Martin Ruskov @mapto@qoto.org

Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to prominent universities are shining a spotlight on donor screening.

Individual donors fund only a small share of research (about 3%), but even small gifts can raise big ethical questions.

https://theconversation.com/individual-donors-provide-only-a-small-slice-of-university-research-funding-but-jeffrey-epsteins-ties-with-academics-show-why-screening-matters-276345

@TheConversationUS "High-profile propaganda products frequently fail to resonate. Music charts and streaming platforms in Russia are dominated not by patriotic anthems but by an eclectic mix of songs about personal relationships, such as Jakone’s moody ballad “Eyes As Wet As Asphalt,” songs in praise of “Hoodies” and even a catchy Bashkir folk song.

Book sales show strong demand for works such as George Orwell’s “1984” and Viktor Frankl’s Holocaust memoir “Man’s Search for Meaning,” suggesting that readers are searching for ways to understand authoritarianism, trauma and moral responsibility rather than celebrating militarism.

And instead of watching the state-backed film “Tolerance,” a dystopian tale of moral decay in the West, Russians are streaming the “Heated Rivalry” gay hockey romance."

Michelangelo hated painting the Sistine Chapel – and never aspired to be a painter to begin with

https://theconversation.com/michelangelo-hated-painting-the-sistine-chapel-and-never-aspired-to-be-a-painter-to-begin-with-275788

ggml.ai joins HuggingFace

ggml.ai is better known as the entity behind llama.cpp. It's nice to hear good news! Thank you @ggerganov and @huggingface

https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp/discussions/19759

@llm

Hey, whether you work in tech or not, if you use Python, please do take a couple minutes to fill out the 2026 Python Developers Survey: https://surveys.jetbrains.com/s3/python-developers-survey-2026

Is teasing playful or harmful? Research shows the answer often comes down to details like:

• power differences
• the topic (identity & sensitive issues are off-limits)
• whether it stops when asked
• repetition

Via The Conversation Canada:
https://theconversation.com/is-teasing-playful-or-harmful-it-depends-on-a-number-of-factors-273676

U.S. President Donald Trump’s assignment of his favorite envoys to juggle the Iranian nuclear ⁠standoff and Russia’s war in Ukraine in a single day has left many in the foreign policy world scratching their heads. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/18/world/politics/us-witkoff-kushner-iran-ukraine/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #politics #stevewitkoff #jaredkushner #iran #middleeast #us #donaldtrump #republicans #ukraine #russia #russiaukrainewar #vladimirputin #volodymyrzelenskyy

From the crash of our nuclear bomber in Greenland in 1968.

“Cancer-stricken Danes who cleaned up US #nuclear bomber crash in #Greenland are fighting for recognition, money”

https://nypost.com/2026/02/14/us-news/cancer-stricken-danes-fight-for-recognition-money-decades-after-greenland-nuclear-disaster/

In a massive blow to the handful of scientists and academics who still dispute widely-accepted climate science, the Trump administration discarded a signature report by its own “Climate Working Group.” It comes as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officially scrapped the government’s  endangerment finding — the official recognition that greenhouse gases harm human health and the environment. In an […]

The post Trump EPA Abandons Climate Working Group Report in Endangerment Finding Repeal appeared first on DeSmog.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered an about-face on NATO membership, Sweden is considering another historic shift in adopting the euro. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/02/17/markets/sweden-euro/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #markets #us #donaldtrump #sweden #euro

Even with Trump’s support, coal power remains expensive – and dangerous. President Trump has ordered the military to buy more electricity generated by coal, but professors of law and environmental economics explain the limits to his power to bring coal back. https://theconversation.com/even-with-trumps-support-coal-power-remains-expensive-and-dangerous-269668

You need to know about the SAVE Act, which recently passed in the House.

So here's a crash course from reporter Ari Berman on how the sweeping voter restriction bill could disenfranchise millions of Americans:

Hate isn't love's opposite, according to a religious ethicist, but rather a reaction to threats against what we love. Reframing love as a virtue instead of just a feeling could transform how we respond to hatred. https://buff.ly/zwxPPmI

This week’s major climate news played out on a split screen with the United States and China signaling different paths for the future. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/14/asia-pacific/trump-climate-rules-china-emissions/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #us #donaldtrump #china #emissions #climatechange #electricvehicles

@Sunshine
“Lessons are not learned when they are identified,” said retired Gen. David Petraeus. “Rather, they are only learned when you develop new concepts, write new doctrine, change organizational structures, overhaul your training, refine leader development courses, set out new materiel requirements that drive the procurement process, and even make changes to your personnel policies, recruiting, and facilities.”

Mass migration of US scientists to Europe

"According to data from the European Research Council (ERC), the European Union’s premier funding agency for basic research, applications from the United States for its starting, consolidator and advanced grants to individual researchers — worth up to €2.5 million apiece over five years — rose by 120% in its most recent round of calls, compared with an overall rise in applications of 17% (see ‘Choosing Europe’)."
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00362-w
@science