jesusfuckingchrist

Oregon senators warn prediction markets allowing betting on wildfires could incentivize arson

A public report urges the CFTC to ban prediction market contracts on destructive wildfires, raising concerns over public safety and potential arson.

kptv.com

This is an astounding loss for the US if it comes to fruition. One of the biggest strategic losses the US has ever endured—perhaps biggest?—and all from a war the US chose to start for no reason, illegally.

Nicholas Grossman@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 6h ago

Iran and Oman have reportedly agreed that all ships transiting Hormuz have to go through an Iran-controlled corridor, and are finalizing tolls of 3, 5, or 7%. This would close off the path outside Iranian waters the US encouraged ships to use during the MOU, then started bombing again to keep open.

also creating potential financial incentives for individual study doctors to maybe alter data seems pretty dangerous!

Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 17h ago

These betting markets sites are so socially corrosive. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Abdul El Sayed's open-mindedness on the question of how to actually resolve the question of Palestine is one of the best indicators of his overall intelligence and sincerity. Policymakers in DC should adopt a rights-based approach which prioritizes ending the occupation and apartheid systems.

Ron Skolnik@ronskolnik.bsky.social · yesterday

El-Sayed: "I believe in equal rights to peace, dignity, and self-determination, for Palestinians and Jewish Israelis alike... If that’s 2 states, I’m for it. If it’s 1 state, I’m for that. If it’s this 'land for all' model, ... or whatever they decide." www.newyorker.com/news/the-new...

I just cut into this PRISTINE yard of vintage fabric that's been overlooked since 1973! 🤯 It's easily one of the nicest scraps I've acquired by accident for free ninety-nine. Sewists, you have my permission to use the nice fabric before you're pushing daisies.

Today, August 4, 2026, is the setting of Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” about a fully automated house continuing on after the family who lived there and the world around it died in a nuclear blast.

Funny that one of the big talking points from the administration was they had “rebuilt the military” then turned around and used up all the PRsM’s, ATACMS, and half the tomahawks on a idiotic war of choice in the Middle East

George Pearkes@peark.es · yesterday

Okay Reuters on a heater this morning *US ARMY USED 'VIRTUALLY ALL' LONG-RANGE PRECISION MISSILES:RTRS

looking at the headlines and reflecting once again on how all the smart, hard-working, honest people I know feel like they’re going at least a little insane in our era of total Stupid Immoral Asshole ascendancy

it’s never a great sign for your society when all the competent people who believe in doing a good job for the sake of it conclude that they’re actively being punished for these qualities, while malignantly stupid criminals are making bank

50 years after landmark laws, some U.S. rivers are recovering but threats remain

50 years after landmark laws, some U.S. rivers are recovering but threats remain

Half a century ago, a series of landmark federal laws started reining in water pollution. As a result, some rivers across the country are bouncing back to life, but threats to clean rivers remain.

npr.org

In which I vent about the foolishness we display when we say "Our budgets have been cut? We'll just have to do more with less". That's a losing strategy, every time. Why do we teach toddlers, but not governments, that choices have consequences?

The foolishness of “doing more with less”

I got a little bit riled up the other day, and I realized that it might be worth sharing because the thing that riled me is a longstanding pattern in academia (at least in Canada, anyway). It’s a w…

scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com

Bigger ≠ Better. Some of the smallest fishes on Earth have some of the most outstanding biology and beauty. I had an absolute blast writing this one... 👇🎏🤯 Five Tiny Fishes That Will Blow Your Mind tnature.substack.com/p/five-tiny-... #Nature #Science #Evolution #Biodiversity #Fishes #Wildlife

Five Tiny Fishes That Will Blow Your Mind

Little species. Enormous wonder.

tnature.substack.com

Got a good job down at the Data Center. I work on the line, and it's hard work but it's honest and the wage is fair; my family and I are grateful for it. I rivet the word "absolutely" onto the little apologies that chatbots do when they misunderstand a prompt.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5d ago

Hassett: "Data centers are very good for towns bc they create so many jobs & bring people in with high incomes that can buy houses & stuff like that. So if you take a sleepy town that hasn't seen much in the last 30 years & put a data center there, there are gonna be a bunch of happy residents."

My nephew at our local library, pointing out another title to add to my ichthyological nonfiction TBR list:

Released on this day in 1964: Dancing In The Street #MarthaAndTheVandellas youtu.be/GuCBXTfoVq8?...

If you were wondering where your data went.

DOGE Veterans Are Landing Big Jobs at Prediction Markets

Polymarket and Novig have both recently brought ex-DOGE affiliates onboard as scrutiny of the industry intensifies.

wired.com

*boop*

The 6 largest oil companies will collectively rake in $45B in profits in the second quarter of 2026 — nearly double what they made in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Canada, France, and Spain are battling record-breaking wildfires spurred by the climate crisis. Big Oil profits while the world burns.

Next time the New York Times sends a reporter to the plains states on a diner safari, they should ask Trump voters there about the president's weird attacks on the windmills that power their states

Philip Bump@pbump.com · 7d ago

Once upon a time, industry was powered by rivers. Once upon a time, industry was powered by coal. Things change. www.ctinsider.com/columnist/ar...

No longer content with pillaging intellectual work and dismembering our environment (already critically weakened), AI companies are now hellbent on destroying books galore including rare editions. Shut down these nefarious enterprises already.

AI labs buy, scan, shred millions of rare books

If you have retreated to physical books because the internet is too full of AI slop, bad news — now they’re shredding the books to feed their AI slop machines.

news.com.au

I dunno but it should probably be a bigger deal that the White House announced it wants to slap a 100% tariff on drug imports at the same time it is eliminating Medicare drug subsidies. And we’re talking about critical life-saving drugs like insulin, blood thinners, antibiotics, and heart meds.

The policy take-home of our new study, in 15 words: 🏭 Fossil fuels kill children 🔋 Decarbonization will slow malaria expansion 🦟 Malaria eradication will save lives everywhere 🔓 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The past and future impact of climate change on childhood malaria in Africa - Nature

Climate and econometric modelling reveal that human-induced climate change is shifting the burden of childhood malaria in Africa.

nature.com

Military families carry the weight of every escalation. They deserve honest answers about the mission and its true cost.

this shit was always annoying even in cases where it was maybe technically correct, but now with Trump doing lots of unprecedented bad shit the ‘heh, you rube, you fool, politicians have always been corrupt’ gimmick is both wrong on the merits and much more pernicious.

Widow's Bay DSA@gonebabygone.bsky.social · last wk.

There’s a kind of guy on social media who acts like you’re a moron for believing in gradations. You say we’re teetering on fascism, they go “umm we were founded on genocide” You say Musk is having a racist breakdown they go “umm he was always racist” Truthers for the concept of things getting worse.

I'm excited to finally announce that the website my friend and I made, rentagainstthemachine.com, is ready for beta testing! registered users can anonymously rate and review their landlords, while anyone can read reviews that have been posted

Here's the unspoken thing: the livability of the planet in my middle age depends on a rapid shift in American politics that simply may not happen, and it will be especially unreachable if we do the same concessions to dark money funded doubtmongering on the climate side as we're debating with MAHA

Still unemployed, still trying to move forward one day at a time. Stay sane out there, friends, and remember to stay hydrated in this summer heat if you're on SSRIs! 🫶🏻 #MentalHealthMonday

Another reminder, since no one in Congress appears to care: These strikes are a campaign of unlawful murders, and the Administration hasn't offered any plausible argument to the contrary. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

67 boat strikes. 221 dead. The cocaine hasn’t slowed, officials report.

The president says Operation Southern Spear has virtually ended drug trafficking by sea. Pentagon and DEA analysts have concluded otherwise.

washingtonpost.com

Good grief, this hits home.