‘We’re drowning’: Gaza baby dies as storm floods tent encampments
cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/40189934
By Maha Hussaini and Mohammed al-Hajjar in Gaza City, occupied Palestine
Published date: 11 December 2025 12:50 GMT
A Palestinian infant died from the cold on Thursday as heavy rain across the Gaza Strip continued for a second day, flooding tented encampments and roads.Eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar died in Khan Younis after rainwater leaked into her family’s tent during overnight storms.
Her family was among hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians awoken in the night as torrential downpours inundated the makeshift shelters they rely on for protection.
Gaza’s war-damaged sewage system also overflowed under the heavy rain.
“We are drowning in rainwater mixed with sewage,” said Amal Eleiwa from Gaza City.
‘We’re drowning’: Gaza baby dies as storm floods tent encampments
By Maha Hussaini and Mohammed al-Hajjar in Gaza City, occupied Palestine
Published date: 11 December 2025 12:50 GMTA Palestinian infant died from the cold on Thursday as heavy rain across the Gaza Strip continued for a second day, flooding tented encampments and roads.Eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar died in Khan Younis after rainwater leaked into her family’s tent during overnight storms.
Her family was among hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians awoken in the night as torrential downpours inundated the makeshift shelters they rely on for protection.
Gaza’s war-damaged sewage system also overflowed under the heavy rain.
“We are drowning in rainwater mixed with sewage,” said Amal Eleiwa from Gaza City.
‘We’re drowning’: Gaza baby dies as storm floods tent encampments
cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/40189934
By Maha Hussaini and Mohammed al-Hajjar in Gaza City, occupied Palestine
Published date: 11 December 2025 12:50 GMT
A Palestinian infant died from the cold on Thursday as heavy rain across the Gaza Strip continued for a second day, flooding tented encampments and roads.Eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar died in Khan Younis after rainwater leaked into her family’s tent during overnight storms.
Her family was among hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians awoken in the night as torrential downpours inundated the makeshift shelters they rely on for protection.
Gaza’s war-damaged sewage system also overflowed under the heavy rain.
“We are drowning in rainwater mixed with sewage,” said Amal Eleiwa from Gaza City.
‘We’re drowning’: Gaza baby dies as storm floods tent encampments
By Maha Hussaini and Mohammed al-Hajjar in Gaza City, occupied Palestine
Published date: 11 December 2025 12:50 GMTA Palestinian infant died from the cold on Thursday as heavy rain across the Gaza Strip continued for a second day, flooding tented encampments and roads.Eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar died in Khan Younis after rainwater leaked into her family’s tent during overnight storms.
Her family was among hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians awoken in the night as torrential downpours inundated the makeshift shelters they rely on for protection.
Gaza’s war-damaged sewage system also overflowed under the heavy rain.
“We are drowning in rainwater mixed with sewage,” said Amal Eleiwa from Gaza City.
‘We’re drowning’: Gaza baby dies as storm floods tent encampments
By Maha Hussaini and Mohammed al-Hajjar in Gaza City, occupied Palestine
Published date: 11 December 2025 12:50 GMT
A Palestinian infant died from the cold on Thursday as heavy rain across the Gaza Strip continued for a second day, flooding tented encampments and roads.Eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar died in Khan Younis after rainwater leaked into her family’s tent during overnight storms.
Her family was among hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians awoken in the night as torrential downpours inundated the makeshift shelters they rely on for protection.
Gaza’s war-damaged sewage system also overflowed under the heavy rain.
“We are drowning in rainwater mixed with sewage,” said Amal Eleiwa from Gaza City.
The US EPA website got the basics of climate science right. Until last week. | The Trump administration purged 80 pages of facts about climate change — including that it's caused by humans.
The EPA website got the basics of climate science right. Until last week.
The Trump administration purged 80 pages of facts about climate change — including that it's caused by humans.Kate Yoder (Grist)
PixiEditor 2.1 beta is available - Node Based Brush Engine, Smart layers and more
PixiEditor 2.1 beta is available - Node Based Brush Engine, Smart layers and more | PixiEditor Blog
PixiEditor 2.1 Beta is now available! Explore the new Node Based Brush Engine, Smart Layers, and customizable toolsets to enhance your digital art experience.pixieditor.net
US lawmakers condemn seizure of Venezuelan oil tanker: ‘Trump is sleepwalking us into a war’
Senior Democratic lawmakers and at least one Republican have condemned Wednesday’s seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker off the nation’s coast, with one saying Donald Trump is “sleepwalking us into a war with Venezuela”.
There is growing, at least somewhat bipartisan unease in Washington over the administration’s escalating military posture in the region. Trump has accused Venezuela of facilitating drug trafficking, and increased the US military presence in the Caribbean to a level not seen in decades. The administration has also conducted a campaign of bombings of alleged drug boats, killing more than 80 people so far.
Trump confirmed the tanker seizure shortly after it occurred, telling reporters: “We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela – large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually.” When asked what would happen to the oil, Trump responded: “We keep the oil, I guess!”
US lawmakers condemn seizure of Venezuelan oil tanker: ‘Trump is sleepwalking us into a war’
Unease grows in Washington, including among some Republicans, over Trump administration’s escalating military posture in the CaribbeanJoseph Gedeon (The Guardian)
Proton getting big encourages centralization
OG title: We need to talk... about the Proton ecosystem
Ecosystem is a trap. It lures you in with the promise of convenience, only to lock you inside a walled garden. Like Google and Apple. They start with a good product, but then force you to use the whole suite to get the full experience. This is dangerous.
Ecosystems are concentrating all of your data and your digital life in the hands of a single entity. An entity that grows so large and powerful that it will start making compromises against your rights only to find more ways to profit or protect their business. The larger the ecosystem, the bigger data harvester it becomes. It becomes a bigger target for hackers and the more products it offers the more data it has to give to the surveillance state.
We know that the big tech does this, because their only moral value is the shareholder value.
[4]But when a private company starts quacking like a duck in the steps of the big tech, it should worry us the same way. That company is Proton. The maker of the most renowned privacy products that have always been meant as ethical alternatives to the big tech.
Today, Proton resembles more and more the ecosystems of Google and Apple than it does its noble origins of fighting the big tech. This is a problem. It’s a problem for your privacy and it’s a problem for the whole community. But you probably never of heard of this perspective, because none of this is talked about enough. There is a reason for this.
You see, most content on Proton you’ll find, is coming from sources that are sponsored or affiliated with Proton. And I know how lucrative Proton’s deals are, because Proton even tried to pay me. Of course, I refused their offer, because taking their money would incentivize me not to recommend against Proton products. I am uniquely positioned to give you a nuanced critique of Proton and how to solve this problem.
Some good points to be said. I find the overall argument a bit weak as it is mainly one of user erorr of sorts. Btw THO has some pretty good back log of videos on privacy; check out their stuff on burners phones and anonymizing yourself at a protest.
- YouTube
Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.www.youtube.com
like this
Does DE count?
It's crazy that new expansions are still dropping, and the ranked community is thriving.
RollerCoaster Tycoon (1999) by Chris Sawyer. Best game ever.
Now there's a new rewrite by the open source community called OpenRCT2. Highly suggested.
Consolidations Are as Much a Threat as AI
Consolidations Are as Much a Threat as AI
Netflix is , one of the largest movie and TV studios in the world. The deal is set an a staggering $82.7 billion. Except, maybe not. The day after the ann...Josh Griffiths
reshared this
It'll have a devastating effect for people who work in the industries.
Those of us who don't play AAA games or watch Warner Bros or Paramount movies don't really have much to lose here. Worst case scenario there are always Nigerian and Uzbek movies.
Judge orders wrongfully detained Kilmar Abrego Garcia to be immediately released from immigration detention
A federal judge in Maryland ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia freed from immigration detention on Thursday while his legal challenge against his deportation moves forward, handing a major victory to the immigrant whose wrongful deportation to a notorious prison in El Salvador made him a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement must let Abrego Garcia go immediately.
“Since Abrego Garcia’s return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority,” the judge wrote. “For this reason, the Court will GRANT Abrego Garcia’s Petition for immediate release from ICE custody.”
https://apnews.com/article/abrego-garcia-el-salvador-deportation-31160936c51932f74b717eb1143edd55
Eurovision winner to return award after Israel allowed to participate
The Swiss winner of the 2024 Eurovision song contest has said they will be returning their award after Israel was cleared to participate in next year's event.
“Even though I’m immensely grateful for the community around this contest and everything this experience has taught me both as a person and artist, today I no longer feel this trophy belongs on my shelf," they said, writing on Instagram.
"But Israel's continued participation, during what the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry has concluded to be a genocide, shows a clear conflict between those ideals and the decisions made by the EBU."
Eurovision winner to return award after Israel allowed to participate
The Swiss winner of the 2024 Eurovision song contest has said they will be returning their award after Israel was cleared to participate in next year's event.
“Even though I’m immensely grateful for the community around this contest and everything this experience has taught me both as a person and artist, today I no longer feel this trophy belongs on my shelf," they said, writing on Instagram.
"But Israel's continued participation, during what the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry has concluded to be a genocide, shows a clear conflict between those ideals and the decisions made by the EBU."
Marco Rubio bans Calibri font at State Department for being too DEI
Marco Rubio bans Calibri font at State Department for being too DEI | TechCrunch
Calibri, which could make documents easier to read for the vision impaired, was apparently installed in 2023 by the department’s then-DEI office.Julie Bort (TechCrunch)
Scrollone likes this.
Ugh.
At least Arial exists. And Helvetica. But Times New Roman? What is this, English class in the early aughts? 12pt font, double spaced with one inch margins?
Hell, if you want wanna make America great again make it Courier; tech bros'll think you're coding but we know you really just want to take us back to late 1800s when typewriters and bad economic policy were in. Or maybe something appropriate for this administration, like Wingdings.
Zipfelmützen Cup 2025
Der Zipfelmützen Cup 2025 und damit der Crossgolf Saisonabschluss steht vor der Tür.
Dafür habe ich mir für euch alle mal wieder die Finger abgefroren, die Füße wundgelaufen und bei schönem aber kalten Wetter, den Spielplan erstellt, und mit denen vom letzten Jahr abgeglichen.
Wir hoffen natürlich, das es genau so schön wird, wie 2024 und spannend und….
Neben der Vergabe der Wanderwiese, unseres Vereinsmeisterpokals, geht es natürlich auch noch mal um Pokale für dieses Turnier.
Wer jetzt Neugierig ist, was und wie der Parcours verläuft, kann diesen link verwenden.
Treffpunkt ist 18.30 Uhr auf dem Markt in Elster, mitzubringen sind eine Tasse, eine Zipfelmütze sollte auf dem Kopf sein, Leuchtball (Bälle je nach Bedarf), Golfschläger.
Nach dem Turnier ist im Vereinshaus Aufwärmen, Essen fassen und die Siegerehrung.
Deswegen bitte noch anmelden wer noch nicht hat – https://2025.2.uhc-elster.de/event/zipfelmuetzen-turnier-2025/
Zipfelmützen Turnier 2025
Wir spielen wieder in und durch Elster unser Vorweihnachtliches Crossgolf Turnier. Treffpunkt ist 18.30 Uhr auf dem Markt in Elster. Dieses Turnier ist Vereinsintern und fließt in die Vereinsmeisterschaft mit… Zipfelmützen Turnier 2025\n2025.2.uhc-elster.de
Ohh jeh, es scheint die @crossgolf_rebel's und Konsorten besetzen das fedi ..
crossgolf_rebel - kostenlose Kwalitätsposts likes this.
'Why Is This Hard?' Schumer Won't Say He Opposes Regime Change in Venezuela
cross-posted from: news.abolish.capital/post/1301…
US Rep. Ro Khanna suggested on Thursday that the top Democrat in the Senate had offered the latest evidence that the party needs "a new generation to lead... with moral clarity and conviction" after Sen. Chuck Schumer refused to denounce the Trump administration's threats of regime change in Venezuela.
"Why is this hard?" asked Khanna (D-Calif.) after Schumer (D-NY), the Senate minority leader, told CNN's Jake Tapper Wednesday evening that "everyone would like" it if Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro "would flee on his own" instead of stating that the US should not try to force out the South American leader.
When asked point-blank if he disagrees with President Donald Trump's "ultimate goal of regime change in Venezuela," Schumer turned his focus to the lack of clarity in the White House's strategy.
"The bottom line is President Trump throws out so many different things in so many different ways. You don't even know what the heck he's talking about. You know, obviously, if Maduro would just flee on his own, everyone would like that. But we don't know what the heck he's up to when he talks about that," said Schumer. "You cannot say I endorse this, I endorse that when Trump is all over the lot, not very specific and very worrisome at how far he might escalate."
Chuck Schumer won't say if he opposes regime change in Venezuela.JAKE TAPPER: Do you disagree with President Trump's ultimate goal of regime change in Venezuela?
CHUCK SCHUMER: Look, the bottom line is President Trump throws out so many different things in so many different… pic.twitter.com/kwjWMsBgM8
— Ken Klippenstein (NSPM-7 Compliant) (@kenklippenstein) December 10, 2025Schumer's response, Khanna suggested, should have been: "Yes, Democrats oppose regime change war in Venezuela. Instead of wasting trillions on endless wars, we must invest in jobs, healthcare, and housing for Americans."
The CNN interview took place hours after the US military seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in what one think tank called an "illegal" escalation. In recent weeks Trump has claimed he's ordered the airspace above and around Venezuela closed—an action experts said he had no legal authority to take—authorized covert CIA action in the country, and this week said the US plans to "hit ‘em on land very soon," threatening strikes against Venezuela as well as Mexico and Colombia.
The White House has aggressively pushed a narrative about the need to stop the trafficking of fentanyl from Venezuela—despite findings by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United Nations that the country plays virtually no role in the flow of the drug into the US. At least 87 people have been killed in US military strikes on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September—bombings that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Trump have claimed without evidence have targeted "narco-terrorists," but which Latin American officials, the family of one victim, and legal experts have denounced as extrajudicial killings and homicide.
Trump has previously signaled a desire to take control of Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
On November 21, Trump reportedly spoke to Maduro in a phone call and offered him safe passage out of Venezuela if he abdicated power, in the most explicit confirmation that the administration is seeking regime change. A CBS/YouGov poll released two days later found that 70% of Americans oppose any military action in Venezuela.
Labor attorney Benjamin Dictor and Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner of Maine were among those who joined Khanna in condemning Schumer's refusal to unequivocally reject the goal of forcing Maduro out through military action.
— (@)"Chuck Schumer is so spineless he can’t even affirmatively oppose illegal, unauthorized regime change by military force," said Dictor.
Schumer has called for the passage of a war powers resolution to block the deployment of US forces in Venezuela. As Trump has continued the boat bombings and built up military presence in the Caribbean, two war powers resolutions aimed at stopping the US from striking boats and targets inside Venezuela have failed to pass.
But his refusal to speak out comes two months after journalist Aída Chávez reported that a "senior Democratic staffer" was "discouraging Democrats from coming out against regime change in Venezuela... arguing that opposing Trump and [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio's regime change amounts to supporting Maduro."
After Schumer's interview, Matt Duss of the Center for International Policy joined in calling for "regime change in the Senate Democratic Caucus."
From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.
Maduro Vows Venezuela Will Be a 'Colony Never Again' as Trump Intensifies Threats
He has described President Donald Trump's push for regime change as a "colonial threat" to "seize" Venezuela's oil.stephen-prager (Common Dreams)
A Developer Accidentally Found CSAM in AI Data. Google Banned Him For It
A Developer Accidentally Found CSAM in AI Data. Google Banned Him For It
Google suspended a mobile app developer’s accounts after he uploaded AI training data to his Google Drive. Unbeknownst to him, the widely used dataset, which is cited in a number of academic papers and distributed via an academic file sharing site, contained child sexual abuse material. The developer reported the dataset to a child safety organization, which eventually resulted in the dataset’s removal, but he claims Google’s has been "devastating.”A message from Google said his account “has content that involves a child being sexually abused or exploited. This is a severe violation of Google's policies and might be illegal.”
The incident shows how AI training data, which is collected by indiscriminately scraping the internet, can impact people who use it without realizing it contains illegal images. The incident also shows how hard it is to identify harmful images in training data composed of millions of images, which in this case were only discovered accidentally by a lone developer who tripped Google’s automated moderation tools.
💡
Have you discovered harmful materials in AI training data ? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at @emanuel.404. Otherwise, send me an email at emanuel@404media.co.In October, I wrote about the NudeNet dataset, which contains more than 700,000 images scraped from the internet, and which is used to train AI image classifiers to automatically detect nudity. The Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) said it found more than 120 images of identified or known victims of CSAM in the dataset, including nearly 70 images focused on the genital or anal area of children who are confirmed or appear to be pre-pubescent. “In some cases, images depicting sexual or abusive acts involving children and teenagers such as fellatio or penile-vaginal penetration,” C3P said.
In October, Lloyd Richardson, C3P's director of technology, told me that the organization decided to investigate the NudeNet training data after getting a tip from an individual via its cyber tipline that it might contain CSAM. After I published that story, a developer named Mark Russo contacted me to say that he’s the individual who tipped C3P, but that he’s still suffering the consequences of his discovery.
Russo, an independent developer, told me he was working on an on-device NSFW image detector. The app runs locally and can detect images locally so the content stays private. To benchmark his tool, Russo used NudeNet, a publicly available dataset that’s cited in a number of academic papers about content moderation. Russo unzipped the dataset into his Google Drive. Shortly after, his Google account was suspended for “inappropriate material.”
On July 31, Russo lost access to all the services associated with his Google account, including his Gmail of 14 years, Firebase, the platform that serves as the backend for his apps, AdMob, the mobile app monetization platform, and Google Cloud.
“This wasn’t just disruptive — it was devastating. I rely on these tools to develop, monitor, and maintain my apps,” Russo wrote on his personal blog. “With no access, I’m flying blind.”
Russo filed an appeal of Google’s decision the same day, explaining that the images came from NudeNet, which he believed was a reputable research dataset with only adult content. Google acknowledged the appeal, but upheld its suspension, and rejected a second appeal as well. He is still locked out of his Google account and the Google services associated with it.
Russo also contacted the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and C3P. C3P investigated the dataset, found CSAM, and notified Academic Torrents, where the NudeNet dataset was hosted, which removed it.
As C3P noted at the time, NudeNet was cited or used by more than 250 academic works. A non-exhaustive review of 50 of those academic projects found 134 made use of the NudeNet dataset, and 29 relied on the NudeNet classifier or model. But Russo is the only developer we know about who was banned for using it, and the only one who reported it to an organization that investigated that dataset and led to its removal.
After I reached out for comment, Google investigated Russo’s account again and reinstated it.
“Google is committed to fighting the spread of CSAM and we have robust protections against the dissemination of this type of content,” a Google spokesperson told me in an email. “In this case, while CSAM was detected in the user account, the review should have determined that the user's upload was non-malicious. The account in question has been reinstated, and we are committed to continuously improving our processes.”
“I understand I’m just an independent developer—the kind of person Google doesn’t care about,” Russo told me. “But that’s exactly why this story matters. It’s not just about me losing access; it’s about how the same systems that claim to fight abuse are silencing legitimate research and innovation through opaque automation [...]I tried to do the right thing — and I was punished.”
Home
As Canada’s tipline for reporting online child sexual abuse and exploitation, Cybertip.ca is dedicated to reducing child victimization through technology, education, public awareness, along with supporting survivors and their families.Cybertip.ca
Scrollone likes this.
Anduril Partners With UAE Bomb Maker Accused of Arming Sudan’s Genocide
The American weapons maker Anduril says its founding purpose is to arm democratic governments to safeguard the Western way of life. The company’s official mission document, titled “Rebooting the Arsenal of Democracy,” contains 14 separate references to democracy, two more than the name of the company. Building weapons isn’t simply a matter of national security, the company argues, but a moral imperative to protect the democratic tradition. “The challenge ahead is gigantic,” the manifesto says, “but so are the rewards of success: continued peace and prosperity in the democratic world.”
Mentions of democracy are noticeably absent, however, from Anduril’s recent announcement of a new joint venture with a state-run bomb maker from an authoritarian monarchy that is facilitating a genocide.
Anduril is partnering with EDGE Group, a weapons conglomerate controlled by the United Arab Emirates, a nation run entirely by the royal families of its seven emirates that permits virtually none of the activities typically associated with democratic societies. In the UAE, free expression and association are outlawed, and dissident speech is routinely and brutally punished without due process. A 2024 assessment of political rights and civil liberties by Freedom House, a U.S. State Department-backed think tank, gave the UAE a score of 18 out of 100.
Anduril Partners With UAE Bomb Maker Accused of Arming Sudan’s Genocide
Anduril calls itself an “arsenal of democracy.” So why is it partnering with the United Arab Emirates, an authoritarian monarchy to build drones?Sam Biddle (The Intercept)
Palmer Luckey could have an Attorney General for a brother-in-law
Luckey founded the defense-tech startup Anduril Industries and the Meta-acquired Oculus VR. His sister, Ginger, is married to Gaetz.Kwan Wei Kevin Tan (Business Insider)
Why are Israeli lawmakers wearing gold nooses?
More than 110 Palestinian prisoners have died from torture and mistreatment since Itamar Ben-Gvir became Israel’s security minister. Now he wants the power to hang them.
Why are Israeli lawmakers wearing gold nooses?
Israel's national security minister wants the power to hang Palestinian detainees accused of terrorism.Al Jazeera
Danish Spy Agency Now Views US as a Possible Security Concern
Danish Spy Agency Now Views US as a Possible Security Concern
A Danish intelligence agency has for the first time described the US as a potential security risk, signaling a shift in the Nordic country’s view of its close ally amid geopolitical frictions over Greenland.Sanne Wass (Bloomberg)
"An American Americaning Americanly."
Liberals: this is not the America I know and love.
Oh you mean the America that broke every treaty it signed with the indigenous peoples?
The man behind the fall of US offshore wind
The man behind the fall of offshore wind
David Stevenson has solar on his roof and drives a hybrid. How did he become the leader of the movement that helped Trump crush offshore wind farms?Canary Media
like this
Several years ago the UK had their first day of net-zero emissions, in large part because of huge offshore wind capacity in the North Sea
More and more we heard about these days here and there where demand was lowish and wind was highish and the UK was a net energy exporter.
Now it's routine enough it's no longer news.
By all means though, please keep clawing rocks and sludge from the guts of the earth to burn for power because you associate wanton destructiveness and a lack of empathy with masculinity
... The following day, Stevenson laid out his case in an expansive and mostly empty ballroom. It’s too expensive, he argued from a lectern, and the United States was not effectively assessing its environmental impact. He suggested a plan to get the public to care about this issue: putting whales front and center.Stevenson stopped short of blaming wind companies for the spate of whale carcasses that had washed up on New Jersey and New York beaches just weeks prior. He agreed with the scientific evidence that “vessel strikes” — not wind development — were the biggest threat in that region. Still, the potential for harm to whales could be a powerful tool in federal court, he speculated, as well as in the court of public opinion.
How We’ve Resisted ICE: Street Lessons From Chicago
How We’ve Resisted ICE: Street Lessons From Chicago
“I cannot imagine doing anything else in this moment,” says community defense organizer Gabe Gonzalez.Kelly Hayes (Truthout)
reshared this
Economic growth no longer linked to carbon emissions in most of the world, study finds
Economic growth no longer linked to carbon emissions in most of the world, study finds
Analysis marking 10 years since Paris climate agreement underscores effectiveness of strong government policiesJonathan Watts (The Guardian)
like this
There's a real trend in advanced alternative (primarily solar and wind) energy production that's had legs for over a decade and proven a more profitable and stable model of electricity production than fossil fuel imports. And electrification as a measure of economic growth has been a benchmark for over a century.
The continued growth of emissions overall is still a huge problem. But this shift in development patterns has a second-order impact on public policy. As states recognize they need more energy but don't need more coal/gas to modernize, they can and will shift their public spending practices accordingly.
Particularly for the BRICS, this is a big deal. You're talking about billions of future energy consumers who are no longer equating a higher quality of life with a larger carbon footprint.
like this
The 100 Companies Responsible for 70% of Global Emissions: What Can We Do?
Hundred companies significantly contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions.Decoding Biosphere
like this
'Architects of AI' named Time Magazine's Person of the Year
'Architects of AI' named Time Magazine's Person of the Year
Nvidia boss Jensen Huang is among the influential tech figures that adorn one of the two covers.Imran Rahman-Jones (BBC News)
An Orbital House of Cards: Frequent Megaconstellation Close Conjunctions
An Orbital House of Cards: Frequent Megaconstellation Close Conjunctions
The number of objects in orbit is rapidly increasing, primarily driven by the launch of megaconstellations, an approach to satellite constellation design that involves large numbers of satellites paired with their rapid launch and disposal.arXiv.org
This paper paints a pretty grim picture of how fragile our situation in Low Earth Orbit has become, arguing that the whole orbital house of cards is one bad day away from collapsing. The authors introduce a new metric called the CRASH Clock which estimates how long it would take for a major collision to happen if we suddenly stopped doing active avoidance maneuvers. Back in 2018 that clock sat at a comfortable 121 days, meaning we had months of buffer if things went wrong. As of June 2025 that number has plummeted to just 2.8 days. That is a terrifyingly thin margin because it implies that if a massive solar storm knocked out communications or tracking for just a weekend we’d be looking at a 30% chance of a catastrophic collision.
The data shows that Starlink is the primary driver here with their 550 km shell now being denser than the debris fields from historical anti-satellite tests. The authors found that in this specific shell you’d expect a close approach of less than one kilometer every 11 minutes. It’s not just theoretical either since Starlink satellites are already performing collision avoidance maneuvers roughly every 1.8 minutes across the whole constellation. The system is basically relying on perfect operation and zero errors to keep functioning, which is exactly why the authors compare it to a house of cards.
What makes this really concerning is that we are likely already past the point of stability in some regions. The paper suggests that altitudes above 600 km and specifically the main Starlink shell are already dense enough to support a runaway chain reaction of collisions. Even if a full Kessler Syndrome event takes decades to play out a single major collision now would be like an Exxon Valdez moment for space, creating a mess that forces everyone to operate in a much riskier environment immediately. The 2.8-day buffer is barely enough time to recover from a major geomagnetic storm, let alone a systemic failure, and the fact that we let the margin for error shrink from four months to three days in just seven years is a massive failure of orbital management.
One guy files Impeachment articles against RFK Jr., claiming abuse of power
He “has got to go,” Stevens said in a video announcing the impeachment articles. In an accompanying press statement, she said Kennedy, who rose to prominence as an ardent anti-vaccine activist, “has turned his back on science, on public health, and on the American people—spreading conspiracies and lies, driving up costs, and putting lives at risk.” She called him the “biggest self-created threat to our health and safety.”It is very unlikely that an impeachment push will gain traction in the Republican-controlled Congress. No other Democratic lawmakers are backing the articles.
Impeachment articles filed against RFK Jr., claiming abuse of power
He’s the “biggest self-created threat to our health and safety,” Stevens said.Beth Mole (Ars Technica)
California's cap and trade gets a new name [Cap & Invest] and a new mission beyond cutting carbon pollution
Opinion | Cap and trade gets a new name and a new mission
Revenues from the state's carbon emissions auction will be used for high speed rail, wildfire suppression and discretionary spending.Dan Walters (CalMatters)
First: fuck this bullshit. This is such a common problem with market-based solutions. I'm a big proponent of them, but you really need to keep politicians from doing this. The goal is phasing out fossil fuels. The money absolutely should be going to projects that fulfill that goal. This is not a piggy bank.
Second:
"While supporters ballyhoo the bullet train as something that would have a major impact on emissions by reducing auto traffic, the High Speed Rail Authority’s own projections indicate that, were it to be fully completed, it would reduce automobile emissions by scarcely 1%. Meanwhile construction actually increases emissions."
This doesn't quite pass the sniff test. You're telling me that if you built a zero-emissions mode of high speed transit along one of the most trafficked routes in the state that there would be no change in emissions? Are the ridership projections zero? Did the model say that for every driver who choses to take the train instead of driving, a new driver will take their place? Is this factoring in the effect on airline emissions from people who train instead of fly? This just sounds like that monologue from Landman where Billy Bob Thorton's character confidently declares a bunch of facts about climate reduction that the writer thought sounded good.
Alright, I just wasted a bunch of time I should've been working looking into this, and here is the HSRA's most recent report on the subject: hsr.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/…
From the relevant section, pg 58:
With high-speed rail, the annual GHG emissions reductions are projected to be 0.6 to 3 million MTCO2e. based on 2024 Business Plan ridership models. This reduction is equivalent to the annual carbon emissions associated with the energy use of between 77,000 and 372,000 homes – more than the housing stock of San Jose. The cumulative reductions in well-to-wheels emissions over the first 50 years of operations are projected to be between 29 million and 142 million MTCO2e.
I wish they'd provided a percent reduction in vehicle emissions, but according to another source (ww2.arb.ca.gov/ghg-inventory-d…), in 2023, transportation emissions in California were 137 million metric tons of CO2. The average of the range comes out to around 1.3% of that range.
That's interesting. I wonder what fraction of transit emissions are from passenger travel across the state, vs commercial hauling and inner city traffic. I still think this is an obviously necessary step, but I'm curious what other actions are needed to take care of the other 99% of transit emissions. Perhaps urban public transit and bike infrastructure.
Current California GHG Emission Inventory Data | California Air Resources Board
2000-2023 GHG Inventory (2025 Edition)ww2.arb.ca.gov
EU offers simpler rules to comply with methane law after US pressure
* archive.today
* ghostarchive.org
"The Commission has identified solutions for a simple and predictable implementation," the Commission document said.One option would let companies comply using certificates bought from a third-party verifier, which would assign the imported gas an emissions value at its production location.
The second option is a "trace and claim" method, in which volumes of fuel are assigned a digital ID, which is attached to all sale and purchase agreements as the oil or gas moves through the value chain from producer to, eventually, the final buyer.
The changes do not amend the main requirements of the methane law - which will become increasingly strict over time. From 2027, it will make compliance with methane rules equivalent to those of the EU a requirement for new gas supply contracts.
I don't really read this as "offering simpler rules". It looks like they're explaining how to verify the origin of methane after the US falsely claims it would be impossible.
A controversial Oakland, California port development moves forward after city loses ‘coal war’
A controversial Oakland port development moves forward after city loses 'coal war'
“At this point, it’s just another development project,” Oakland’s top administrator said. “The city has exercised all its legal options.”Shomik Mukherjee (The Mercury News)
"StopAntisemitism": The Zionist Gestapo that must be stopped through solidarity
About a month ago the Zionist censorship machine led by depraved scumbag Liora Rez and her “StopAntiSemitism” account that trawls random people’s social media, found an Instagram account of a neurologist who had shared one of my posts. This led to a Zionist mass doxing and smear campaign to have her fired, and soon she was forced to resign. A deluge of death threats by Zionists went along with this of course.
Recently I got an email from a local reporter doing a story on this, asking me for comment, and I sent her the response added in the image, with the request to forward my message to her. This was done, and soon after Michelle Bravo sent me a very kind email back. Here is the email I sent in response to the reporter:
This is the only way these Zionist Gestapo tactics can be stopped: solidarity with those who are targeted by it. If those are targeted are not subject to isolation, ostracizing, and, crucially, financial and material damages to their lives, then the weapon is made impotent. Then it no longer carries any weight at all. In fact, being targeted by it can be used as a badge of honor: Look, the Zionist Gestapo is coming after me, this proves that I am actually principled and have minimum morality, ethics and decency as a person. Just like Ms Rachel and all the others who are the targets of this deranged Liora Rez scumbag.
For everyone else who knows just how disgusting and vile Liora Rez is, and btw as I said in my email response she is funded by Zionist billionaire scum like Adam Milstein, you know that this vast Zionist censorship industrial complex, which goes against everyone no matter what your ideological background or politics, must always in all circumstances be opposed. Just like they are indiscriminate in who they target, we must be indiscriminate in upholding the principle that these scum cannot be allowed to censor, blacklist and fire people on behalf of their precious genocidal Israeli death and rape-cult, the sole thing they are loyal to.
To that end, I ask you all to donate to Michelle Bravo. I told her that she incurred a lot of costs due to this Zionist censorship campaign, and she should pursue any means she can to fight it. She made a Gofundme for this purpose, and I encourage you all to donate however much you can to it. gofundme.com/f/stand-with-dr-b…
"StopAntisemitism": The Zionist Gestapo that must be stopped through solidarity
Before I detail what happened to neurologist Michelle Bravo when she became the target of a Zionist fascist smear operation by Liora Rez of the “StopAntisemitism” Zionist Gestapo operation, I want to share her donation link, and ask you all to consid…Zei Squirrel (Squirrel Notes)
Cyberattack Reportedly Paralyzes Russia’s Military Registration Database
Cyberattack Reportedly Paralyzes Russia’s Military Registration Database
Anonymous hackers have breached a key developer of Russia’s digital military draft system, the head of the draft-dodging nonprofit Idite Lesom said Thursday.The Moscow Times
Cyberattack Reportedly Paralyzes Russia’s Military Registration Database
Cyberattack Reportedly Paralyzes Russia’s Military Registration Database
Anonymous hackers have breached a key developer of Russia’s digital military draft system, the head of the draft-dodging nonprofit Idite Lesom said Thursday.The Moscow Times
Amnesty joins in on the debunked rape hoax to give Israel a well needed PR boost
For those out of the loop:
Rape hoax redux: Debunking the latest relaunch of a genocidal atrocity propaganda lie
Rape hoax redux: Debunking the latest relaunch of a genocidal atrocity propaganda lie
Today the Israeli death and rape-cult that has actually been engaged in systematic pedophilic gang-rape of Palestinian children, girls, boys, women and men is going to desperately try to re-launch the genocidal atrocity propaganda rape hoax.Zei Squirrel (Squirrel Notes)
I en artikel i SVD som handlar om EU, Elon Musk och plattformen X samt de böter som EU dömt ut till X Corp står det:
Elon Musk rasade på X efter beskedet att EU-kommissionen bötfäller hans plattform med 120 miljoner euro.
– Kommissionen har slagit ned på tre punkter, samtliga handlar om bristande transparens, säger Carl Heath senior forskare på forskningsinstitutet Rise.
blog.zaramis.se/2025/12/11/dag…
Montana youth activists who won landmark climate case push for court enforcement
In 2023, court ruled in favor of 16 plaintiffs that officials violated their constitutional right by promoting fossil fuels
WatDabney
in reply to silence7 • • •