During the height of the pandemic, McConnell blocked various federal paid sick and family leave extensions in congressional stimulus packages — and then laughed about it.

The Contrarian@contrariannews.org · 7h ago

McConnell’s FMLA vote to derail even unpaid leave was hardly a career one-off.

Pubic Service Announcement The Vagina Museum is trans inclusive. Always has been, always will be. Today the new EHRC Code of Practice comes into effect. Let us be clear, the guidance changes nothing about how we operate.

The quoted AI bro reminds me of the guys there are like "every man has done [creepy rapey thing]" in defence of a creepy rapey guy, completely unaware that, in fact, they have not.

Charlie Stross@cstross.bsky.social · 15h ago

My answer is LOL ROFL (dickbrain) The terminally AI-pilled can't even *imagine* some people have *never* asked stochastic parrots to cheat at their job for them.

Don't look now, but the world has now installed 3TW of solar. Took 10 years to get from 100GW to 1TW. Less than 3 years to get to 2TW. Less than 2 years to get to 3TW. Analysts expect *9TW* by 2036.

The World Crossed a Major Solar Milestone. No One Noticed

The next phase of the boom may reveal a shift in who is gaining access to the technology.

bloomberg.com

today in "headlines you'd see on a background TV in a disaster movie" www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Rhine Falls to Lowest Since 1880, Disrupting European Trade

The Rhine River’s water levels dropped to the lowest in nearly 150 years as hot, dry weather grips Europe, threatening to disrupt a crucial route for transporting coal, fuel and industrial commodities...

bloomberg.com

it’s empty peanut butter jar day for coconut pumpernickel, a holiday that appears sporadically and takes an entire day’s effort (split up by naps)

We've survived the entirety of human history without data centres. We can't survive more than a few days without clean drinking water.

How did we find Ian Dixon, a wanted member of the Kinahan cartel, on a padel court in Dubai? Search Party recounts how Bellingcat and @thetimes.com traced the digital trail that led to the alleged money handler for one of the world's most dangerous crime cartels. www.youtube.com/watch?v=49NZ...

Cartel member found playing Padel

YouTube video by Search Party

youtube.com

🚨 We have a new World Champion! 🐌🏆 After 18 heats and 271 entrants, Snailor Swift raced to victory at the 2026 World Snail Racing Championships in Congham, Norfolk, winning in 3 minutes 13 seconds. Read all about it here ⤵️ Ready, steady... SLOW!

Ready – steady – slow. World Championship snail race

World Championship Snail Racing is a serious sport. It might be bonkers but it's great fun

eastangliabylines.co.uk

Heat pumps are winning Americans over. In the first quarter they outsold fossil-fuel furnaces by 32%, the fourth year running that manufacturers have shipped more heat pumps than furnaces. Nearly half of new US homes built in 2024 came with one. Grist buff.ly/I8XwuLA #ShareGoodNewsToo

The US may be hitting a tipping point for heat pumps

In the first quarter of this year, heat pump sales beat fossil fuel furnaces by 32 percent. Here's what makes the appliance so powerful.

buff.ly

Again, what right wing Republicans and Democrats call "socialism" is the sort of regulated capitalism that was consensus for much of the 20th century. They pretend it's anti-market when really it's only anti-oligarchy

Helen Kennedy@helenkennedy.com · 2w ago

The wild eyed radical communist continues to destroy capitalism www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

I'm running another Playfest London event on the 13th September in South London! An all-day @playtestuk.bsky.social convention with prototype games to play, a free games raffle for all who take part, and a special guest designer. More info and tickets here: www.minervatabletop.co.uk/playfest 🎲✂️

“Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it.” — Thomas Paine

Its embarrassing how many grown ass adults live in these fantasies where people work for some nonsense like the artificial cultures oligarchs manufacture over survival.

Utagawa Hiroshige, 19th century master of Japanese woodblock prints, created this guide to making shadow puppets for children (or children at heart) (1842) www.openculture.com/2021/07/hiro...

Turns out embedded sexism also extends to ornithology 🙃

East Anglia Bylines@eastangliabylines.co.uk · 2d ago

Science has a blind spot. For years, birds were studied as if males were the default – and females were the exception. But, as Emma Phipps finds, that’s a very incomplete picture.

Farmers are reporting poor yields due to lack of water & rain. Winter silage is already being used to feed animals due to dead summer grass. Agrivoltaics, where solar panels are raised so that more conventional farming can continue underneath is proving a solution with surprising benefits.

Heatwaves, farmland and solar energy

Could mediterranean style agrivoltaic systems help farmers cope with mediterranean style heatwaves, and improve energy independence?

eastangliabylines.co.uk

I know they’re puffing up to be intimidating but also they just look like they’re spectacular and they know it

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance @sandiegozoo.bsky.social · 2d ago

Feathered phenom 🐦 Kagus suddenly splay their head crests and wings to make themselves look larger, scaring away predators and defending their territory. Known as the "Ghost of the Forest" for their pale plumage and eerie calls, these flightless birds are actually quite gentle and docile.

I cannot clap hard enough for this. Bloody well done, Stuart. I tip my hat 🎩

Nettlecake@nettlecake.bsky.social · 2d ago

Brilliant letter from Stuart Thompson to Jeremy Clarkson about his comments that benefit claimants should write weekly thank you letters to tax payers detailing how they spend their benefits each week.

This is the way.

John Scalzi@scalzi.com · 2d ago

Bluesky is a "liberal bubble" because fascist chuds can't get traction without algorithmic assistance and because people here trained themselves to block "debate me" trybois the instant they roll up

Once again for those at the back: ‘Don’t speak ill of the dead’ is about your great aunt Elsie, who liked a long gin with a short tonic at elevenses, and blew your inheritance money betting on the horses. Speaking ill of absolute monsters is a moral obligation, actually.

Just some grass

welp, looks like we’re gonna get some Old Ones

Gizmodo@gizmodo.com · 2d ago

Ancient Life Discovered in Antarctica's 'Blood Falls' May Finally Reveal Its Origins

Today I discovered that a letter attributed to a man was actually written by Ann Bathurst, the 17th-century visionary woman I’m researching. 🤩 Archival work might be slow and painstaking but it’s totally thrilling to be going in search of lost voices from the past and finding them! 📚

We're getting there, folks. Curing cancer is no longer a long shot for some forms of the disease, and the list is growing. Never thought I would see this in my lifetime. And with just an injection! 🤯

Chise@sailorrooscout.bsky.social · 2d ago

Researchers have hailed “unprecedented” trial results that show a triple-action cancer injection can eradicate entire tumors in patients. In an international trial spanning 11 countries, the injection was offered to patients whose cancer had spread or come back and whose disease had failed to

incoming email from my WSJ-loving American dad in 3...2...1

Simon Evans@drsimevans.carbonbrief.org · 3d ago

🧵Right-leaning newspapers are trying to blame Europe's raging wildfires on everything EXCEPT fossil fuels 1. The Wall Street Journal Frontpage story: "Greece fights wildfires as Europe crisis spreads" WSJ editorial: "How green policies fuel fires in Europe"

And another thing: Mosquitoes ‘can develop an attraction to mosquito repellent’. This seems highly unreasonable. www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/cou...

Mosquitoes may learn to tolerate, or even prefer, the smell of DEET

A study highlights that mosquitoes can develop an attraction to low concentrations of DEET on human skin, emphasizing the importance of manufacturer guidelines and regularly reapplying DEET products.

medicalnewstoday.com

I’ve never seen the original context for this all-timer of a tweet and honestly it’s incredible on multiple levels

Alistair Coleman@alistaircoleman.bsky.social · 3d ago

Worth posting in context as it is bang on topic.

"Welcome to our Gander reveal party" "Don't you mean gender reveal party" "No" *Dozens of geese burst out of a cake. Ominous honking fills the air. There are no genders only chaos*

So… they’re working