything. Let’s not get tricked again by Silicon Valley’s magical thinkingPhilip Ball (Aeon Magazine)
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Court of Appeal Throws Bell Canada a Lifeline in $291m Movie Piracy Lawsuit
A group of movie companies known for targeting ISPs in the U.S. went on to file a similar lawsuit against Bell Canada. They argued that since Bell failed to forward ~40,000 infringement notices to its subscribers, the ISP can be held liable. After a series of setbacks, the Federal Court of Appeal has thrown Bell a lifeline in lawsuit worth up to CAD$400m (US$291m) in damages.
Court of Appeal Throws Bell Canada a Lifeline in $291m Movie Piracy Lawsuit * TorrentFreak
Canada's Federal Court of Appeal has thrown Bell a lifeline in a movie piracy lawsuit that began with a CAD$400m (US$291m) claim for damages.Andy Maxwell (TF Publishing)
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
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The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
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Russia’s war against Ukraine
Infantrymen of the operational battalion of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, “Khartiia,” practice airborne skills using an American M113 tracked armored personnel carrier in Kharkiv Oblast on Aug. 29, 2025. (Viacheslav Madiievskyi / Ukrinform / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ukraine liberates village of Novoekonomichne in Donetsk Oblast, General Staff says. Ukrainian assault groups spent two weeks fighting to liberate the settlement, raising the national flag in the village center on Aug. 31, according to the General Staff.
Russian front-line advances have slowed down in August, monitoring group says. The pace of Russia’s advance in Ukraine dropped by 18% in August, with Russian forces occupying 464 square kilometers of territory.
Russian strikes hit Kyiv, Sumy, Odesa oblasts, causing fires and casualties. In Kyiv Oblast, a Russian drone strike hit the Bila Tserkva community, killing one person and wounding others, Secretary of the Bila Tserkva City Council Volodymyr Vovkotrub said.
Russian forces allegedly preparing major assault toward Siversk in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine’s military says. Siversk, Russia’s new potential target, lies about 10 kilometers (6 miles) west of Russian-occupied territory and just south of the contested Serebrianskyi Forest.
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Zelensky to reportedly meet European leaders in Paris on Sept. 4. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pledged to broker a swift peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, is not expected to attend the Paris meeting at the moment, a source told AFP.
Ukraine’s SBU files in absentia notice of suspicion against Kadyrov for war crimes. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on Sept. 1 that it had charged Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov in absentia with war crimes against Ukrainian soldiers.
Russian map behind top general hints at ambitions to seize Ukraine’s Odesa, Kharkiv. While Moscow has publicly insisted on full control of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, the map indicated possible plans extending to Odesa and Kharkiv, neither of which had been included in earlier demands.
Zelensky announces faster air defense deliveries after deadly Russian strikes. “We are accelerating the supply of additional air defense systems to enhance protection against missiles,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
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Ukraine war latest: Ukraine liberates another village in Donetsk Oblast amid ongoing Russian offensive
Ukraine’s 425th Regiment has liberated the village of Novoekonomichne in Donetsk Oblast and raised the national flag, the General Staff announced on Sept. 1.
Photo: Anadolu via Getty Images
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Russia-Ukraine naval drone arms race could ‘usher in a new era of warfare’
After a string of devastating Ukrainian strikes that crippled much of its Black Sea Fleet, Russia is now turning to naval drones in a bid to rebuild its presence and adapt to a new phase of maritime warfare.
Photo: Stringer / AFP via Getty Images
As Putin shakes hands with Modi, Xi, here’s the state of Russia’s allies
After three years of international isolation, Russian President Vladimir Putin is back at the forefront of the global stage.
Photo: Gavriil Grigorov / Pool / AFP via Getty Images
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From Crimea to Donbas, Russia’s “peace” has always meant more war. We’re here in Ukraine to give the world a reality check. Support independent journalism in this critical moment.
Human cost of Russia’s war
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,083,790 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022.
The number includes 800 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
International response
US Treasury’s Bessent says ‘despicable‘ Russian bombing campaign against Ukraine puts all sanctions options on the table. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Sept. 1 that the Trump administration is considering new sanctions on Russia after Moscow intensified strikes on Ukraine despite recent peace talks.
Slovak PM Fico plans meetings with Putin, Zelensky this week. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced on Sept. 1 that he will visit China to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, followed by a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Slovakia.
Key Chinese bank reportedly halts Russia payments after EU sanctions.
Heihe, a small rural lender, was one of the last Chinese banks willing to process transactions for Russian non-sanctioned credit organizations after larger Chinese banks cut off such services.
EU considers tighter rules to block Russian gas after 2027 ban, Bloomberg reports. The plan specifically raises concerns over gas shipped through TurkStream, the pipeline linking Russia with Southeast Europe.
Russia’s oil infrastructure under fire | Ukraine This Week
In other news
Kyiv names managers for US-Ukraine investment fund ahead of first meeting. The announcement sets the stage for the fund to become functional after four months of preparation by America’s International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Ukraine’s Support Public-Private Partnership Agency (PPP Agency).
Suspected Russian jamming hits von der Leyen’s plane during Bulgaria visit. “We can confirm there was GPS jamming, but the plane landed safe,” European Commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta confirmed for the Kyiv Independent.
Kim Jong Un travels to China to join Xi, Putin at WWII anniversary events. Photographs published by North Korean media showed Kim with senior officials, including Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, inside his dark green armored train.
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Chinese social media platforms roll out labels for AI-generated material
Major social media platforms in China have started rolling out labels for AI-generated content to comply with a law that took effect on Monday
Chinese social media platforms roll out labels for AI-generated material
WeChat, Douyin and Weibo are among those deploying label requirements to comply with a new law.Kris Holt (Engadget)
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House committee withdraws Robert Mueller subpoena over health issues
The House Oversight Committee has withdrawn a request for testimony from Robert Mueller about the case involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein due to new information on the former special counsel's health, a committee aide told CBS News.
"We've learned that Mr. Mueller has health issues that preclude him from being able to testify. The Committee has withdrawn its subpoena," the aide said in a statement.
Mueller, who led the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and delivered the long-anticipated report in March 2019, served as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 12 years. The New York Times reported Sunday that the 81-year-old has Parkinson's disease, according to his family, who told the paper that he was diagnosed in 2021.
House committee withdraws Robert Mueller subpoena over health issues
The House Oversight Committee has withdrawn a request for testimony from Robert Mueller about the case of late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein due to new information on the former special counsel's health.Kaia Hubbard (CBS News)
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Age verification gains traction: the EU risks failing to address the root causes of online harm
Age verification gains traction: the EU risks failing to address the root causes of online harm - European Digital Rights (EDRi)
Narratives around age verification and restriction of access for minors are gaining traction in the EU. This blog analyses different EU policy files and warns that relying on age-gating risks undermining more effective solutions to online harm.European Digital Rights (EDRi)
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Apertus (Switzerland’s first large-scale, open, multilingual language model)
Apertus: a fully open, transparent, multilingual language model
EPFL, ETH Zurich and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) released Apertus today, Switzerland’s first large-scale, open, multilingual language model — a milestone in generative AI for transparency and diversity.ETH Zurich
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Yup, I see pretrain data on their GitHub, cool to see it released
github.com/swiss-ai/pretrain-d…
GitHub - swiss-ai/pretrain-data: Pretraining data reconstruction scripts for Apertus
Pretraining data reconstruction scripts for Apertus - swiss-ai/pretrain-dataGitHub
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The Car Is Not the Future: On the Myth of Motorized Freedom
cross-posted from: programming.dev/post/36742658
::: spoiler Comments
- Hackernews.
:::
The Car Is Not the Future: On the Myth of Motorized Freedom
::: spoiler Comments
- Hackernews.
:::Paolo Scaramuzza | The Car Is Not the Future: On the Myth of Motorized Freedom
Pol's website. The Car Is Not the Future: On the Myth of Motorized Freedomblog.scaramuzza.me
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The Car Is Not the Future: On the Myth of Motorized Freedom
cross-posted from: programming.dev/post/36742658
::: spoiler Comments
- Hackernews.
:::
The Car Is Not the Future: On the Myth of Motorized Freedom
::: spoiler Comments
- Hackernews.
:::Paolo Scaramuzza | The Car Is Not the Future: On the Myth of Motorized Freedom
Pol's website. The Car Is Not the Future: On the Myth of Motorized Freedomblog.scaramuzza.me
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Unfortunately, the ICEBlock app is activism theater
::: spoiler Comments
- Hacker news;
- Reddit;
- Mastodon.
:::
This is your regular reminder that if you are developing an app that is supposed to help a vulnerable population, you need to do it WITH CONSIDERABLE INPUT FROM THE PEOPLE YOU ARE TRYING TO PROTECT.micahflee.com/unfortunately-th…
Unfortunately, the ICEBlock app is activism theater
At this summer's HOPE conference, Joshua Aaron spoke about ICEBlock, his iPhone app that allows users to anonymously report ICE sightings within a 5 mile radius, and to get notifications when others report ICE sightings near them.Micah Lee (micahflee)
My AI Predictions for 2027
My AI Predictions for 2027
(Crossposted from my Substack: https://taylorgordonlunt.substack.com/p/my-ai-predictions-for-2027) I think a lot of blogging is reactive. You read other people's blogs and you're like, no, that's totally wrong.www.greaterwrong.com
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The Car Is Not the Future: On the Myth of Motorized Freedom
- Hackernews.
:::
Paolo Scaramuzza | The Car Is Not the Future: On the Myth of Motorized Freedom
Pol's website. The Car Is Not the Future: On the Myth of Motorized Freedomblog.scaramuzza.me
RIP: Amazon Prime Benefits Sharing Ends on Oct 1, 2025
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¡Y'arrrrr matie! ¿¡But do you pirate this harRrrrRrRrRrd?!"
junglecruisednbBoatParty-20250830
homie @ollyjunglist got the homies together for @junglecruisednb Boat Party - Singe, A.N.T., OllyJunglist, Corrine / @junglecruisednb, @khariszmaOdysee
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!drumandbass@lemmy.world
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May also appreciate this 😀
Anthropic's leading researchers acted as moderate accelerationists
Anthropic's leading researchers acted as moderate accelerationists
In 2021, a circle of researchers left OpenAI, after a bitter dispute with their executives. They started a competing company, Anthropic, stating that they wanted to put safety first. The safety community responded with broad support.www.greaterwrong.com
Generative AI is not causing YCombinator companies to grow more quickly than usual (yet)
Generative AI is not causing YCombinator companies to grow more quickly than usual (yet)
Of the 20 companies which had the highest 2 year growth post-YC, only 1 (Tennr) was a 2023+ batch company, even though 16% of the companies I could find 2 year growth data for were 2023+.www.greaterwrong.com
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Inside vLLM: Anatomy of a High-Throughput LLM Inference System
From paged attention, continuous batching, prefix caching, specdec, etc. to multi-GPU, multi-node dynamic serving at scale
Inside vLLM: Anatomy of a High-Throughput LLM Inference System - Aleksa Gordić
From paged attention, continuous batching, prefix caching, specdec, etc. to multi-GPU, multi-node dynamic serving at scale.www.aleksagordic.com
My thoughts about the military purges is that they're a part of the fight against corruption.
With Xi being in his 70s it makes sense for him to also purge corruption from the army if he wants to avoid the state from falling into corrupt hands again like they have during Xiaoping's rule and his successors.
It's ridiculous that I'm downvoted by brigadiers for sharing a sensible explanation.
Do you have any facts to back this statement up?
Under Xi China has executed a lot more officials and politicians for corruption than before. Even tech moguls are removed unlike in the US where they're invited to government.
Historically, heavily authoritarian leaders manage to find all sorts of "corruption" in their political enemies. Maybe it's there and ignored until the people are a problem, or corpruption that is at odds with another corrupt interest, or sometimes just outright made up. Especially if the outcome is a lot of executions, that's not generally a sign of integrity. See the French revolution where things came from a pretty sincere place but mass executions followed that weren't exactly all justified or relevant to the situation.
You mention the US, and in a way that's a decent example. Conveniently Trump administration found reason to use the FBI to raid a political enemy and has made rumblings about political enemies somehow deserving prosecution, inventing allegations as needed to make opposition look bad. So while they open the doors wide open for some corrupt billionaires to game the government to their advantage, they accuse others of various offenses including corruption. Pat of their efforts seem to be towards making it easier to carry out those legal threats.
Because nothing says reasonable measures against corruption like secretly disappearing people without any sort of announcement leaving the world to blindly guess what went down. A lot of other authoritarian leaders at least bother to make up stuff, but not even that here.
I also think it's interesting to say that in his 70s it makes sense to be harder on corruption, why wouldn't there be a consistent pressure on corruption throughout?
If it is related to his age, it would make more sense that he is experiencing some mental decline that drives him to be more aggressive or that he wants to ensure his intended successors have the least opposition to worry about.
Hong Kong: Pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai's trial ends
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In Prabowo’s Indonesia, the military is quietly creeping back into civilian life
In Prabowo’s Indonesia, the military is quietly creeping back into civilian life
The retired general who is now president has established 100 new army battalions and plans more – and critics say the move has echoes of the country’s authoritarian pastKate Lamb (The Guardian)
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Putin and Kim to join Xi at Chinese military parade in show of defiance to the west
Putin and Kim to join Xi at Chinese military parade in show of defiance to the west
The Victory Day parade in Beijing on 3 September will mark the formal surrender of Japan during the second world war. No western leaders will attendGuardian staff reporter (The Guardian)
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Some people might call this an opportunity.
Meet the water sommeliers: they believe H₂O can rival wine – but would you pay £19 a bottle?
Meet the water sommeliers: they believe H₂O can rival wine – but would you pay £19 a bottle?
A restaurant in the English county of Cheshire has launched a water menu, as have a number of US establishments. Is it really possible, though, to tell one terroir from another?Simon Usborne (The Guardian)
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mineral content can be measured by evaporating a sample and weighing what is left as milligrams per litre of total dissolved solids (TDS)
I'd recommend ion chromatography here if you want accurate results lol
China says Putin, Kim Jong Un to attend military parade
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Kim Jong Un: Attends military parade
China: Putin
Argentina’s president Milei pelted with rocks on campaign trail amid corruption scandal linked to sister
Protesters throw stones at Argentina’s Milei over corruption allegations linked to sister
Argentinian president campaigning for midterm elections – the first big test of his popularity – when protesters threw bottles and rocks at his vehicleTiago Rogero (The Guardian)
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Still, milkshake showers and rock pelting really aren't it.
How about Bullet-Hell for these folks?
Massive Russian attack on Ukraine's capital kills at least 12 as Trump's peace push stalls
Russia attacks Kyiv: 15 killed in drone, missile strikes as Trump's peace push stalls
Russia unleashed a massive overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital that killed at least 15 people and injured 38, local officials said early Thursday.Daryna Mayer (NBC News)
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Meet the Silicon Valley Donors Backing California's Redistricting Push
The move is the latest underscoring how Silicon Valley’s deep-pocketed executives are increasingly wielding influence in California politics and beyond.
unghie schifose piegate nel dentro dell’anima persa
Ieri sera ho avuto un attimino di tempo per tagliarmi le unghie dei piedi, ma per il resto sono completamente intrappolata… dentro un IDE, al punto che nell’immediato non ho nulla di interessante da poter scrivere, rest in maccheroni. Quindi, anche stamattina sono costretta a parlare semplicemente di un altro piccolo fattore dello schifo speciale […]
octospacc.altervista.org/2025/…
unghie schifose piegate nel dentro dell'anima persa - fritto misto di octospacc
Ieri sera ho avuto un attimino di tempo per tagliarmi le unghie dei piedi, ma per il resto sono completamente intrappolata... dentro un IDE, al punto che nell'iminioctt (fritto misto di octospacc)
China plans to outpace Neuralink with a state-backed brain chip blitz — seven ministries, a 17-point roadmap, and clinical trials where patients play chess
Plan aims to streamline approval by bringing regulators in at the beginning, potentially shaving years off the lab-to-market timeline.
Google denies major Gmail security warning that says 2.5 billion users are in danger
Google has played down reports that 2.5 billion Gmail users are at risk and need to update their passwords. It said Gmail remains very secure.
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Scottish government trial of four-day week improves productivity and staff wellbeing
Increased productivity and improved staff wellbeing were among the results of a year-long trial of the four-day week by the Scottish government.Staff at the two organisations reported less work-related stress and greater satisfaction with their jobs and work-life balance.
Almost all workers (98%) at SOSE believed the four-day week trial improved motivation and morale, while there was a decrease in workers taking time off sick and a 25% fall in those taking sick days for psychological reasons.
Scottish government trial of four-day week improves productivity and staff wellbeing
Employees at two public bodies reported less work-related stress and one organisation had drop in sick daysJoanna Partridge (The Guardian)
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Yet the Nerd-reich wants to bring back feudalism.
commondreams.org/opinion/big-t…
The Techlords and Their Ideology Are Mortal Enemies of Humanity
The techlords intend to bring humanity to the brink of collapse and then, in a magic trick, rise to power, saving the species or themselves as the last specimens.joao-camargo (Common Dreams)
DarkCloud
in reply to silence7 • • •silence7
in reply to DarkCloud • • •kapulsa
in reply to silence7 • • •They are, of course, right in their statement. But why do all those scientists still believe that one more statement will do any good? We've had 6 IPCC reports and thousands of papers and guides for policy makers and such. We do not have an information problem, we have an action problem. If they want to stand for science, they need to actually stand and not just write. It's ironically rather unscientific to keep doing things that have not worked in the past.
They should look at Peter Kalmus, for example. He's doing good.