Interesting News, Articles & Stuff

[florduh]

One of American History's most unlikable losers has chimed in again.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1788637341541679256

This dummy:

1) Voted for the Iraq War. I'm sure she thought the college kids protesting against that war back then were dumb too. They were 100% right and she was disastrously wrong.

2) Personally spearheaded America stabbing Gaddafi in the back with a violent coup. Her exact quote was "We came, we saw, he died [villainous, cackling laughter]". Libya is now a humanitarian disaster with open slave markets in the 21st century.

3) Lost a layup election to an absolute clown, plunging America into a bizarre dark age we may never escape from. Her only job ever has been Politics, a pursuit she is insanely bad at.

If this was my humiliating and atrocious résumé, I would at least have enough shame and self-awareness to go away and shut the fuck up forever

 

[GetLeft]

Lost a layup election to an absolute clown

and to think in an alternate universe biden could have been the democratic nominee

plunging America into a bizarre dark age we may never escape from

lest we forget billie boy whose tryst with an intern plunged America into a prior dark age

go away and shut the fuck up forever

x 10

 

[florduh]

and to think in an alternate universe biden could have been the democratic nominee

I don't remember the exact palace intrigue, but he was going to run. And he would've won in a landslide! 2016 was before his brain turned to soup.

For all the sexism allegations he put up with, Bernie begged Elizabeth Warren to run in 2016 too. He only threw his hat in because she refused. I also think she would've won. IMO, Democrats went with maybe the only person in their party capable of losing to that dipshit game show host. And now the whole world has to keep suffering the consequences.

 

[Bologna]

Online Harms Act (Bill C-63): CCLA Joins Civil Society Call to Separate Parts Two and Three from the Bill - CCLA

On May 7, 2024, CCLA joined a call by civil society organizations, academics and experts to ask the government to separate Parts Two and Three of the Bill so that they may be subject to independent parliamentary consideration.

ccla.org

 

[florduh]

World’s top climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target

Exclusive: Planet is headed for at least 2.5C of heating with disastrous results for humanity, poll of hundreds of scientists finds

www.theguardian.com

We're basically in a situation where every astronomer on earth is saying that a comet is about to hit the Earth. Best case scenario, life will be significantly worse for every human being. There is also a very real chance it could end human civilization as we know it. And no one really seems to give a shit.

 

[CANtalk]

A severe solar storm is bringing an incredible aurora forecast for Friday tonight! go Canada

Northern lights expected to be the most intense in 30 years

Scientists say the northern lights may be the strongest they’ve been in 30 years.

www.newsnationnow.com

Severe solar storm expected to supercharge northern lights on Friday

The Space Weather Prediction Center has issued its first "severe geomagnetic storm watch" since 2005. Auroras might be seen as far south as Alabama.

www.nbcnews.com

Solar storms could create rare aurora displays, impact communications on Earth this weekend

A series of solar flares and coronal mass ejections from the sun have the potential to create dazzling auroras that may be seen as far south as Alabama and Northern California.

www.abcactionnews.com

 

[coolbreeze]

World’s top climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target

Exclusive: Planet is headed for at least 2.5C of heating with disastrous results for humanity, poll of hundreds of scientists finds

www.theguardian.com

We're basically in a situation where every astronomer on earth is saying that a comet is about to hit the Earth. Best case scenario, life will be significantly worse for every human being. There is also a very real chance it could end human civilization as we know it. And no one really seems to give a shit.

Ever wonder what the Great Filter looks like? We're looking at it.

 

[sedentree]

This is quite long, 30 minutes or so, but fairly interesting discussion and comparison of British newspapers

 

[LordOfTheVapes]

And no one really seems to give a shit.

 

[macbill]

Trump White House aide Steve Bannon loses appeal of contempt of Congress conviction​

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/10/appeals-court-upholds-steve-bannon-contempt-of-congress-conviction.html

 

[CANtalk]

Louisiana Court Blocks Congressional Map That Fixed Racial Discrimination Against Black Voters After White Voters Sue, Claiming It Damaged Their ‘Personal Dignity’​

Louisiana Court Blocks Congressional Map That Fixed Racial Discrimination Against Black Voters After White Voters Sue, Claiming It Damaged Their 'Personal Dignity'

A federal court recently blocked Louisiana’s new congressional map, overturning the state’s second majority-Black district and potentially favoring

atlantablackstar.com

 

[florduh]

Astronomers are on the Hunt for Dyson Spheres

In the Kardashev Scale, a Type II Civilization would build a Dyson Sphere around their star. A team of astronomers are searching for them.

www.universetoday.com

In a study published in the Oxford journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Academy of Sciences, a group of scientists have found 7 possible stars that may be surrounded by a Dyson Sphere.

It looks like many of the 7 candidates are within a few hundred lightyears of Earth. IMO, it's bad news if there are aliens advanced enough to surround an entire star or star system with a megastructure that close to us

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

Astronomers are on the Hunt for Dyson Spheres

In the Kardashev Scale, a Type II Civilization would build a Dyson Sphere around their star. A team of astronomers are searching for them.

www.universetoday.com

In a study published in the Oxford journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Academy of Sciences, a group of scientists have found 7 possible stars that may be surrounded by a Dyson Sphere.

It looks like many of the 7 candidates are within a few hundred lightyears of Earth. IMO, it's bad news if there are aliens advanced enough to surround an entire star or star system with a megastructure that close to us

I'm convinced that a Dyson sphere would devastate the natural ecosystem of any livable planet in this specific solar system.

Can you imagine a world that is 100% artificial ? That's what we're talking about. How would it be to live on this world ? Wouldn't life degenerate at one point ?
Life can't rely only on technology. Life is about balance between a billions parameters and complexes cycles. But moreover life is biodiversity : a total intrication of life beings at any scale. Life need this diversity and I can't imagine a Dyson sphere could be compatible with maintaining that level of diversity and balance.

 

[florduh]

I'm convinced that a Dyson sphere would devastate the natural ecosystem of any livable planet in this specific solar system.

I think you're right, if you literally build an impenetrable shell around an entire star system. Wouldn't that eventually cook everything inside?

There are other options though.

How to Build a Dyson Swarm

To anyone infatuated with science fiction, a Dyson sphere might be the Holy Grail.

www.space.com

A Dyson Swarm would involve millions or billions of tiny satellites that harvest much, but not all of the energy produced by a star. I don't think something like that would kill everything living in the star system.

I didn't read the entire paper, but I believe many of those Dyson Sphere candidates are probably not inhabited systems. Aliens may have thrown up a sphere around only the star, not an entire solar system. And are simply exporting that energy to their home system or using it for some other project.

A few years ago, there was another a paper published suggesting it is possible to harvest the energy of a black hole.

Advanced Civilizations Could be Using Dyson Spheres to Collect Energy From Black Holes. Here's how we Could Detect Them

Black holes are more than just massive objects that swallow everything around them – they’re also one of the universe’s biggest and most stable energy sources. That would make them invaluable to the type of civilization that needs huge amounts of power, such as a Type II Kardashev civilization...

www.universetoday.com

I think the most interesting aspect of the recent Dyson Sphere paper though is the authors' idea that there is evidence of massive alien engineering projects hiding in data we've already collected.

While I think discovering such structures nearby would be bad, maybe I'm wrong. Given the age and size of our galaxy, it is creepy that we haven't found a single example of an alien species becoming advanced enough to build these structures. So far, it looks like something prevents life from reaching that level of development.

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

So far, it looks like something prevents life from reaching that level of development.

That's what some people think and they are really convincing.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016328724000624

To me this just reveal how much we should focus on our own planet and ecosystem and start treating it like it should be : the most precious thing we will ever have.

imho, infinite technological development is something that will destroy social development and natural resources, making it impossible not to threaten our civilization if not our entire planet.

 

[florduh]

imho, infinite technological development is something that will destroy social development and natural resources, making it impossible not to threaten our civilization if not our entire planet.

I somewhat disagree. Technological progress isn't the problem. Our economic system is. A system that prioritizes shareholder value over everything else and demands infinite growth within a finite system.

For example, the invention of cold fusion would be a boon to human and non-human life on Earth.

To me this just reveal how much we should focus on our own planet and ecosystem and start treating it like it should be : the most precious thing we will ever have.

Completely agree here. We all rolled a Natural 7 being born on this paradise planet and look what we're doing. I think we can have a prosperous technologically advanced society that also preserves the natural world for future generations. But we can't have that AND our current conception of capitalism.

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

I somewhat disagree. Technological progress isn't the problem. Our economic system is. A system that prioritizes shareholder value over everything else and demands infinite growth within a finite system.

For example, the invention of cold fusion would be a boon to human and non-human life on Earth.

Agree to disagree. I'm pretty sure technological progress isn't sustainable at all. Cold fusion seem to be a myth. But even if it's not, how do you invent it and how do you make it accessible to all humans beings without extracting gigatons of metals and others needed elements ? With which energy do you extract the copper needed to vehicle electricity ? How do you make this copper available all around the world ?

(Edit : says the guy typing on a computer).

Locally sourced Low tech could be sustainable. But we're back to the XVIII th century.

 

[Bologna]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1789448225788711414

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1789661928278630603

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1789660021325803992

 

[TigoleBitties]

I somewhat disagree. Technological progress isn't the problem. Our economic system is. A system that prioritizes shareholder value over everything else and demands infinite growth within a finite system.

For example, the invention of cold fusion would be a boon to human and non-human life on Earth.

Agree to disagree. I'm pretty sure technological progress isn't sustainable at all. Cold fusion seem to be a myth. But even if it's not, how do you invent it and how do you make it accessible to all humans beings without extracting gigatons of metals and others needed elements ? With which energy do you extract the copper needed to vehicle electricity ? How do you make this copper available all around the world ?

(Edit : says the guy typing on a computer).

Locally sourced Low tech could be sustainable. But we're back to the XVIII th century.

Technological progress poses problems but not because of anything inherent in the technology. A knife can be used to cut steak or to kill someone. It's a neutral object. I submit it's the user that's the problem.

We could blame our economic system but who is behind the systems in place? People created them.

We are the problem it seems. If you believe in evolution (hope so!) you will find it interesting that homo sapiens outcompeted or interbred and were the last of the all the hominins left standing.

I think we're innately tribal and we compete for resources still every day. It seems very easy to trigger the "us" and "them" response in humans unfortunately. We've been at war with each other since our existence.

I don't know if our supposed advantage, our big brains, will ever allow us to rise above this behavior that seems imprinted in our DNA.

 

[cybrguy]

"Trump’s own supporters are leaving during his rally right now while he’s speaking. This is embarrassing for him. (per
@aliyareports)"

These are probably the ones who were paid money to show up for the cameras, but were only paid an hour so left at the end of the hour.

 

[florduh]

I think we're innately tribal and we compete for resources still every day. It seems very easy to trigger the "us" and "them" response in humans unfortunately. We've been at war with each other since our existence.

I don't know if our supposed advantage, our big brains, will ever allow us to rise above this behavior that seems imprinted in our DNA.

I think this is more or less the old argument for capitalism that humans are naturally greedy and cruel. To that I say...so what? Rape is perfectly natural. No one during Neanderthal times would have a moral issue with rape. But 99% of people living today find rape to be reprehensible. So we pass laws against this perfectly "natural" behavior.

Maybe humans are naturally tribal, cruel and greedy. Does that mean we should build an economic system that encourages and rewards these behaviors? To me, that is insane.

The fact is, none of this is written in the sky or our DNA.

Edit: I just want to make sure I'm not coming across like a dick to you guys ( @TigoleBitties and @Radwin Bodnic). You guys are clearly correct. We're not doing a good job at this whole technologically advanced global civilization thing. I'm just saying, I don't think it HAS to be that way.

 

[macbill]

Musk's SpaceX is quick to build in Texas, slow to pay its bills​

Unpaid bills and finger-pointing among contractors, Reuters found, have led many construction-industry businesses to file liens against SpaceX properties in efforts to get compensated.

Federal court case could decide if terminal patients may use psilocybin

UCLA and Johns Hopkins have conducted research into the effects of the mushroom-derived drug.

www.scrippsnews.com

 

[TigoleBitties]

I think this is more or less the old argument for capitalism that humans are naturally greedy and cruel. To that I say...so what? Rape is perfectly natural. No one during Neanderthal times would have a moral issue with rape. But 99% of people living today find rape to be reprehensible. So we pass laws against this perfectly "natural" behavior.

No, not at all. That's an example of us evolving in a good direction. Prohibiting rape. Sadly, these advances take a glacial amount of time and human rights advances that are won can easily be stripped away in many countries. Abortion anyone?

Maybe humans are naturally tribal, cruel and greedy.

Well, all historical evidence so far sadly does seem to indicate this. At the very least, the most greedy and most tribal have a disproportionate influence.

Does that mean we should build an economic system that encourages and rewards these behaviors? To me, that is insane.

I don't think we should do this. However it's not just my decision.
So we get a bunch of people together and call them a government and have them hammer out the economic system. What happens in every case? Put enough humans together and tribalism, greed, whatever you want to call it, leads to corruption far, far more often than not. Not saying we can't get better but our track record isn't encouraging.

We have inertia along this path and objects in motion, tend to stay in motion... It's sad.

The fact is, none of this is written in the sky or our DNA.

Edit: I just want to make sure I'm not coming across like a dick to you guys ( @TigoleBitties and @Radwin Bodnic). You guys are clearly correct. We're not doing a good job at this whole technologically advanced global civilization thing. I'm just saying, I don't think it HAS to be that way.

No offense taken! I love the discourse. I don't know if it's written in our DNA that we're doomed for sure. No one does. But imo the data is discouraging.

 

[macbill]

Yacht sinks after latest incident involving orcas in strait of Gibraltar

Vessel measuring 15 metres in length sank after encounter with the animals, Spain’s maritime rescue service reports

www.theguardian.com

there have been nearly 700 interactions since orca attacks on ships in the region were first reported in May 2020.

 

[florduh]

Yacht sinks after latest incident involving orcas in strait of Gibraltar

Vessel measuring 15 metres in length sank after encounter with the animals, Spain’s maritime rescue service reports

www.theguardian.com

there have been nearly 700 interactions since orca attacks on ships in the region were first reported in May 2020.

WE ARE SO BACK