"Neutral in the culture war"

CNN@cnn.com · 13h ago

"At a time when no American celebrity seems immune from the country’s many divisions, Dolly Parton was a crossover icon who stayed neutral in the culture wars while still speaking her mind," writes Zachary B. Wolf. | Analysis

A Russian morning strike on Chernihiv killed a 4-year-old girl and a woman. Another 14-year-old girl was injured.

This is not overly PC or overly generous reporting from 1990, this largely neutral snippet is just how normal tabloids and their audiences were about transgender issues 36 years ago. It shows how artificial and forced the media furore of now is.

Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 17h ago

Didn't know this until today but Dolly Parton had a transsexual man named Jason Pirro work as her Hollywood chauffeur in the 1980s, per an interview he gave to The Sun in 1990. "Dolly has been good to me...Dolly knows all about me."

Investigators found another defective drone and traces of suspected military explosive RDX near Leipzig/Halle Airport after the failed August 4 attack targeting a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft. German security authorities believe Russia was likely behind the attempted attack. #Russia

I think every major company is looking at open weight AI models and realizing they can just bring them in house with an internal engineering team and cut out the frontier model companies to save money. They have more control and privacy. I really don't see frontier labs surviving this.

[Exit Queen.]

may we all try to be like her

🌈Dr. Frizzle@swilua.bsky.social · 21h ago

I love you Dolly

New article- visual guide to the naval drones (USVs) on display at Kyiv’s Independence Day parade. The second one hasn’t been shown in public before. There were a couple of others, a RHIB based one and a Magura V5 with mast, but they were hiding from the camera www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...

World’s First Military Drone Parade: What We Saw On The Water - Naval News

Military parades are normally measured by the number of troops marching, or the quantity of big, expensive bits of kit on display. Ukraine’s Independence Day parade on August 24th changed the rules. I...

navalnews.com

The price we pay for freedom💔

1/2 I recorded this video on Thursday afternoon. It looks pretty good, considering the attack was just 15-17 hours earlier. #Ukrainianview

It’s Match Day - 26/27 Season Begins But today is about so much more than 3 points. It’s a day to remember, celebrate & say goodbye to #NUFC legend, Kevin Keegan ❤️ One club One city One King 👑 Get in your seats early & be part of the special display. Let’s give KK the send-off he deserves. HWTL

As of now, after Russia’s strike on Kryvyi Rih’s biggest shopping center, 16 are dead and 130 injured. Nine are still missing, including 2 children.

WarTranslated (Dmitri)@wartranslated.bsky.social · 5d ago

Russia struck Kryvyi Rih's largest shopping complex, local officials say. As of now, the regional administration reports 2 killed and 50 wounded, including 6 children.

Still thinking about the Luddites I came across this. How fascinating it is to watch what might be the germ of a neo-Luddite movement around surveillance technology. And a guy writing a nudge-wink, fuck-the-man, banger of a country song makes me feel American in a way that for once isn’t pejorative.

gamera obscura@ohrobin.bsky.social · 6d ago

Never forget the Luddites, one of the most powerful organized labor resistance groups in history, who attacked machines because employers were using mechanization to deskill their trades, depress wages, and eliminate jobs. Now their name is used as an insult instead of a call to action.

It is really depressing to read that choice of headline when living under russian drones and missiles thrown at civilians everyday. Those false equivalence headlines make me want to quit my job.

It’s shocking the coordinated approach going on here. It’s really worrying. I don’t think it’s going away either.

Julianna 💎@batariangal.eurosky.social · 5d ago

Oh, fuck off

⚡️Update: Death toll rises after Russian attack on Kryvyi Rih, with 15 killed and 130 injured, including 23 children. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the drones struck in two waves, with the 2nd strike occurring around half an hour after the first, when rescue services were already at the scene.

Russian double-tap strike on shopping center in Kryvyi Rih kills at least 15, injures 130

The full extent of the casualties and damage is still being assessed.

kyivindependent.com

I am only speculating, but I suspect the political pressure to end the military's new drone unit comes from the Palantir/Tech wing of the fascist movement. They hate governments and want tech oligarchs to run drone warfare themselves, relegating traditional militaries to controlling dissent.

Exclusive | New Drone Unit to Be Phased Out as Hegseth’s Army Pick Makes His Mark

Gen. Christopher LaNeve takes aim at a cutting-edge drone unit, one of several moves he has made since taking over the Army.

wsj.com

👨🏻"Leave Natalie alone! She's just a smol girl, trying to do a little job in a big man's world!"🤡 Sigh. Y'all still don't get it. Natalie Harp is one of the most powerful and influential fascists in the entire world. Y'all stay on some "Free Melania!🤡" and "Eva Braun did nothing wrong!🤡" nonsense.

I've never seen such an effort to censor a document as I have the Amnesty International report on gender critical groups because of JK Rowling. They removed the report from the Wayback Machine and now I got a DMCA strike on my Google Drive for having it. It was deleted and removed from my account.

There are many uses for AI in science - modeling, data analysis, certain diagnostics - none of those are LLMs and frankly not even really “AI” as we’ve come to know it at all and TBH we need a different name for this kind of “AI” so the science stuff can stop getting dragged into this argument.

Bill Bramhall from 2021, but it seems just as apposite now.

A reminder – the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was the Moskva, which has been sitting at the bottom of the Black Sea. After that, the next most important ships were the Makarov and Essen. And now, both might be out of action for a long time.

Alina Pereverzieva 🇺🇦@perevaa.bsky.social · 7d ago

Claimed satellite images show Admiral Makarov and Admiral Essen badly damaged after the Aug 12 Novorossiysk attack. Both may be out for at least a year, with Kalibr launchers, radar, EW and command systems hit. Info requires additional confirmation.

"I was crying on the way here..." Today, a Ukrainian Defender who had been held in Russian captivity since 2017 returned home. He spent almost nine years in captivity.

This is the daily thread for Tuesday 18 August 2026 - Day 1637 of Russia's all out invasion and the consequent attempt to protect Ukraine's freedom. All the news each day, since the first, in a single place.

The US is leaning into its new Axis of Evil status. It’s just imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane, Reuters reports.

So close to a 6 daily #referdle1360: 7/25 🟩2️⃣ 1️⃣1️⃣ 1️⃣2️⃣ referdle.com #referdle b: @referdle.bsky.social

Referdle

The daily word game for those who like a real challenge

referdle.com

34 years ago today, war broke out in Abkhazia. Every year on this day we pay our respects to the victims of Russian imperialism - and this year there's something rare to add. A man of genuine dignity within Russia, 🧵 [1/16]

⚠️ Ukraine Daily Update: 14 - 15 August 2026 @kelley7622.tochnyi.info On 15 August, a 32-year-old farmer was killed and another 30-year-old farmer was wounded by Russian drone attacks on a combine harvester and a car in a field in Zaporizkyi Raion.

"If you aren't building your own bank robbing robot, you're going to be left behind in the new economy."