Into science and space, politics, SF, larping
Also @Redshift42 on Twitter and @Redshift42@counter.social
"Do negotiations w/the US always end w/missiles hitting the capital?"
And this is how it ends...
W/Russia using the example of Trump's "negotiations" w/ #Iran ending in bombs on Tehran as a pretext for ending negotiations w/US re #Ukraine.
Which makes no sense since Trump just removed sanctions on Russia.
So... Wink, wink DJT.
Good job giving #Russia what it wants - again.
RE: https://journa.host/@ScottLucas/116163988382360819
#Russia grinding gains in #Donestk in east offset by #Ukraine liberating territory in #Zaporizhzhia in south
Russia seized 0.8% of Ukraine last year, but still occupies less territory than it did in June 2022
Why did spotted lanternflies do SO well when they got to the US?
Turns out they picked up some genetic tricks in other cities first. https://brookshire-team-trash.beehiiv.com/p/the-spotted-lanternfly-was-streetwise-before-it-ever-flew-to-nyc
As Russia continues striking Ukraine’s energy system in subzero temperatures, photographs from Kyiv capture life in the freezing capital
The GOP is demanding more money for the regime’s unaccountable secret police force. Help us contact voters in key states and connect them with their Members of Congress to demand that ICE’s terror tactics be stopped for good: https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/900426/
Video: On the Epstein Files, Peter Mandelson, etc., @RepSuhas (D-VA10) Says “you’re seeing accountability everywhere else but the Trump administration- and it’s infuriating!”; Says he wants to hear from Les Wexner, Prince Andrew, Howard Lutnick, etc. https://bluevirginia.us/2026/02/video-on-the-epstein-files-peter-mandelson-etc-rep-suhas-subramanyam-d-va10-says-youre-seeing-accountability-everywhere-else-but-the-trump-administration-and-its-infuriating/
"That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering…every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam."
— Carl Sagan
Voyager 1 captured the "Pale Blue Dot" image #OTD in 1990.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech
![The "pale blue dot" photo. It shows three or four colored beams of light – optical artifacts – passing from the left side of the image to the right. The background is dark, empty space. In the topmost light beam is a single pale blue pixel. That's Earth. Sagan's quote is printed on the image. It reads ""We succeeded in taking that picture [from deep space], and, if you look at it, you see a dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives. The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilizations, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every hopeful child, every mother and father, every inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history..."](https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/070/231/623/914/519/original/e65d0e482ac18f2e.png)
My sixteen-year-old Chilean nephew was curious about what’s going on with ICE.
In Chile, the word “conservative” is associated with capitalism, and the word “liberal” is associated with communism. He observed that Donald Trump says he’s a capitalist but doesn’t act like one.
I told him things are different here and labels have different meanings because we have a different history.
1/
"You will be sitting down in an exam room when the neurologist delivers the diagnosis of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a rare measles complication that leads to irreversible degeneration of the brain. There are treatments but no cure, the neurologist will tell you."
~ Elizabeth Bruenig
#measles #vaccines #children #Trump #RFKJr
/1
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/02/child-dies-measles-vaccines/685969/
DHS funding runs out today. That means we have real leverage in this fight since a funding bill can’t pass without Democratic votes. Call your Members of Congress and demand they reject any bill that doesn’t stop ICE and CBP terror.
House: https://indivisible.org/actions/ice-out-house/?source=mastodon
Senate: https://indivisible.org/actions/ice-out-senate/?source=mastodon
One of the important things about combatting & resisting authoritarianism is the logging & publicising of its actions;
so very happy to include a link here to the ICE-list wiki; a log of incidents & agents for the use of any US follower seeking to get to grips with what is going on with the attack on democracy & the US population.
Also includes logs of ICE vehicles...
Our faith in social media can be (partly) restored!
https://wiki.icelist.is/index.php/Main_Page
h/t @grrlscientist
Video: Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA07) Announces Re-Election Campaign in Virginia’s (New) First Congressional District ("...should Virginians approve a mid-decade redrawing of congressional districts to confront Trump administration corruption.") https://bluevirginia.us/2026/02/video-rep-eugene-vindman-d-va07-announces-re-election-campaign-in-virginias-new-first-congressional-district/
A delightful mini-documentary from our @UofGravity colleagues to celebrating the first decade of #GravitationalWave astronomy and the path ahead
RE: https://scicomm.xyz/@LIGO/116053414856905378
What I really love about this documentary is how in just a few minutes it shows the impact of the discovery—not just on science, but how it has inspired and motivated individuals, and how technology is finding applications in so many areas of life
Fun Superbowl. The Pats had a rough game, but the AdBowl (which, let's get real, is always more than half the reason to watch) was funnier than it's often been recently.
(That said, Signs of the Bubble #927: the ad saturation for AI companies reminded me *so* much of Internet ads in the Superbowl in 2000.)
And the halftime show was downright great, even with me lacking a word of Spanish. The joyful repudiation of the "Donroe Doctrine" wasn't even slightly subtle, but they kept the whole thing a really positive celebration.
We're excited to announce our first endorsements of 2026!
All three of these candidates have been endorsed by their local Indivisible groups and members, and all are running in Democratic primaries where voters face a clear choice about the future direction of the Party. 🧵
What He Said
That's a masterclass in defining your opposition.
The DHS funding deadline is this week and a bill can’t pass without Democratic votes.
Demand that Democrats hold the line and refuse to fund DHS without ironclad limits on ICE and CBP, actual accountability for abuses, and clear guardrails to stop raids and intimidation: https://act.indivisible.org/sign/ice-out-for-good/?source=mastodon
The $12 trillion "deal" Russia pitched to Witkoff is just a carrot which only serves to prevent the US from helping Ukraine. It will never materialize for many reasons but most due to the fact that Russia is a small economy, where this amount would exceed its GDP by 5 to 6 times. It is an illusion for the weak-minded.
