Link round-up for 22 March 2025

Various interesting stuff I ran across on the net over the last week.

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Next time, use something stronger.

I really hope this isn't what it looks like.

Logger pwns priest.

This is not the best place for your food supply.

See how a puppy chandelier is made.

OK, I've located the problem.

This game didn't work out very well.

You're just asking to get crapped on.

It's karma in action.

These monkeys are not very nice.

Her friend takes her where she wants to go.

I hope he didn't pay too much for this car.

Best oxygen mask design ever.

It's a sign of the coming of Jesus (from reader Chief Squirrel).

Obviously a serious discussion.

Cool airplane night landing video here.

Can you identify this monster?  I couldn't.

Somewhat-befuddled visions of the future here, apparently from the 1940s (NSFW blog, requires Blogspot login).

Sandrine Torredemer creates art with textiles.

If every person gets their own version of Heaven, mine would look something like this.

Lots of interesting stuff here about Pompeii -- it's amazing how much advanced scientific techniques have revealed in modern times.

Here's what happens when mercury meets aluminum.

Madagascar has these weird giant bugs.

This naturally-occurring protein molecule seems to be as effective as Ozempic, with fewer side effects.

Science is approaching real victory over HIV -- unless funding cuts sabotage its efforts.

Good article here on the lies about vaccines and autism (found via AutisticAF aka Johnny Knapp, who's cited in the article, though they got his name slightly wrong).

Rooftop solar power alone could provide two-thirds of the world's electricity needs.

Bird flu is now spreading unchecked, with US government agencies no longer effective (and RFK Jr making idiotic suggestions).

Interesting visualization of ocean currents here.

Florida is becoming a leader in solar power, despite state government opposition.

Here's why Musk's SpaceX rockets are unworkable and always will be.

If you have an "Amazon Echo", whatever the hell that is, it will soon start transmitting everything you say to Amazon.

"Roku", whatever the hell that is, is testing a scheme to make people watch ads before getting to their home screen.

This is what happens when you replace humans, who have common sense, with robots, which don't.

Disney's Snow White, the latest pointless, woke, live-action remake of a classic cartoon, is turkeying out in Europe, and early indications are that the same is happening in the US.  YouTuber Overlord DVD looks at the reviews.

If you have an eBay account, it has probably signed you up to have your personal data used for "AI".  Here's how to opt out.

Some people don't think ahead.

It's hard to accept the death of an old friend (sad video).

Even if you're highly intelligent, a misdiagnosis and consequent wrong medications can have crippling effects.

Some tips here on how to stop doomscrolling.

Never use "AI" for fact-checking.  It's utterly incapable of doing that.

It's easy to see why women don't want men like this around.

The Tesla protests are escalating in number and intensity.  Here's a report and pictures from a peaceful rally in Sacramento.  But Molotov cocktails were apparently used in Las Vegas, and there seems to have been an arson attack in Kansas City.  The biggest attack of all so far happened in Ontario, Canada.

Priorities, priorities (from reader Chief Squirrel).

The US Catholic Church is in crisis, with membership declining.  For every 100 people who join the Church, 840 leave.  Of the members who remain, many seldom or never pray, and majorities support abortion rights and same-sex marriage -- suggesting that they're "Christians in name only".

Lady M and Morning Coffee have round-ups of images for the times.  Here are some more from the anti-Musk resistance in the UK.

This is how colonizers behave when they're taking over someone else's territory.

"Passengers on the left side of the plane, if you look out your windows, you can see Elon Musk's latest fuckup."

This man did a good thing.

Some monuments shouldn't be preserved.

Be aware about so-called "crisis pregnancy centers".

Here's a look at how the media distort the news.

After girls at an Illinois school complained that there was a boy in their locker room when they needed to change their clothes, three school administrators allegedly escorted them back to the room and forced them to change in front of him.  One girl fled and called her mother, and a civil rights complaint has been filed.  Discussion here.

Believe the woman, not the creep.  Discussion here.

Rural broadband is the next likely sacrifice to Musk's insatiable greed.

Billionaires in San Francisco are allegedly using hired thugs to harass ordinary people.

Sheldon Whitehouse understands how a government shutdown would have played into the hands of Musk and his vandals.  More here.

Daily Kos posters Whitaker, Julienne, French Bear, and ManyMiles reconsider the vote to stop the shutdown.

This is cultural terrorism.  Discussion here.

The Blue Print is the new official blog of the DNC, intended to highlight the party's resistance to Trump.  It really is new, so there's not much posted there yet.

Here's why women-only gyms are necessary.

DOGE mass firings are hitting Trump voters in West Virginia hard.  Trump's support remains steady, but the full impact of the firings hasn't been felt yet.

Here's a list of more things that DOGE will bugger up if it's not reined in.  The backlash will be huge.

A Democratic state rep in New Hampshire makes a speech defending women's rights; colleagues walk out.

Tech companies are abandoning their support for the H-1B program because of its extreme unpopularity, with opposition now ranging from Steve Bannon to Bernie Sanders.

Trump's commerce secretary is shamelessly shilling Tesla stock, but it's not working.

Women prison inmates are giving up hope as the nightmare of being imprisoned with male criminals drags on.

After the January 6 insurrection, many large companies promised to never again donate to Republicans who voted to overturn the election.  Here's how they're doing on keeping that promise -- for each company, hover over the wording in the "stance" column to get the specific info.

If those DOGE stimulus checks ever happen, poor people won't get them.

One way to tell a cult is how it reacts to criticism or people trying to leave.

Trump wants to import eggs to reduce prices, but he's insulted most of the countries that could supply them.  Don't bother asking Finland.

Tesla Takedown is calling for a day of action on March 29.  Indivisible is calling for a nationwide general anti-Trump rally on April 5.  And "stand up for science" demonstrations protest the administration's attacks on research.

Escalating layoffs are provoking a rise in worker anger.

Elon Musk claims he has no idea why he's so hated.  Hint:  it's not just the left.

Chuck Schumer has a long track record as a winner and consistently reads the public mood better than his critics do.

The billionaire-owned mass media have downplayed news about Luigi Mangione, while social media are censoring it, but make no mistake -- he's as big a story as ever.

Several House Republicans oppose impeaching judges just because Trump doesn't like their rulings.  Trump insists he won't defy court orders.

To understand how the whole "trans" thing got started, you need to know about autogynephilia.  An HBO show (!) is helping to educate people.

Veterans are organizing an ad campaign against Musk and DOGE.  Here's an example.

Doctors and other valuable residents are leaving forced-birth states.

The Trump government is harassing and detaining foreign tourists.  This will wreck yet another revenue-generating industry.

Here's why a general strike probably wouldn't work in the US.

A lot of the Republican base isn't on board with kowtowing to Putin.

Republican Congressional leaders warn Trump not to bugger up the NATO command structure.  Nice start, but there are plenty of other things they need to be telling him off about.

Senators reply to constituents with canned, boilerplate responses.

The government gives more protection to Tesla than to women.

Resistance is widespread, but more needs to be done.

A ten-year-old girl in Texas who is recovering from brain cancer was deported to Mexico while on the way to a medical appointment.

Jewish people -- or anyone who's civilized -- need to stay the hell out of Ireland.

In a fine piece of historical irony, German re-armament will play a vital role in protecting European democracy.

Europe can no longer trust US-made weapons and is turning to home-made alternatives.  Denmark now openly calls US weapons a national security risk.  The EU's massive €800 billion rearmament plan will freeze out US arms suppliers.

The EU is determined to apply normal regulation to giant companies like Apple and Google, and is ignoring Trump's bullying.

Anti-Musk resistance is intensifying in Europe, with a major move possibly coming in Germany.

There have been massive pro-democracy rallies in several eastern European countries threatened by autocracy (found via Annie).

Trump's turn against Ukraine has led to a new surge in Americans volunteering to go and fight there.

See the spectacular fire at the Engels airbase in Russia following a Ukrainian drone attack, which apparently detonated a stockpile of missiles.  The resulting explosion hurled debris five kilometers and may have wrecked many of the aircraft stored there.  Update:  Here are satellite images of the damage.

Also hit was this oil depot in Krasnodar, much closer to the Ukrainian border.

Russia is losing the war, and ordinary Russians know it.

In a possible weakening of the Arab opposition to population transfer from Gaza, Egypt is offering "temporary" accommodation for up to half a million Gazans.  Update:  Egypt has denied this report.

If you visit Thailand, beware of public toilets.

With the US abandoning support for clean energy in Africa, the UK is stepping up.

More links at Red State Blues, WAHF, and Chop Wood Carry Water.

My own posts this week:  how the left fringe stood with Elon Musk on the shutdown vote, and an image round-up.

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