Any Old Sunday @JWE@qoto.org

A daily reminder:

Climate Change is a CO2 problem. We will not solve it without drastically cutting fossil fuel emissions.

THIS IS A BABY EEL. Many eels live in the open ocean when young & are barely recognizable (this may be a conger eel). They're at the mercy of the currents, never sure what will happen. Their lives are mysterious, perilous, & beautiful.
Video: Fan Zhang http://bit.ly/2sfG7gH

Many of us will spend the fleeting moments of 2022 celebrating the start of the new year. But in reality, Jan 1 is a pretty arbitrary date. So, why tonight?

It began with the Romans, who decided on Jan 1 by 153 BC, to coincide with when new consuls took office. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/12/31/why-the-new-year-starts-on-january-1-a-terrible-time-for-renewal/

But of course, many cultures & religions mark the occasion on other dates & all are just as valid or invalid, especially given time might not exist. But that’s a topic for another day.

#HappyNewYear Mastodon!

A teenager in the Bronx was accused of stealing a backpack. The police arrested him.

Couldn't make bail. Would spend 2 years on Riker's island awaiting a trial.

--only for the charges to be dropped. Many were appalled, they set it up for him to go to community college. That's where I met him once-- Came to electronics club. He made an LED Christmas tree-- he seemed... so so so sad.

He took his own life later that year.

Anyways. Uh, Sam Bankman-Fried to be released on $250 million bail.

Our democracy shouldn't be a Secret Santa... that's why we're investigating who's behind 55 Tufton Street groups.
https://glplive.org/qen

The oldest octopus fossil, which is 296 million years old, and pre-dates the dinosaurs.
The way things are going, this species will post-date humanity as well.

#Octopus #Fossils #Dinosaurs #ClimateChange

Despite how sharks are portrayed in movies and reality tv, here’s what to remember 🦈

Sharks kill 5-10 humans each year.

Humans kill ~100 million sharks each year (and that’s a conservative estimate).

Many species are now threatened with extinction.

Don’t fear sharks. Protect them.

BREAKING: Nation astonished that family which made itself exempt from racism laws & had its last racism scandal a week ago has had another racism scandal. It's almost like this family might not be better than the rest of us & it's stupid making their firstborn our head of state x

“People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically… No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

#OnThisDay, 1 Dec 1955, Rosa Parks does not give up her seat on the bus for a white passenger, and is arrested. Although not the first black woman to be arrested Parks' refusal is a key moment in the American civil rights movement.
#WomenInHistory #RosaParks @histodons #Histodons

2022: Mastodon will never replace Twitter

59% of Brits think that Brexit is going badly...

And Leave voters lean the same way. As do Tories. In fact, only 12% of Brits think it's gone well.

Brexit is a failed project. With bells on.

Measuring research impact

https://www.tomgauld.com/
@histodons @academicchatter @economics @phdstudents

This is great by @davidallengreen on the spectacle of Owen Paterson, who called for repeal of the Human Rights Act and even 'breaking free from the ECHR,' taking his case to the European Court of Human Rights.

His lawyers say despite the irony 'he has no other choice' - 'And that is the very point of human rights law... They are all there as a last resort, for those with no other choice' - like the migrants Paterson complained about.

#HumanRights

https://davidallengreen.com/2022/11/why-we-should-cheer-owen-paterson-taking-his-case-to-the-european-court-of-human-rights/

Another point that warrants clarification about the way Twitter handled COVID-19 misinfo: getting reported for spreading COVID-19 misinfo wasn't given the same weight as getting reported for making overtly racist remarks, for instance.

In fact, Twitter had de-prioritized adjudication of complaints re: COVID-19 misinfo in February 2021. That's right: *2021* the data speaks for itself 👀⤵️

Conservatives were furious when a baker had to bake a cake for a gay couple. But now they want to force Apple to host content it finds harmful and dangerous?
Make it make sense.

Meanwhile on Twitter: