Pirate Senex
@piratesenex.bsky.social
Pirate. Progressive. Antifa. Anti-racist. Woke. Against all apartheid regimes, everywhere. Deal with it.-
Billionaires being unafraid to say things like this publicly is a major indicator of how bad things have gotten
Rachel Gilmore@rachelgilmore.bsky.social · last wk.Very cool that Shopify’s CEO thinks the poor should have far less of a vote than the rich. Still worth that ad read money, folks?
Chapter 3 of my #scifi novel, #Asterion - people around the world panic; so do stock markets. alonghardlook.blog/2026/07/26/a...
Asterion – Chapter 3: Terra Trepidans
The unnatural sunset caused by the pass of C/1998 M7. As the aftermath of the spacecraft’s first pass became apparent, civil protection authorities began issuing guidance to the public that read li…
alonghardlook.blog
#Apartheid is #Nazism. And if you don't want to be called a #Nazi, don't impose or support Apartheid.
The looting of science fiction, by Ali Rıza Taşkale Tech titans claim the genre inspired them. But all they’ve done is graft their politics onto stories of a better future Not the first piece I have seen like this, but one of the best. aeon.co/essays/silic...
What does a court case about drivers reporting police checks have to do with social media and freedom of speech? Potentially, a lot. A new ruling of the EU's top court risks pushing platforms to monitor what we say online. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
New EU Court of Justice Ruling on Platform Liability Could Cause
Intermediary liability laws around the world recognize that social media platforms, search engines, and other online service providers have become an integral part of our lives: they shape how we
eff.org
Let me guess: they'll go asking for more taxpayer dollar to buy more AI tokens, which they'll receive, no questions asked.
Jennifer Ouellette@jenlucpiquant.bsky.social · 2w agoThe Army Is Burning Through Its AI Tokens www.wired.com/story/the-ar...
I do think the water thing with AI gets overplayed compared to the technology's other environmental and social harms, but AI boosters like to pretend it's entirely invented. The potable water industry in the UK - no tree huggers here - makes it clear than no, this is a very real issue.
Not enough water for UK’s datacentre plans, trade body says
Industry says government’s failure to address cooling demands means AI growth plans are ‘fatally flawed’
theguardian.com
This is the first main part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act kicking in. The second part, restricting Medicaid, is timed to happen after the midterms.
Andrew Russeth@russeth.bsky.social · 2w ago"Four months into an appeal, Ms. McDonald, a cancer survivor who weighs 69 pounds, bustles to food banks, stretches ground turkey with oatmeal, and skips meals to feed three teenage boys." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/u...
The Annual Rule of Law report could have been a powerful and effective tool, if it would be drawn up by independent experts, as demanded by @europarl.europa.eu. But the @ec.europa.eu has neutered it, cowtowing to national governments. In intergovernmental Europe, the poachers are the game keepers
RalfGrahn@ralfgrahn.bsky.social · 2w ago#media #opinioon #freedom The EU Rule of Law report seriously underestimates the decline in press freedom, says the European Federation of Journalists europeanjournalists.org/blog/2026/07...
Chapter 2 of my #scifi novel, #Asterion. Government officials brace for the inevitable, while the behavior of the unknown object designated as C/1998 M7 becomes more puzzling and reminiscent of a vehicle whose movements are deliberate. alonghardlook.wordpress.com/2026/07/20/a...
Asterion – Chapter 2: Derelict
Grainy radar image of object C/1998 M7. The four-hour drive back to Kiso was an opportunity for Ichirō to finally get some much-needed rest. Watching C/1998 M7 for two weeks day and night and anxio…
alonghardlook.wordpress.com
old #essays to pass the time... Back to Bach (1) - moodyessays.blogspot.com/2026/07/back... Symphony in white - moodyessays.blogspot.com/2026/07/symp... The impossibility of letters - moodyessays.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-... The significance of theories - moodyessays.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-...
Back to Bach (1)
Tastes change. One day we prefer apricot jam to strawberry, or decide to move away from London. But it is the tiny aesthetic shifts which ...
moodyessays.blogspot.com
Of course, #censUrsula won't countenance the idea of criminalizing predatory features in social media and game design. She prefers a blanket social media ban, which will further marginalize #LGBTQ kids, abused kids, and vulnerable kids in general. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
EU chief pledges social media ban to protect children from ‘predatory algorithms’
Ursula von der Leyen’s commitment comes after panel of experts calls for restriction for under-13s
theguardian.com
But the EU did revive #ChatControl, thanks to the "NO MEANS YES" and "BRING IT BACK UNTIL WE GET THE RIGHT PERSONS IN" machinations of the @ec.europa.eu and the @eppgroup.bsky.social.
Electronic Frontier Foundation@eff.org · 4w agoEU users are missing out on greater choice and flexibility in how they communicate and connect online because the European Commission decided earlier this year not to extend the Digital Markets Act’s interoperability mandate to social networking. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Chapter 1 of my #sci-fi novel #Asterion. Ichirō Maeda, a graduate student of astronomy at the University of Tokyo Kiso Observatory, spots what seems to be a new comet. But... alonghardlook.wordpress.com/2026/07/08/a...
Asterion – Chapter 1: The Visitor
June 30, 1998. The ninetieth anniversary of the Tunguska event.[1] At the University of Tokyo Kiso Observatory, Ichirō Maeda, a young graduate student of astronomy, spotted a new diffuse source and…
alonghardlook.wordpress.com
Pirate Senex@piratesenex.bsky.social · last mo.And, as I said, I've just started it. Here, I'm giving you the introduction to my #sci-fi #novel titled #Asterion. In a few days, I'll publish the 1st chapter. alonghardlook.wordpress.com/2026/07/06/a...
Israeli command system identified 850,000 targets in Gaza and Lebanon wars, says supplier Elbit Systems supplied Tzayad digital army programme to map people, vehicles and other objects in real time www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Israeli command system identified 850,000 targets in Gaza and Lebanon wars, says supplier
Elbit Systems supplied Tzayad digital army programme to map people, vehicles and other objects in real time
theguardian.com
One reason Trump has been able to rug-pull his supporters is that his administration has ended essentially all crypto regulation. Congress is trying to strip the SEC of crypto oversight but the SEC has done a pretty good job of stripping themselves. Great breakdown from Eleanor Davis-Diver.
The Project Crypto Scheme - The American Prospect
Forget deregulatory legislation; the SEC and CFTC are already working diligently to eliminate regulatory oversight of crypto at the behest of their president.
prospect.org
And, as I said, I've just started it. Here, I'm giving you the introduction to my #sci-fi #novel titled #Asterion. In a few days, I'll publish the 1st chapter. alonghardlook.wordpress.com/2026/07/06/a...
Asterion – Introduction
Ninety years have passed since the Tunguska Event, the mid-air explosion of an asteroid or comet near the Podkamennaya Tunguska river in Russia. Ichirō Maeda, a graduate student of astronomy at the…
alonghardlook.wordpress.com
Pirate Senex@piratesenex.bsky.social · last mo.Yup. I'm starting a novel. alonghardlook.wordpress.com/2026/07/05/a...
@chicagotribune.com published a piece that says establishment dems must fight back against progressives within the party. The same piece called @katmabu.bsky.social, a Palestinian woman fighting for mutual aid in politics, a "bomb-throwing influencer"... www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/05/e...
Trump celebrating Balogun’s eligibility to play for Team USA when his administration would strip Balogun’s citizenship tomorrow if he didn’t play world class soccer is really a chef’s kiss.
Yup. I'm starting a novel. alonghardlook.wordpress.com/2026/07/05/a...
A Creative Detour
The Macross community knows and understands that we owe this franchise to the love Kawamori et al had for Gundam – after all, what they originally set out to do was make a parody of Gundam, but it …
alonghardlook.wordpress.com
Every word demonstrably true. They must be kicked out, have their assets frozen and expropriated, and thrown into maximum security jail for LIFE.-
Karl Bode@karlbode.com · last mo.these gentlemen are very very unwell and need to be excised from the body politic like a testicular cancer
Παρόλο που ήμουν για πολλά χρόνια petrolhead, είναι ντροπή το ότι το Ακρόπολις περνά μέσα από περιοχές Natura που απαγορεύεται ΡΗΤΑ ο μηχανοκίνητος αθλητισμός. Η διοίκηση του αρμόδιου φορέα πρέπει να ξηλωθεί και να διωχθεί ποινικά.-
So much for the "cordon sanitaire". The so-called "moderate" right-wing parties are ALWAYS eager to collaborate with fascists in order to regain power, especially when they can't do it by themselves. Key takeaway: there's no "moderate conservative". www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Spain’s conservatives and far-right Vox increase ties with Andalucía coalition
Deal including ‘national priority’ policy brings prospect closer of countrywide agreement between parties
theguardian.com
Yes, brilliant.
Dr Luke Walker@drlukewalker.com · last mo.🔥 What a combination - @zackpolanski.bsky.social and @willdalrymple.bsky.social! So much here: - Palestine - India - absence of colonial history in schools - wilful ignorance of politicians & media - and the East India Company's lasting corruption of British democracy 🤑 youtu.be/13zQVPW9LjU?...
Το χειρότερο δεν είναι αυτή η εικόνα (αντίστοιχες έχουμε όλοι δει σε πολλούς χώρους) ή η πεποίθησή τους ότι αυτή η εικόνα είναι φυσιολογική. Το χειρότερο είναι ότι θα βρεθούν εύκολα πρόθυμοι χειροκροτητές που θα σπεύσουν να στηλιτεύσουν τους γκρινιάρηδες όπως εμείς: «μα τι θέλετε, να χάνουν χρόνο»;
Katerina Oikonomakou@katoiko.bsky.social · last mo.Αυτή ήταν η εικόνα από την προχθεσινή παρουσίαση του βιβλίου του Μ.Σάλλα, στην Εθνική Πινακοθήκη. Η πολιτική ελίτ της χώρας, σύσσωμη, μετέτρεψε τον χώρο σε πάρκινγκ. Κι έπειτα περιμένουμε να νοιαστούν για το Ζάππειο και το Πεδίον του Άρεως.
First Somaliland, now the Respublika Srpska - with fewer friends than ever, Israel is "on a 'recognizing separatists' streak from Berbera to Banja Luka, but not via Palestine." Interesting read from @esthersolomon.bsky.social
Analysis • FlagGate: How Israel set off a storm by hosting a separatist genocide denier
What happens when a senior foreign official sanctioned for glorifying war crimes and steeped in secessionism comes to Israel? If she's the Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina's presidency, it's a wa...
haaretz.com
(Pilfered from r/macross) #ItanoCircus or #BlackheadCircus? Anyway, Dr. Pimple Popper would be proud. #Macross #OnceYouSeeIt #YouCannotUnseeIt #Zentradi
For your convenience, here's a master list of all my #Macross -related posts on my blog (reviews and analyses). This list will be regularly updated every time I publish something new. alonghardlook.wordpress.com/2026/06/16/m...
Master List of All My Macross Reviews and Analyses
Illustration by Yoshiyuki Takani. Originally published in “Super Dimension Fortress Macross Original Illustrations — Mechanics Edition” by Shogakukan. © Studio Nue / Big West. This mast…
alonghardlook.wordpress.com
