Barbara 🇺🇦 @babs_at_masto@qoto.org

Trump’s federal criminal trial for efforts to overturn the 2020 election has been scheduled by Judge Chutkan for March 4, 2024.

This is tremendously important for our democracy.

Vijf Ooievaars in een Wei
By Theo van Hoytema (1863 - 1917)

#art #birds #flowers #nature

Untangling Avian Evolution: How Early Birds and Plants Bloomed Together 🦖

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-40311-z

New study fills a paleobiology gap revealing a profound connection between the early diversification of birds and the dominance of angiosperms in the Early to Middle Cretaceous period. The diet of earliest birds, it turns out, was a major factor in establishing an arboreal herbivore niche mainly occupied by birds today. #Botany #BotanyAI

Dear corporate media: Now that Donald Trump is officially posting bail in connection with 13 felonies he is charged with in Georgia, Please ensure that all your articles and stories note Trump is "out on bail." As in “Donald Trump—who is OUT ON BAIL-is campaigning today in Iowa.”

Although wolves use varied vocalizations to express themselves, howls are certainly the most popular.

Just like us, each wolf has a unique voice so distinctive features of each individual’s howl allow wolves to identify each other.

If you listen carefully to Silas + Nikai, you'll notice that their howls are unique yet somehow come together to create the most beautiful music.

#Wolf #WolvesOfMastodon

https://youtu.be/Y34pkuUp4uw

This is a part of the line of remembrance, where the Berlin Wall ran, in the middle of the city. It was 3.40m high and flanked by numerous other protective structures. As a child I was used to the Wall, and since 1990 it slowly disappeared, piece by piece. And yet - sometimes I am simply flabbergasted that today I can stand here with one foot on each side, just like that. Still an incredible feeling of happiness.

#ThrowbackThursday #History #Berlin #BerlinWall #StreetPhotography

The road to success for Black female lawyers has not been easy, especially as prosecutors.

Of the roughly 2,400 elected prosecutors in the US in 2019, only 45 of them were Black women, less than 2%.

Since then, two Black women have won high profile posts: Fani Willis in Fulton County, Georgia and Letitia James in New York.

They've proven to be two of Donald Trump's nemeses -- and the targets of his attacks.
https://theconversation.com/black-female-prosecutors-like-fani-willis-face-the-unequal-burden-of-both-racist-and-sexist-attacks-200219
#BlackMastodon @blackmastodon #TrumpIndictments

Really, truly: there is no good reason for any media company or publisher to still be posting on X. #Technology https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/08/15/twitter-x-links-delayed/?utm_source=werd.io&utm_campaign=mastodon&utm_channel=mastodon

“Smith chose to tell the story of an abstraction, crimes against democracy and the peaceful transfer of power. Willis is telling a concrete and detailed story of crimes against voters and election workers; Black voters in particular, female Black election workers in specific.… They are two very distinct acts of violence against elections. Smith reminds us what the country nearly lost, and Willis recalls what Black voters have almost never won.”

@Dahlialith
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/08/trump-indictments-jack-smith-fani-willis-themes.html

This type of militarization and brutalization of the border is the manifestation of a level of cruelty and disregard for the lives of fellow human beings that is simply disgusting, disturbing, and outrageous. No one who is ok with this gets to call themselves “decent” in any way.

https://twitter.com/laikenjordahl/status/1688976652234371072?s=46&t=1xecvNVImNo8TKt3oEvqnA

Butterflies can remember specific flower foraging routes https://www.popsci.com/environment/heliconius-butterfly-spatial-learning/
Studying enhanced cognitive abilities like spatial learning could help scientists better understand how ecology can shape evolution.

The rank corruption of Clarence Thomas continues to be exposed, one sleazy item at a time.

How are we learning about this? Not from law enforcement or others who have subpoena power (e.g. Congress), but by journalists.

Latest example, from the NY Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/us/clarence-thomas-rv-anthony-welters.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=US%20News

When will the Senate begin its much needed investigation into the toxic corruption scandal unfolding at the Supreme Court? It’s time.
#Scotus

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/us/clarence-thomas-rv-anthony-welters.html?unlocked_article_code=guOfuazVHGFW9p987eZyJlkYQRlhxSVBJPX8x5stN5EhpbXjBxqvXI4WkYk4Jq9VCfiD_l0xNdkUBo7FVxqPQL7ZrLwiEsWrBw1pr1PA9hNLMB9busH7FjmQx4J0gQg56gag7l4pjX10lwHv4tXJanhdnrUdVPA_th7GsHsVtVK6c9KvjRcM4eELrrAHeJJ9qHnYvDWTKNcVVofOJCGAVk4ZloZWCFZfaGKHnqUD14PGiwyKqU-YFx_sbAoZsUtGXxDqRxU3zAftjlLbOSvb3KSlTvLYG4UbJQ31ufOCp0wXY_OcGbiroWWOcoGnQ-d-g-MQSDs_Un7T50I06SzmIAZKEg&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

When the risk is known to be existential, you would think the precautionary principle would apply