Gaythia Weis @Gaythia@qoto.org

A new drama is unfolding at NASA: Three of its flagship #climate satellites, which have captured an unprecedented two decades of global change, are low on fuel, drifting from their stable orbits.

#NASA is mulling whether to end the missions soon, or to let them run till mid-decade, capturing new diurnal insights into storms and fires. But doing so could delay the launch of its next-gen Earth System Observatory.

It's a tough call. What would you do?

https://www.science.org/content/article/nasa-s-drifting-climate-satellites-could-find-new-life-wildfire-and-storm-watchers

GOP is blocking Biden’s student loan cancellation. They celebrated PPP loan cancellation & $2T tax cancellation for billionaires—but freeing working families from predatory loans is unfair? Absurd.

MAGA: Canceling student loans is immoral. This is why we need Govt based on the Bible.

Deuteronomy 15: “At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made.”

MAGA: Not that part of the Bible.

Mostly in order to practice the Mastodon interface, I'm going to reproduce one of my posts from the now-defunct Google+ service (on probability paradoxes, first posted Sep 11, 2014) as a thread here. 🧵

Hello, Mastodon! I'm a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Colorado Boulder. For most of my career my main research focus has been in the geometry of differential equations, but for the last few years I've been mostly working on mathematical issues related to redistricting and elections.

It’s stunning how easily unproven “science” permeates the criminal legal system. But until this story by Brett Murphy, I had never heard of 911 call analysis. It is particularly scary.

How Jessica Logan’s Call for Help Became Evidence Against Her https://www.propublica.org/article/911-call-analysis-jessica-logan-evidence

Another policy toot - this time only to recommend the excellent COP27 summary article posted by @euractiv_green here: https://www.euractiv.com/section/climate-environment/news/what-was-decided-at-the-cop27-climate-talks/

It is a painful but important read, and shows how far we have to go before we get anything close to a harmonised approach on #climate . This impression is amplified by the reports that the host nation was making major deals for fossil fuel supply on the sidelines of the summit.

#cop27 #sustainability

This man is a damn national treasure! So glad he came here...

@georgetakei

It appears I am going to be made a Senior Member of the IEEE (the highest level one can achieve)... Cool!

#IEEE

Today is Trans Day of Remembrance, a day when communities honor the lives of transgendered people whose lives were lost due to violence.

Regardless of your stance politically or in the cultural wars, I want you all to take a moment to reflect upon diversity in the sciences.

Many transgender students, postdocs, and faculty have been stigmatized as a result of their gender identity. Some have been pushed out of otherwise promising careers, or given up due to violence and discrimination suffered at the hands of peers, supervisors, and others. Science is stronger when we have an open, inclusive, and inviting environment. I urge all people in the sciences (and adjacent fields) to put aside any personal opinions you may have and strive to create a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive atmosphere.

Today I honor all the transgendered academics and scholars who have faced violence and stigma and had to deal with hatred and misunderstanding. Let us make the future more inclusive for all.

🕯️

Social networks need critical mass to sustain themselves.

Part of that is making sure this site has that critical mass by encouraging folks to come here.

Part of that is making sure bird site isn't a place where you provide free content anymore.

There's a good chance when you joined here, you cared more about the first of those as a hedge against bird site dying.

But if recent changes mean you want birdsite to affirmatively die, you'll need to do both.

#NoFreeContentForFascists

One thing that's getting a little lost in this mix, is that some of the people desperately holding on at Twitter are because they are trapped by either healthcare or visas.

That there are systemic traps that trap worker in America so they feel unable to move freely to new employers who want them and would have better pay or conditions is *nuts* and deserves a lot more attention than it gets.

I’m a civil rights lawyer. I don’t want to practice before a Court that’s compromised. I want a fair Court. Expansion would make this particular Court more ideologically balanced. Agree. But w/o a real, enforced ethics infrastructure, there will be 18 justices not fully disclosing financials, not compelled to recuse, praying in chambers w/their own faith leaders, going on trips w/groups filing briefs in cases before them, owning stock in indiv companies whose interests are before the Court.

And now the Dems must show their willingness to exercise power. To remain steady on an agenda for lasting change.

Many commentators are tweeting & tooting that we need to expand the SCOTUS. That is not the answer to everything. Unless you just want a larger Court, not bound by ethics rules, engaging in the kind of behavior described in the NYT piece. What we need are guardrails - an understanding that the Court sits w/i our democracy. Our job us to strengthen it by creating the processes that promote impartiality & insulation from lobbying, not crossing our fingers & hoping for the best.

PLEASE BOOST: Right now Mastodon is only receiving appr. $21,000/month through Patreon.

This is not enough to handle the 1 million new accounts that will be made this week.

Currently, only 4,720 patrons are donating to Mastodon.

However, if everyone chips in $2/month, this will ensure the continued survival of Mastodon!

Be a hero! Donate now! https://www.patreon.com/mastodon