“Trump’s not their Daddy any more.” Russian paper on Europe, over new US national security strategy
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SARS-CoV-2 Leaves a Lasting Mark on the Immune System
SARS-CoV-2 Leaves a Lasting Mark on the Immune System - John Snow Project
A landmark new study shows COVID-19 isn’t ‘just a cold’: One infection left people with long-lasting immune damage, and those with heart disease lost up to 70% of key immune cells. Reinfections may worsen this.John Snow Project
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Old Teslas Are Falling Apart
Old Teslas Are Falling Apart
On Consumer Reports' latest ranking of used car reliability, Tesla came in dead last with a rating not even half of the top placed brand.Frank Landymore (Futurism)
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This is why I won't buy a Tesla.
Fortunately for me, used cars with manual transmission are dead cheap here in Slovakia. I think I saw one for 3-4K€ on used car reseller website.
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Some non-English(with subs) anime and series' seem to be freely and officially available on youtube and other websites.
Pretty cool.
Noticed that when searching for To Be Hero X
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLra…
To Be Hero X full series (Chinese dub | Eng CC)
Complete series of To Be Hero X Licenced and Distributed by bilibiliYouTube
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Bag of words, have mercy on us
Bag of words, have mercy on us
OR: Claude will you go to prom with me?Adam Mastroianni (Experimental History)
The Supreme Court weighs Trump's bid to fire independent agency board members
The Trump administration’s push to expand control over independent federal agencies comes before a sympathetic Supreme Court that could overturn a 90-year-old decision limiting when presidents can fire board members.
Lawyers for the administration are defending President Donald Trump’s decision to fire Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter without cause and calling on the court to jettison the unanimous 1935 decision in Humphrey’s Executor.
Arguments are taking place Monday.
The court’s six conservative justices already have signaled strong support for the administration’s position, over the objection of their three liberal colleagues, by allowing Slaughter and the board members of other agencies to be removed from their jobs even as their legal challenges continue.
Monday, December 8, 2025
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The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
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of the Kyiv Independent
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Aftermath of the destruction of a residential building following a Russian attack with FAB-250 and drones in the city of Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on Dec. 7, 2025. One person was killed and a 15-year-old boy was injured in the attacks. (Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Locals report explosions near Engels airfield, oil depot in Russia’s Saratov Oblast amid overnight drone attacks. Locals reported explosions near the Engels airfield and an oil depot amid overnight drone attacks in Russia’s Saratov and Rostov oblasts.
Kellogg claims Ukraine peace deal close, with Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant key sticking points. Trump envoy Keith Kellogg says a Ukraine peace deal is in its “final stretch” as talks focus on territorial concessions and security guarantees.
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Ukraine reports frontline gain in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast as Russia advances in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Amid an ongoing Russian offensive, Ukraine has liberated a village in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the Ukrainian open-source mapping project DeepState and Ukraine’s military reported.
Ukraine braces for ‘critical damage’ after Russian strike on Kharkiv Oblast dam threatens water supply. Russia attacked the Pechenihy dam on Dec. 7, threatening the reservoir that supplies water to Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
Read our exclusives
Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian drones score ‘successful hit’ on Russia’s Ryazan Oil Refinery, General Staff says
Ukrainian forces conducted another strike on Russia’s Ryazan Oil Refinery — one of the country’s largest — during the night of Dec. 5-6, the General Staff reported, marking the ninth attack on the facility this year.
Photo: Wikipedia
Learn more
Looking for the 10 best Ukraine-related books of 2025? We’ve got you
The Kyiv Independent has selected 10 of the best Ukraine-related books published in 2025. Curious readers should use this list as a guide on the path to discovering even more books from this and previous years, with the anticipation of what is to come in 2026 as well.
Photo: The Kyiv Independent
Independent journalism is never easy, and it’s even harder in wartime
Yet we can do it without paywalls, billionaires, or compromise — because of our community.
Human costs of war
At least 2 killed, 19 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over past day. Russia launched five ballistic missiles and 241 drones at Ukraine overnight, the Air Force reported.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,180,870 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. The number includes 1,080 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Trump’s peace plan hits a wall | Ukraine This Week
International response
Czech president says Europe may need to shoot down Russian aircraft, drones violating NATO airspace. Czech President Petr Pavel warned that repeated Russian airspace violations may eventually force Europe to shoot down Russian aircraft and drones, and said European countries must be ready to fight and win a war on their own if the U.S. is tied up elsewhere.
Russia, China hold joint anti-missile drills on Russian territory. China says recent joint anti-missile drills with Russia on Russian territory were routine and not aimed at any third party.
Son of president who shut down US corruption watchdogs slams Ukraine for corruption. Donald Trump Jr. warned on Dec. 7 that his father may walk away from Ukraine, parroting Kremlin propaganda about corruption in Kyiv driving Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
In other news
Russia’s Africa Corps committing war crimes in Mali, AP reports. The AP spoke to 34 refugees who reported kidnappings, sexual assault, and civilian killings at the hands of the Africa Corps, a paramilitary group controlled by the Russian Defense Ministry.
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Ilhan Omar says Trump's anti-Somali tirade ' completely disgusting
Ilhan Omar says Trump’s anti-Somali tirade ‘completely disgusting’
Minnesota congresswoman says ‘hateful rhetoric’ can lead to ‘dangerous actions by people who listen to the president’José Olivares (The Guardian)
New Air Force Chief Boosts Nuclear Buildup, Moving Away From Deterrence, Experts Warn
In his first major guidance to the Air Force, the newly appointed Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach emphasized a need for the “recapitalization” of nuclear weapons — an apparent departure from decades of Air Force teaching that the United States maintains nuclear weapons solely for deterrence.
“We will advocate relentlessly for programs like the F-47, Collaborative Combat Aircraft as well as nuclear force recapitalization through the Sentinel program and the B-21,” Wilsbach wrote in a memo dated November 3, referring to planned upgrades to nuclear missiles and stealth bombers.
“This memo of unity and warfighting spirit reflects current Department of War and Pete Hegseth language, but that language is also inadequate because it assumes U.S. military capability is the best in the world and getting better, a dangerous and flawed assumption,” said Karen Kwiatkowski, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and former Pentagon analyst who exposed the politicization of intelligence before the Iraq War.
New Air Force Chief Boosts Nuclear Buildup, Moving Away From Deterrence, Experts Warn
Gen. Ken Wilsbach promotes nuclear “recapitalization,” fueling fear of a radical shift away from nukes acting solely as deterrence.Austin Campbell (The Intercept)
New Air Force Chief Boosts Nuclear Buildup, Moving Away From Deterrence, Experts Warn
In his first major guidance to the Air Force, the newly appointed Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach emphasized a need for the “recapitalization” of nuclear weapons — an apparent departure from decades of Air Force teaching that the United States maintains nuclear weapons solely for deterrence.
“We will advocate relentlessly for programs like the F-47, Collaborative Combat Aircraft as well as nuclear force recapitalization through the Sentinel program and the B-21,” Wilsbach wrote in a memo dated November 3, referring to planned upgrades to nuclear missiles and stealth bombers.
“This memo of unity and warfighting spirit reflects current Department of War and Pete Hegseth language, but that language is also inadequate because it assumes U.S. military capability is the best in the world and getting better, a dangerous and flawed assumption,” said Karen Kwiatkowski, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and former Pentagon analyst who exposed the politicization of intelligence before the Iraq War.
New Air Force Chief Boosts Nuclear Buildup, Moving Away From Deterrence, Experts Warn
Gen. Ken Wilsbach promotes nuclear “recapitalization,” fueling fear of a radical shift away from nukes acting solely as deterrence.Austin Campbell (The Intercept)
Meta planning massive cuts to Reality Labs metaverse division
Report: Meta planning massive cuts to Reality Labs metaverse division
The money it is saving is to be shifted over to its AI wearables businessAlex Forbes-Calvin (GamesIndustry.biz)
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Arizona Attorney General sues Temu(Online Shopping Platform) over malware, data exfiltration activities and more
Attorney General Mayes Sues Online Shopping Platform Temu for Stealing Arizonans’ Data and Misleading Consumers | Attorney General's Office
PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes today announced the filing of a lawsuit against Temu, the Chinese online shopping platform, for violations of the Arizona Cwww.azag.gov
How Snapchat manipulates its users through notifications
Our recent research into Snapchat shows that its uses misleading notification. This is not legally allowed. Namely, the European Digital Services Act prohibits misleading and manipulative design on online platforms. The research serves as input for possible enforcement actions by the Dutch Authority for Consumer and Markets (Autoriteit Consument & Markt) and supports our advice to include the regulation of attention-grabbing notifications in the Digital Fairness Act.
How Snapchat manipulates its users through notifications
Bits of Freedom komt op voor internetvrijheid door de online grondrechten op communicatievrijheid en privacy te beschermen.Bits of Freedom
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The Moment Carter Opens The Shrine, 1924, Egypt
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RIP Windows: Linux GPU Gaming Benchmarks on Bazzite
We're finally benchmarking GPU performance in Linux, first using the Bazzite OS following thousands of community requests specifically for this operating system.
RIP Windows: Linux GPU Gaming Benchmarks on Bazzite | GamersNexus
GPUs RIP Windows: Linux GPU Gaming Benchmarks on Bazzite December 5, 2025 Last Updated: 2025-12-05 We're finally benchmarking GPU performance in Linux, first using the Bazzite OS following thousands of community requests specifically for this operati…gamersnexus.net
Lazarus Group’s IT Workers Scheme Hacker Group Caught Live On Camera
Lazarus Group’s IT Workers Scheme Hacker Group Caught Live On Camera
Lazarus Group’s Famous Chollima unit has been caught “live on camera” running its remote IT worker scheme, after researchers funneled its operatives into fake laptops that were actually long‑running sandbox environments under full surveillance.Guru Baran (CybersecurityNews)
Two cities in Oregon have ended their contract with Flock thanks to citizen pressure.
Cities: Eugene and Springfield, OR
cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/39835035
Privacy is worth fighting for.
Eugene, Springfield announce end of Flock cameras
In a press release sent late Friday evening, the Eugene Police Department announced it has terminated its contract with Flock Safety.Jaime Adame (Lookout Eugene-Springfield)
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Pentagon Sharpens Tech Focus to Six Key Priorities
Pentagon Sharpens Tech Focus to Six Key Priorities
The Pentagon has narrowed its technology priorities to six critical areas aimed at rapidly strengthening U.S. military capabilities and maintaining strategic dominance.Popsmokemedia
Scores of UK parliamentarians join call to regulate most powerful AI systems
Exclusive: Campaign urges PM to show independence from US and push to rein in development of superintelligence
Digital ID debate: Privacy group warns of 'unprecedented tracking' and 'surveillance'
The Open Rights Group warns the government's digital ID plan is a "surveillance infrastructure" leading to "unprecedented tracking." They point to the faulty eVisa scheme.
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Advent Calendar 8
Advent Calendar
Zen Mischief Photographs
This year for our Advent Calendar we have a selection of my photographs from recent years. They may not be technically the best, or the most recent, but they’re ones which, for various reasons, I rather like.Pine tree, Oxford Botanic Garden
© Keith C Marshall, 2018
Click the image for a larger view
Heartless Bastards - Restless Ones (2015)
Il quinto album degli Heartless Bastards è uno splendido esempio di gruppo che gradualmente giunge a una completa maturità artistica. A differenza di band il cui talento emerge da subito in maniera più cristallina gli Heartless Bastards hanno dovuto fare parecchia strada per trovare la loro dimensione ideale dopo aver oscillato tra post-punk e country... Leggi e ascolta...
How I block all online ads
How I block all online ads
A couple of years ago, I decided I'd had enough of ads. Not just the occasional banner or a quick pre-roll video — I mean all of them. They have to go.troubled.engineer
Vibe Coding: Empowering and Imprisoning - Anil Dash
Vibe Coding: Empowering and Imprisoning - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.Anil Dash
Israel’s biggest defence company suspended by NATO amid corruption probe
Israel’s largest defence company, Elbit Systems, has been suspended by NATO’s procurement agency amid a major corruption probe, Follow the Money and its media partners La Lettre, Le Soir, and Knack can reveal.
The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) is at the centre of a wide-ranging graft scandal, with current and former staff under investigation for bribery. Several suspects were arrested in May in police raids across seven nations, including Belgium and the U.S.
FTM has also learned that a key figure associated with Elbit – an Italian citizen identified as Eliau E. – is wanted internationally for his alleged role in bribing NSPA staff.
Elbit is Israel’s biggest arms manufacturer, with a turnover of almost 7 billion dollars in 2024. The Haifa-based company – which makes drones, tanks and ammunition, among other military equipment – ranks 25th on the list of the world’s 100 largest defence companies compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
https://www.ftm.eu/articles/israel-defence-elbit-systems-suspended-nato-corruption-investigation
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RRF Caserta. Rassegna Stampa 08 12 25 USA e Russia contro Europa. Sport F1 Calcio
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau make their relationship Instagram official
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau make their relationship Instagram official
The singer posted a photo of the pair smiling cheek to cheek and a video of them eating sushi together while in JapanJessica O'Bryan (The Guardian)
Record 70% of Germans Dissatisfied With Government's Performance - Survey
Record 70% of Germans Dissatisfied With Government's Performance - Survey
A record 70% of Germans are dissatisfied with the work of the country's government, according to a new survey conducted by the INSA pollster for German newspaper Bild.Sputnik International
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Germany is a dictaorship of the bourgeoisie, spin it anyway you like, voting for progressive reformists will only get you one step forward, and two steps back
you don't vote your way to communism, communists participating in bourgeois elections only do so to draw attention to the farce, and as you said, it's literally illegal in germany
Stupidity and disinformation by conservative media, so same as everywhere else with that problem.
The people saw that it is shit after 16 years of stagnancy (Merkel), the new government had a opposition party directly in the government (don't ask how that makes sense, only good thing is that the FDP lost a lot of voters for this bullshit) and then voters immediately decided that conservative again is the right way to vote.
No it doesn't make sense to me either
Accidental Duplicate sorry
Record 70% of Germans Dissatisfied With Government's Performance - Survey
A record 70% of Germans are dissatisfied with the work of the country's government, according to a new survey conducted by the INSA pollster for German newspaper Bild.Sputnik International
Operation in Huliaipole: Russian Forces Clear Ukrainian Positions and Reach the Haichur River (Videos)
Operation in Huliaipole: Russian Forces Clear Ukrainian Positions and Reach the Haichur River (Videos)
Russian assault groups are advancing in Vilcha in the direction of Kharkiv. Russian units have taken control of more than half of Siversk, setting the stage for a full encirclement of the area.Anonymous834 (South Front)
La riposte pathétique d’Elon Musk face à l’Europe
C’est un spectacle fascinant, presque shakespearien s’il n’était pas joué par des clowns numériques, qui se déroule actuellement entre la commission européenne et ce qu’il reste de Twitter. Vendredi dernier, l’Union Européenne a frappé fort avec une amende de 120 millions d’euros pour violation du Digital Services Act. La raison ? Des pratiques trompeuses, un manque de transparence crasse et, surtout, ce fameux système de certification payant qui permet à n’importe quel escroc d’acheter une crédibilité autrefois réservée aux comptes vérifiés.
Mais au lieu de faire profil bas, d’analyser ses erreurs ou même de prétendre s’améliorer, X a décidé de réagir avec la maturité d’un adolescent privé de sa console de jeu. La plateforme a contre-attaqué en bannissant le compte publicitaire de la commission européenne. Le motif invoqué ? Une supposée tromperie. L’ironie est telle qu’elle en deviendrait presque étouffante.
Une vengeance aussi mesquine qu’inutile
Commençons par le cœur de cette blague cosmique. Samedi, Nikita Bier, le responsable produit chez X (un poste qui doit nécessiter une consommation industrielle d’aspirine), a annoncé triomphalement avoir banni le compte publicitaire de la commission. Selon lui, l’institution aurait violé les règles de la plateforme.
Le problème ? Cette dernière ne dépense plus un centime en publicité sur X depuis 2023. C’est là toute la beauté de la stratégie d’Elon Musk. Pour punir une entité qui vient de vous coller une amende de 120 millions d’euros, vous décidez de lui interdire d’acheter des publicités… qu’elle n’achetait déjà plus.
Un porte-parole de la commission a d’ailleurs confirmé l’absurdité de la situation, rappelant que leur politique de non-publicité sur la plateforme est en place depuis plus d’un an, en raison précisément des inquiétudes liées à la désinformation. La suspension imposée par X est donc aussi effrayante qu’un pistolet à eau face à un incendie de forêt.
L’accusation de la faille imaginaire
Pour justifier cette décision grotesque, X a dû inventer une narration où la victime devient le bourreau. Nikita Bier accuse la commission d’avoir utilisé un « exploit » (une faille) dans l’outil de composition publicitaire de X. Selon lui, l’UE s’est connectée à un compte publicitaire dormant pour poster un lien déguisé en vidéo afin d’augmenter artificiellement sa portée.
En d’autres termes, X reproche à ses utilisateurs d’utiliser son interface telle qu’elle a été codée par ses ingénieurs. Si le compositeur de posts permet de créer des liens qui ressemblent à des vidéos, ce n’est pas un piratage de haut vol. C’est simplement la preuve que l’interface utilisateur du réseau social est une usine à gaz mal conçue.
L’hôpital qui se moque de la charité numérique
L’hypocrisie atteint ici des sommets stratosphériques. Rappelons le contexte, X vient d’être condamné pour tromperie. Pourquoi ? Parce que son système de coches bleues, autrefois gage d’authenticité, est devenu un simple reçu de paiement. L’UE a jugé que cela trompait les utilisateurs en leur faisant croire à la légitimité de comptes qui ne sont pas vérifiés. Et quelle est la défense de la plateforme ? Accuser l’UE à son tour de tromperie parce qu’un bouton de lecture vidéo fonctionne bizarrement sur mobile.
C’est exact, sur la version bureau, le bouton « play » du post de la commission lance la vidéo. Sur mobile, il semble rediriger vers le communiqué de presse annonçant l’amende. X appelle cela une manipulation malveillante. Le reste du monde appelle cela un bug d’interface sur une plateforme en déclin technique. Ce comportement erratique des vidéos est d’ailleurs monnaie courante sur X. Mais quand il s’agit de l’UE, soudainement, c’est un complot machiavélique.
Musk – La diplomatie du « Bullshit »
Pendant que ses lieutenants s’activaient à inventer des excuses techniques, le grand patron, Elon Musk, a brillé par son éloquence habituelle. Sa réponse à l’amende historique et aux critiques détaillées de l’Union Européenne ? Un tweet lapidaire: « Bullshit ». Suivi d’une question rhétorique tout aussi nuancée: « Combien de temps avant que l’UE ne disparaisse ? #AbolishTheEU ». C’est la réaction d’un homme qui n’a plus d’arguments. Face à un cadre législatif rigoureux comme le DSA, les mèmes et les insultes ne suffisent pas. L’UE demande des comptes sur la transparence, la protection des données et la véracité de l’information. Le milliardaire répond par des slogans populistes et des représailles techniques inefficaces.
twitter.com/elonmusk/status/19…
La réalité va frapper fort
Cette petite guéguerre sur l’interdiction du compte publicitaire ne changera strictement rien à la réalité financière et juridique qui attend X. L’entreprise a 60 jours pour répondre aux préoccupations concernant les coches bleues et 90 jours pour régler ses problèmes de transparence publicitaire. Si elle échoue, les pénalités pourraient s’aggraver. La plateforme peut bien bannir tous les comptes administratifs qu’elle souhaite, cela n’effacera pas l’ardoise. Prétendre que la commission a piraté l’algorithme en utilisant les outils officiels est une défense qui fera rire n’importe quel tribunal.
En fin de compte, cet épisode illustre parfaitement l’état actuel de X, une plateforme techniquement défaillante, dirigée par l’impulsivité, qui préfère accuser ses régulateurs de tricherie plutôt que de réparer son propre code ou de respecter la loi. L’UE a demandé de la clarté et de l’honnêteté. En réponse, elle a eu droit à une crise de colère. Si c’était ça leur stratégie de défense pour prouver qu’ils sont une entreprise sérieuse et non trompeuse, c’est un échec spectaculaire. Mais au moins, c’est divertissant.
Bruxelles frappe fort - X écope d'une amende historique de 120 millions d'euros pour ses pratiques trompeuses
L'UE inflige une amende de 120 millions d'euros à X d'Elon Musk, saluant une victoire pour la régulation numérique et la transparence.GIGAWATTS
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