Beautyland. By Marie-Helene Bertino.
You are a girl, then woman, growing up quite certain you have an alien soul, though the only evidence you have of this are faxed communications from your dying home planet which seek to understand humanity (so you become a writer).
4 of 5 library cats 📠 📠 📠 📠.
@bookstodon #books #bookstodon #reading #scifi #newyork #philadelphia #writing
bookstodon group reshared this.
Na de crisisjaren raken Grieken gewend aan het nieuwe normaal. Maar leuker is het niet geworden
Griekse economie: Met de overheidsfinanciën gaat het stukken beter. Maar de economie is nog lang niet terug op het niveau van voor de crisis.Marloes de Koning (NRC)
La bonne action du jour: faire et imprimer une affiche proposant des solutions alternatives aux services privateurs, et la coller de partout au boulot dès demain.
Sources LibreOffice et PDF disponible évidemment, public domaine CC-0
Hands Off!
Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. They're taking everything they can get their hands on and daring the world to stop them.Hands Off!
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"Basically, if there wasn’t a “deep state” before, they’ve certainly done their damnedest to create one.”
Terrorizing our fellow Americans | Fred Wellman
fpwellman.substack.com/p/terro…
#TrumpDeepState #RussVought #EndTrumpNow #EndDOGENow #USPol
Terrorizing our fellow Americans
Russ Vought promised to traumatize Federal workers, and it's happeningFPWellman (On Democracy with FPWellman Substack Community)
Student loans, #SpecialEducation to move out of #Education Dept
#Trump continued his push to unwind the US Dept of Education, announcing that the management of the entire federal #StudentLoan portfolio & of the dept's "special needs" programs would be moved to other #FederalAgencies immediately.
#USpol #corruption #law #regulation #PublicIntegrity #kleptocracy
npr.org/2025/03/21/nx-s1-53363…
Appearing in the Oval w/ #Defense Secy #PeteHegseth, #Trump said,“I've decided that the #SBA, the Small Business Administration, headed by #KellyLoeffler, a terrific person, will handle all of the student loan portfolio. We have a portfolio that's very large,"Trump said.
[recall #KellyLoeffler was embroiled in an #InsiderTrading investigation during #COVID after Trump repeatedly downplayed the #pandemic she & other #Republicans invested in #PPE that was in high demand after it spread unchecked]
The federal #StudentLoan portfolio — which includes about $1.6T in loans for ~43M borrowers — is currently overseen by the #Education Dept's office of Federal #Student #Aid (#FSA). That office has been gutted by the recent raft of buyouts, early retirements & last week's broad reduction-in-force [#RIF].
It was not clear, based on #Trump's announcement, how or if the remaining employees & expertise at FSA would be transferred to the SBA.
#USpol #Musk #DOGE #law #regulation #kleptocracy
#Trump said he would move #StudentLoans "out of the Dept of #Education immediately" & that #KellyLoeffler & her staff are "all set for it. They're waiting for it. It'll be serviced much better than it has in the past. It's been a mess."
~8M federal #StudentLoan borrowers are in #legal limbo, not making loan payments, as #Biden-era repayment plans were frozen by a judge for being *potentially* illegal. Borrowers also can't currently enroll in the govt's income-driven repayment plans….
#law
In a statement, #KellyLoeffler said, "As the government's largest guarantor of business loans, the #SBA stands ready to deploy its resources & expertise on behalf of America's #taxpayers & #students."
But those resources are about to take a big hit as well, as the SBA also announced on Friday that it plans to cut its workforce by more than 40%.
[a “break it then say it should be shut down because it’s broken” philosophy]
#USpol #Trump #Musk #DOGE #law #kleptocracy #corruption #StudentLoans
Multiple sources at #FSA who could not speak publicly for fear of #retribution said they were blindsided by the news.
Logistical challenges aside, the role of the office of Federal #Student #Aid as the administrator of the #StudentLoan portfolio is protected by #law. It's not clear how these responsibilities could be #legally moved w/o a vote of #Congress. [not that #Trump cares]
#USpol #Musk #DOGE #law #FederalAgencies #Education #StudentLoans #regulation #kleptocracy #corruption
…As recently as Thurs, WH press sec Karoline Leavitt had assured reporters that, "when it comes to #StudentLoans & #PellGrants, those will still be run out of the Dept of #Education."
After announcing these potential changes to the federal student loan portfolio, #Trump then said, "Bobby Kennedy, the Health &Human Services [secretary], will be handling special needs," referring to #RFKJr. [😱]
#SpecialEducation #kakistocracy #USpol #Musk #DOGE #law #FederalAgencies #regulation #corruption
This appears to be a reference to the federal #law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (#IDEA), which the #Education Dept administers. The law guarantees students w/ #disabilities the right to a #free, appropriate education &, in 2024, sent ~$15B to schools to help pay for #SpecialEducation services. The law also makes clear that it is the secretary of education's responsibility to administer these funds.
In a social media post, Sen #PattyMurray, D-WA, called the potential changes "a clear violation of #education & #appropriations #law."
The Education Dept has a dedicated Office of #SpecialEducation & Rehabilitative Services, &, as w/the federal #StudentLoan portfolio, it's unclear how these collective responsibilities on behalf of #children w/ #disabilities could be moved legally w/o a vote of #Congress.
#kakistocracy #USpol #Trump #RFKJr #Musk #DOGE #regulation #kleptocracy #corruption
In a social media post, #HHS Secy #RFKJr said his agency "is fully prepared to take on the responsibility of supporting individuals with special needs."
Not everyone was convinced.
"This is NOT a minor bureaucratic reorganization — it is a fundamental redefinition of how our country treats #children with #disabilities," said Keri Rodrigues, president of the National #Parents Union, which represents >1,800 parent orgs across the country.
erictopol.substack.com/p/the-b…
Open-access, in the new edition of Ground Truths
The Business of Promoting Longevity and Healthspan
A crop of new consumer-facing companies with unconventional data collectionEric Topol (Ground Truths)
Until now, scientists have mostly ignored shared silences between romantic partners, concentrating on verbal exchanges: how to discuss feelings, negotiate needs and deal with conflict. But according to new research, silence can be a powerful communicator for couples.
knowablemagazine.org/content/a…
#KnowableMagazine
#ScienceMastodon
amazon.com/dp/B0CP66WRW9?ref=t…
Here's the difference between dogs and cats.
You feed a dog, and it goes "You feed me! You must be God!"
You feed a cat, and it goes "You feed me! I must be God!"
Your cats aren't favoring the new feeder as a God. They are favoriting it as their most dedicated worshipper.
Regardless, check your shoes before you stick your feet in them, because you've been relegated to the lowest class.
@lowqualityfacts
European Leaders Move Forward On Ukraine Support, Isolating Hungary’s Orbán
In a clear sign of the mounting tensions within the European Union, leaders adopted conclusions supporting Ukraine at the European Council on March 20, 2025, excluding Hungary from the discussions once again.BYTESEU (Bytes Europe)
1. The military has announced in a new filing that it will ask all soldiers if they have "symptoms" of being transgender. The filing appears designed to target both out transgender people, as well as those living closeted or stealth. Subscribe to support my journalism.
Military Will Now Ask Soldiers...
Military Will Now Ask Soldiers If They Have "Symptoms" Of Being Trans
The document, filed in the Trump military ban court cases, raises more questions than it answers.Erin Reed (Erin In The Morning)
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US tourism industry faces drop-off as immigration agenda deters travellers (Robert Tait/The Guardian)
theguardian.com/us-news/2025/m…
memeorandum.com/250322/p36#a25…
US tourism industry faces drop-off as immigration agenda deters travellers
Westerners increasingly hesitant to travel to US out of fear of arrests and detentions as Trump enforces crackdownRobert Tait (The Guardian)
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Acoustic Levitation Gets Insects Ready For Their Close-Up
The average Hackaday reader is likely at least familiar with acoustic levitation — a technique by which carefully arranged ultrasonic transducers can be used to suspend an object in the …read more
#hacking #projects
hackaday.com/2025/03/22/acoust…
Acoustic Levitation Gets Insects Ready For Their Close-Up
The average Hackaday reader is likely at least familiar with acoustic levitation — a technique by which carefully arranged ultrasonic transducers can be used to suspend an object in the air i…Hackaday
The Montreal SPCA says a weekend crow-hunting tournament near Quebec City has no place in the province.
#hunting #wildlife #animals #controversy #Quebec #Montreal
cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/qu…
President Zelensky arrived in Donetsk region. He visited the command post of the tactical group "Pokrovsk" and received a report on the defense of the Pokrovsk direction, the operational situation, and the fulfillment of tasks.
"Commanders Madjar, Achilles, Hasan, Veres, and Zemlyak reported on the initial results of the 'Drone Line' operation in the Kursk region, as well as in Donetsk and other key areas. I thank everyone who helps Ukraine," the President noted.
#AureFreePress #News #press
No Gods , no Masters! RESIST reshared this.
Absinthe
in reply to Fla • • •Fla
in reply to Absinthe • • •F Audirac
in reply to Fla • • •@Absinthe
Paul
in reply to F Audirac • • •Tuta
in reply to Paul • • •F-Droid
Unknown parent • • •bazil ⏚
in reply to Fla • • •Par contre Friendica l'est.
bazil ⏚
in reply to bazil ⏚ • • •Fla
in reply to bazil ⏚ • • •bazil ⏚
in reply to Fla • • •Fla
in reply to bazil ⏚ • • •Et encore une fois, cette infographie est trompeuse : mettre l'e-mail, même avec DeltaChat, comme étant chiffré avec un pouce vert...
Je suis pour le décentralisé, mais il faut être + honnête.
BohwaZ
in reply to Fla • • •@bazil
Fla
in reply to BohwaZ • • •@bohwaz @bazil
Microsoft : Je ne sais pas d'où tu tiens cette info mais je n'ai jamais rien vu de tel, je veux bien des détails.
Amazon : Signal est hébergé chez AWS. C'est clairement un choix discutable, en théorie ca ne pose pas de problème de sécurité puisque personne ne peut déchiffrer les messages, mais ca pose un problème de dépendance. J'espère qu'ils ont un plan B si les choses se corsent, j'imagine qu'ils sont là-bas pour des questions de coûts.
BohwaZ
in reply to Fla • • •@bazil C'est marqué clairement dans la doc du serveur, c'est fait pour marcher sur l'infra AWS, ça repose sur les technos proprio AWS, comme DynamoDB.
D'autre part le code du serveur n'est parfois pas mis à dispo pendant de longues périodes, genre quand ils ont fait leur crypto monnaie le code était caché pendant plus d'un an…
BohwaZ
in reply to BohwaZ • • •Signal updates open-source server code after it failed to for nearly a year
Android PoliceBohwaZ
in reply to BohwaZ • • •@bazil Signal est un réseau privateur au même sens que WhatsApp, la différence est juste que le code est ouvert.
Mais concrètement tu as zéro maîtrise sur tes données, tu ne peux pas comme avec Matrix ou XMPP, migrer si demain ils décident de blacklister ton pays (ce qu'ils ont déjà menacé de faire), ou s'ils décident de rendre le service payant.
BohwaZ
in reply to BohwaZ • • •David
in reply to Fla • • •Tuta
in reply to David • • •dansup
Unknown parent • • •Jeff W. Brooktree
Unknown parent • • •Felix Engel
in reply to Jeff W. Brooktree • • •Celtillos
in reply to Fla • • •dansup
Unknown parent • • •@lianna @felixengel @jeffwbrooktree wait what?
I've encouraged feedback, and welcome criticism, that's pretty easy to see.
But that last one, I don't recall ever sexually harassing anyone, and I'd like to see some receipts because that is quite the dangerous accusation.