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This is not a painting. It is made entirely of wood, its surface flat. A detail from the 15th-century "Studiolo Gubbio", one of the finest examples of intarsia, the masterful art of fitting together pieces of wood to make images: publicdomainreview.org/essay/e…
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Hmmm, Jared Kushner is part of Paramount’s (Trump bud-Ellison owned Paramount) would-be hostile takeover of Warner Brothers. And investment firms from Saudi, Qatar and Abu Dhabi are all silent partners. Nothing fishy at all, I’m sure 🙄

axios.com/2025/12/08/jared-kus…
#corruption #uspol #trump

Mark reshared this.

I just rescaled the app-servers for Friendica.World to double the CPU and RAM. After upgrading the database server, I already saw better performance on the site. But the app servers were stressing a bit. I chose to scale them up, rather than create extra app servers, because Hetzner has some new plans available that are cheap, so for just a few EUR/month we now have extra resources.

I think the site feels more responsive already. Now we need to keep an eye on weird things, like last week where some queries hung the database. I'm creating issues for that so the Friendica devs can help out.

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RE: mastodon.social/@eunews/115673…

I call for the abolishment of billionaires like Musk

Forever.


Elon Musk and his Russian friends call for the abolishment of the EU
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The CEO of The Onion set the publication's goal for 2026 to have more subscribers than The Washington Post. At the rate the latter is going, that won't take long.

"For reasons we don't like or understand, our work has become increasingly important."

"Look, we're an independent company, we don't use AI to write headlines and make art, and we're one of roughly three publications who are up for the fight. Unlike other places, The Onion is quadrupling down on being a pain in the ass, politically. Are you?

linkedin.com/posts/ben-collins…

Unknown parent

mastodon - Link to source

Linus Gasser

@GossiTheDog Clicked on one of their videos:

theonion.com/fraternity-under-…

And from my mastodon-bubble, I have the impression that quite a lot of US folks agree with "nobody should see their child helping others like that".

Please tell me I'm wrong! Is this really the new standard on the other side of the pond?

And, yes, I remember the days where Onion's news were funny. Now they're just awful. And it's not the Onion's fault!

Mark reshared this.

Have you looked at that FIFA peace prize? It's rotting disintegrating hands shredding the planet.
Mark reshared this.

Seriously? Seriously.
زن، زندگی، آزادی
bbc.com/news/articles/c3e0z97q…
#Iran #running #marathon #WomensOpportunities #WomanLifeFreedom

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It bothers me that before they show the footage of the murder of these people, the news man never says "We are about to show footage where people were killed some viewers might find this disturbing." As they would for other disasters, so when the bile rises in my throat, because I really did just see some people snuffed out of existence I also have to feel like I'm being too sensitive for caring.

The careless way some death is displayed is also a kind of propaganda that explains who matters.

Ripping Off The Poor: Dollar Stores


Dollar General stores have failed more than 4,300 government price-accuracy inspections in 23 states since January 2022, a Guardian review found. Family Dollar stores have failed more than 2,100 price inspections in 20 states over the same time span, the review found.

Among these thousands of failed inspections, some of the biggest flops include a 76% error rate in October 2022 at a Dollar General in Hamilton, Ohio; a 68% error rate in February 2023 at a Family Dollar in Bound Brook, New Jersey; and a 58% error rate three months ago at a Family Dollar in Lorain, Ohio.

Many of the stores that failed state or local government checks were repeat violators. A Family Dollar in Provo, Utah, flunked 28 inspections in a row – failures that included a 48% overcharge rate in May 2024 and a 12% overcharge rate in October 2025.

theguardian.com/us-news/2025/d…

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It's December (what the heck), share some of your favorite photos you took in November.
Mark reshared this.

I tell Trump my peace terms, Trump tells Witkoff what they are and then Witkoff tells me Trump's terms that I told him then I say they aren't enough so we both blame Ukraine for me not accepting my own terms and I keep attacking them.

Rinse. Repeat.

Mark reshared this.

I just realized my Mastodon experience hasn’t enshittified one bit in the 2+ years I’ve been here.

In fact, it’s only gotten better.

in reply to Mr.Mark "The Sharpie King"

I've had an account since 2018, although I wasn't very active early on (neither was the Fediverse). It got busier and better on that fateful day when Twitter was captured by a hostile force.

Mastodon is not without faults. Humans are like that, and Mastodon is made of humans (in a good way). But humans are also able to select out the bad stuff and encourage the good.

Mark reshared this.

#Oops: The seminal (strongly influencing later developments) paper that has been used for 25 years to justify that the use of #Glyphosate is safe has been retracted.

"Concerns were raised regarding the authorship of this paper, validity of the research findings in the context of misrepresentation of the contributions by the authors and the study sponsor and potential conflicts of interest of the authors. "

sciencedirect.com/science/arti…

This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

here is a nice overview of recent glyphosate related work: spektrum.de/news/klaeranlagen-…

It's much more complicated.. spoiler: if I use detergent to get my laundry clean (and I do), I contribute to contamination with glyphosate. Folks, don't bash farmers, please. The majority of them are motivated to keep the planet alive.

This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

thenewlede.org/2025/12/citing-…
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A Brittany town is so fed up of the French being perceived as rude and unwelcoming that it has launched a “courtesy week”. Residents of Saint-Brieuc are being told to stop moaning and strike up polite chatter with one another as part of a drive to become the nation’s “capital of courtesy”. Bonne chance.

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Unknown parent

mastodon - Link to source

Phil Sturgeon

I grew up in Bristol and Bath. Thought I hated it. Lived in NYC for a decade. Coming back home was BRILLIANT. Random banter with any random person you pass. Solidly good people.

@BOOKHOUSE @bytebro @pthane @davep @CStamp @John_Loader @kibcol1049

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“A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation.”
Mark reshared this.

"narco terrorism" isn't a real thing. What does that even mean. It's just two bad scary words strung together without coherence.

And yet, since some on the right have started using this phrase I'm hearing other people echo it uncritically.

Mark reshared this.

I don't recall 500 National Guard deployed when,
5 months ago, In June 2025, Minnesota state Rep. #MelissaHortman and her husband, Mark, were assassinated. The same man, Vance Boelter, shot and wounded Democratic state Sen. #JohnHoffman and his wife, Yvette, in a separate, politically motivated attack. #Boelter was later arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder.

Today the #POTUS threatens to harm more #NationalGuard deployments in #WashingtonDC

#NoKings !
#NewsRewind

Mark reshared this.

Mark reshared this.

Fire and ice sunset. Scoville Reservoir, Wolcott, Connecticut. January 30, 2021, 4:50 PM.

#hiking #photography #outdoors #landscapephotography #nature #Connecticut #winter #forest #snow #ice #trail #wintertime #sunset #sunsetphotography #lake

in reply to Cogito Ergo Disputo

@Disputatore
Well, that's a lot of overrating Trump. Witkoff is assigned, bc the whole gov want him to be assigned. They know well (whatever Trump might think) that he is not competent to negotiate a peace plan. Logic and experience tell us, that the US gov (as a whole) don't want a working peace plan. They want to do, what they did until now: let it simmer on small flame. A slow cooking. Until NATO is ready to expand it into an invasion of Russia.
The proxy war thing was well said in 2024 presidential election campaigns. Both sides, btw.

@kibcol1049

in reply to John_Loader

@John_Loader
The whole US economy is based on armament since 1935. 'Defense' gear is the only notable production there. Even the production of computer stuff has wandered to Asia. Nvidia makes a lot of GPU nobody actually needs. The TechBros created artificial demand of that gear by making up the useless AI bubble.
The US economy is distructive. By stopping USAID, the TechBros even ruined home agriculture.

@Disputatore @kibcol1049

in reply to Cogito Ergo Disputo

in reply to wauz ワウズ

@wauz They certainly didn't force Ukraine to do it. So, that's one.

The reason why Russia is negotiating is not because they always said they would. It's funny how you describe Russia as this cuddly puppy that wants to do the right thing but nobody lets it. There have been many times when negotiation was on the table but Russia rejected it.

in reply to Cogito Ergo Disputo

@wauz finally, UA is not broke. For now they have support from the EU. And you always forget to mention Russia's situation. They're having 1,000 casualties per day. Their economy is in shambles, Putin has to create additional taxes to feed the war machine. The secondary sanctions are impacting their oil and gas revenue as are UA's attacks on oil refineries and other infrastructure. So Russia does not have the high ground as your words seem to suggest.
in reply to wauz ワウズ

@wauz this is all very interesting, but the way you describe things, which is very similar to how the Portuguese Communist Party describes it over here, is that, in 2022 Russia had a peace proposal that was more acceptable than the recent 28 points plan relayed by the Trump Administration on behalf of Russia and was rejected by both Ukraine and the EU. The 2022 proposal was unacceptable. The UK and the EU supported Ukraine's rejection of the proposal as they did now.
in reply to Cogito Ergo Disputo

@Disputatore
Well, I looked up your other postings on the matter. You write, what every newspaper is telling too. All nice guys except the Russians and stuff.
Communists use to take a closer look at facts. And they are well aware, that RUS is not SU.
I don't think, I'm going to persuade of anything, bc you're nothing but a propaganda hooter. It's just counterspeaking to the public.
The big difference in looking for facts is, that communist regard class interests. And who is to suffer and die, while others fill their wallets.
"Unacceptable" is belonging to class interests. The Russian proposal would have been pretty acceptable who died in between.
Watch out, which stand you take! If you think, war should go on, get yourself into a trench. Go, tast the blood mixed with your own bloodn

@kibcol1049

in reply to wauz ワウズ

@wauz yes, yes, that's exactly what the communists say over here. But the problem is that it is false that they look at the facts. Or they look at some and silence the others. For example, if you read the timeline they have on their site about the war since 2014 you'll notice that, from their perspective, Russia did nothing wrong. It's hilarious. Which is very similar to their stance when USSR was a thing.
in reply to Cogito Ergo Disputo

@wauz another thing they are very good at doing is presenting the acceptance of UA's capitulation as the end of Russia's expansionism. We now have enough examples to have established a pattern. Russia invades their neighbours. It has done so in Georgia and it has done so in Ukraine. First in Crimea on 2014 and then in 2022. Believe Russia at your own peril.
Mark reshared this.

Sonnet 038 - XXXVIII
How can my muse want subject to invent,
While thou dost breathe, that pour'st into my verse
Thine own sweet argument, too excellent
For every vulgar paper to rehearse?
O! give thy self the thanks, if aught in me
Worthy perusal stand against thy sight;
For who's so dumb that cannot write to thee,
When thou thy self dost give invention light?
Be thou the tenth Muse, ten times more in worth
Than those old nine which rhymers invocate;
And he that calls on thee, let him bring forth
Eternal numbers to outlive long date.
If my slight muse do please these curious days,
The pain be mine, but thine shall be the praise.

bot by @davidaugust

#sonnet #poem #Shakespeare

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I think this is a first in history for a female sports journalist (former sports journalist in my case).
After working with Media and Democracy Project on a piece, a guy wrote me to tell me to “stick with sports.”
Better than being told to go back to the kitchen 😂😂
#womeninsports #sportsjournalism #sexism #journalism #genderbias
This entry was edited (3 weeks ago)

Mark reshared this.

Mark reshared this.

I've been a fair weather biker most of my life but as I've become a fairly regular bike commuter I have been dreading the day when it is dark, drizzly, and dreary. My ride back from work today was that day; 45°F/7°C, a light drizzle, and a chilly wind, it was not nearly as awful as I would have imagined. I might have just extended my riding season #BikeTooter.

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I made a miniature book featuring “Children’s Games” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

#MiniatureBook #豆本 #MastoArt #MiniatureMonday

Mark reshared this.

And then one day, quite unexpectedly, Peter found Jesus. #grickledoodle #found #cartoon #art #drawing #funny
This entry was edited (1 month ago)