Probably posted lots before but it’s the first chapter of “Ministry for the Future”, which describes the tipping point. It’s uncomfortable reading. https://www.orbitbooks.net/orbit-excerpts/the-ministry-for-the-future/

Why are men running women’s sports?

better yet, why couldn’t someone design a printer that can be 3D printed and use open source firmware?

I like Lemmy and Mastodon. No ads or manipulative algorithms. Somewhat social and usually polite. Turns out that when you don’t automate the incitement of anger and invective in clever ways that people can actually be pretty civil. Whoda thunk?

Great photo. Such a beautiful spot.

recently bought 2 of the beelink mini PCs - they seem pretty solid so far - they are quite a bit more expensive than the pi but I think they offer pretty good bang for the buck for a small form factor server.

War! What is it good for? It’s good for business! – Billy Bragg (“North Sea Bubble”)

https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/9780531

They won the case.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/14/montana-climate-trial-young-activists-judge-order

to be fair, the article specifically references “toxic males” and is focused on the challenges for young men in particular. What seems obviously lacking in the story is any reference to the diminished economic potential that all young people face. 30 years ago education and housing were somewhat reasonably priced and and generally available to all. Economic stress is a huge factor and immediate source of stress and anxiety that is completely ignored in the article. How is one supposed to feel ‘cocky’ while struggling to keep their head above water financially?

I did not know until now that it is possible to embed external images within posts and replies. I thought the only option was to upload to your instance.

this is bothersome, but if you use a VPN then at least there’s that.

otherwise it’s feasible to track captured addresses based on which posts they read by posting an external image in the post or a reply.

if you are seeing images in this post, then your client address is visible to any external image hosts.

no. the remote server will log the requests based on the client address. it is a good argument for using a vpn.

is your router’s dns definitely pointed to the pihole and was the router rebooted after that was set?

Interesting read. Thanks.

About time. Well done. More to follow, hopefully.

The BBC just set up their own Mastodon instance: https://social.bbc/@BBC_News_Labs

"The ABC has received queries about the presence of an ABC news team at yesterday’s protest action at the home of Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill.

A Four Corners team attended the protest action to gather material for a potential report later this year.

Just prior to the action the team received a tip to go to an address, they had no knowledge what was at the address or that it was someone’s house.

They had no knowledge of what action was going to occur there.

When they arrived the police were already in attendance, in numbers.

The ABC team remained on public land observing what was happening and getting some vision, as journalists do.

They at no time went on to private property or had any involvement in what was happening.

The ABC team in no way colluded with the activists.

Update on 4 August 2023: In response to concerns that have been raised, the ABC is conducting a detailed examination of the circumstances surrounding this matter."

https://about.abc.net.au/statements/abc-statement-on-woodside-protest-action/

what an amazing site - thanks!

“The ATACMS is an all-weather, inertially-guided surface-to-surface missile first used in the 1990s that can intercept high-value targets up to 300 kilometers (186 miles) away.”

from Wikipedia:

The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is a tactical ballistic missile manufactured by the US defense company Lockheed Martin.

In March 1986, Ling-Temco-Vought won the contract for the missile design. The system was assigned the MGM-140 designation. The first test launch came two years later, thanks to earlier experience of the company with previous programs.

The first use of the ATACMS in combat was during Operation Desert Storm in 1991

In 2007, the U.S. Army terminated the ATACMS program due to cost, ending the ability to replenish stocks. To sustain the remaining inventory, the ATACMS Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) was launched, which refurbishes or replaces propulsion and navigation systems, replaces cluster munition warheads with the unitary blast fragmentation warhead, and adds a proximity fuze option to obtain area effects. Deliveries were projected to start in 2018. The ATACMS SLEP is a bridging initiative to provide time to complete analysis and development of a successor capability to the aging ATACMS stockpile, which could be ready around 2022.

Business, evidently, is brisk:

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia announced Thursday it will boost its defense capabilities by spending more than AU$1 billion (U.S. $683 million) on new advanced missile and rocket systems, including American-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems

WASHINGTON ― The U.S. State Department has approved Poland to buy advanced rockets and rocket launchers worth $10 billion, marking the latest such order from Eastern European allies in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of HIMARS rocket systems to Estonia, missiles to Norway and torpedoes to South Korea in separate deals that could be worth more than $1.5 billion in all, the Pentagon said on Friday.

In a June 24 release, the U.S. Department of Defense announced a $562 million sale of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to Bahrain, Poland, and Romania. First fielded in 1986, the ATACMS surface-to-surface missile can deliver a 160-560 kg warhead at ranges up to 300 km. The contract is scheduled for completion in June 2022.

On October 21, the U.S. State Department approved the sale of 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and 135 AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) missiles to Taiwan. On October 26, the United States also approved the sale to Taiwan of up to 400 RGM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II missiles. The sales are valued at $436 million, $1 billion, and $2.37 billion respectively

Meanwhile…

More than 1,600 Australians pushed into homelessness each month as housing crisis deepens, report finds.

But of course, Australia, geographically distant, is increasingly central in the growing, multifaceted contest with China

And so, Australia’s biggest consultancy firms were awarded contracts worth $3.7 billion from the Australian Defence Force during the past decade], analysis shows.

Surprising - and this is only for LNG extraction and shipment. It doesn’t count the combustion at point of use.