Thomas Ulich @MiVyoo@qoto.org

Here's a great opportunity for a physicist or geographer to do a (fully funded) PhD in #LightPollution studies: https://www.tcd.ie/physics/study/prospective/postgraduate/

Please share it if you have a lot of physicists and/or geographers in your network!

#Physics #Geography #AcademicJobs

Great news for Europe. Today the Polish parliament formally elected the pro-EU politician Donald Tusk as prime minister.

Gone are now the days of the PiS Government, who were anti-abortion, anti-LGBT, Christian nationalists who sent Poland on a collision course with the EU by attacking their own justice system and human rights.

I seriously hope, Mr. Tusk is the right man to end the transport blockade of Ukraine and get the flow of aid back on track.

Source: https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/polen-donald-tusk-zum-kuenftigen-regierungschef-bestimmt-a-a13c66f0-247f-4716-b62e-2101e3216edf

Today I came across this video showing a recent shelling of the town of Pervomaiske southwest of Avdiivka.

This is what happens to Ukrainian homes, while Republicans in Washington hold back the aid and wish each other Merry Christmas.

As a reminder, if you are a teacher, do not use AI detectors. This piece mirrors what I've heard from a LOT of students on social media (panicked students commenting on my AI videos, with no reason to lie). In my opinion, whatever utility you're getting out of a way to catch cheating is not worth the risk of even one false positive. Especially the potential for *systematically biased* false positives. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ai-written-homework-is-rising-so-are-false-accusations

"The end of American aid will not end the killing and dying in Ukraine. It will only allow Russian missiles to turn more cities into the hell of Mariupol, and Russian troops to inflict more agony on civilians under occupation." https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/12/ukraine-russia-war-aid/676287/

Ffs, kick me in the shins and call me George. This is just getting worse and worse. And it's not just the US that is failing Ukraine. EU, NATO have demonstrated serious weaknesses, e.g. the lack of full force reaction against Russia and the fact that support and loyalty expires quickly for some members. If the aid stops, and Russia wins? Who will be next? The Baltic States? We don't have time for Republican powerplay bullshit. Western ideals are at stake here https://youtube.com/shorts/g-QoA2kmoEE?si=T5mJAnJGkbzoUFcH. @anderspuck

Absolutely love how the Nordic countries are standing together against Tesla’s stupidly stubborn refusal to enter collective agreements to ensure workers’ rights. Now, one of the large pension groups in Denmark have dumped their Tesla shares:

https://fortune.com/europe/2023/12/07/elon-musk-sweden-labor-union-tesla-court-pension-fund/

#unions #workersrights #tesla

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it a thousand times: There are three branches of government. Your church is not one of them.

JOURNALISM 101 RULE: If someone says it’s raining, and another person says it’s dry, it’s not your job to quote them both. Your job is to look out of the fucking window and find out which is true. — Now more than ever.

What? Wait… WHAT!??!?

This is the actual Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, claiming he was elected Speaker… by God himself!

Seriously?!?! Has God also told him to help Putin by holding back the military aid for Ukraine?

Grab onto your armrests firmly because this two minute clip is a wild ride through crazy town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot5V9CS2BoY

I am on this episode of Silicon Curtain. It’s about an hour’s talk about the war in #Ukraine, the need for the West to understand #Russia’s war aims, and what it will take to break the deadlock.
https://youtu.be/A10Hl913qgg?si=yCBjf-PeDFSchHNA

Silicon Curtain is one of my favorite sources of information about the war in Ukraine. Every week, we get several high quality, objective, informative interviews with insightful and centrally placed experts. This time with @anderspuck who among other things talks about Russia’s goals for this war, which are far more ambitious than what they have achieved so far, which is why notions about a peace deal circulating in the West is totally unrealistic. https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/silicon-curtain/id1661722315?i=1000637497546

OTD in 1975 Hannah Arendt died.

"The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact & fiction and the distinction between true & false no longer exist".

I just did a search for the word “Ukraine” on the pages I am served when visiting news sites.

cnn.com: 0
msnbc.com: 0
foxnews.com: 0
usatoday.com: 0
bbc.com: 1

In our grand parent’s generation millions fought and died to ensure, we could live in freedom. Now, news about college football and Taylor Swift is more important than the news about the modern day Hitler trying to crush the democracy in an EU neighboring country of 44 million people.

Dear world: Wake up!

#ukraine

Democracy in the US Congress is a dialog between two big parties.

Democracy in the parliament of Denmark is a dialog between 16 parties.

You might think, Danish politicians would never get anything done, but the multiparty system works surprisingly well and ensures, a nuanced debate.

For instance, for many years most of the older parties did not want to handle climate change, but then the a climate focused party The Alternative gained more support, and the older parties had to face reality.
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Hey folks!

Please do NOT report artists for sharing links to where the art is available to purchase!

Just DO NOT be such a jerk!

If you want artists to keep sharing their work on mastodon, this whole "absolute no commercial posts at all" attitude has to stop. There is a huge difference between a big corporate ad campaign and an individual artist posting a link to their own art shop.

#ArtForSale #art

Sounds good to us!
https://www.comicsands.com/doctor-never-wake-early-gym-2666187393.html?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=infeed&utm_campaign=linkprogram

I have given an interview to the German news site NTV about the situation in #Ukraine. It's an overall status on the war, perspectives on conflicting visions of victory, and my opinion about Germany's reluctance to send Taurus missiles.
https://www.n-tv.de/politik/Erst-stand-Putin-unter-Schock-dann-der-Westen-article24554621.html

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