Tootfinder

Several Ukrainian children abducted to Russia returned in initiative backed by Melania Trump, White House says: https://benborges.xyz/2026/02/13/several-ukrainian-children-abducted-to.html

New information published Friday by the New York Times further suggests that
the U.S.military may have lied when it tried to pin the blame for a February airstrike that killed 21 people in Iran on the Iranian government,
with evidence indicating that the U.S. carried out the attack with a new missile designed to inflict maximum casualties

New Evidence Bolsters Claim That US Lied About Another Iran Airstrike Massacre | Common Dreams
Munitions experts and The New York Times say a US missile designed to inflict maximum casualties was used in a February bombing that killed 21 people, including at least five children.

Social media addiction trial: the plaintiff, Meta, and YouTube make closing arguments; jurors begin deliberations Friday on liability for harm to children (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/meta-instagram-facebook-tr…

Closing arguments begin in landmark social media trial set in Los Angeles
After about a month of hearing from addiction experts, therapists, platform engineers and executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, a jury will listen to closing arguments before heading to the deliberation room to decide whether social media companies should be liable for harms caused to children using their platforms. Closing statements in the trial will begin Thursday at the Spring Street Courthouse in Los Angeles. Lawyers representing the plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman, and those representing …

A new ProPublica investigation reveals new details about a sprawling ICE detention complex
where families describe horrific conditions inside, such as being served contaminated food,
with children and parents at times finding worms in their meals.
Lights are reportedly left on for 24 hours a day.
South Texas Family Residential Center, in the town of #Dilley a few dozen miles from …

“I Have Never Felt So Much Fear”: Immigrant Children Speak Out on Life Inside ICE Jail in Dilley, TX
A new ProPublica investigation reveals new details about a sprawling ICE detention complex where families describe horrific conditions inside, such as being served contaminated food, with children and parents at times finding worms in their meals. Lights are reportedly left on for 24 hours a day. South Texas Family Residential Center, in the town of Dilley a few dozen miles from the southern border with Mexico, detains an estimated 3,500 people, more than half of them children. “I have never …

Wow does the AI-BAD crowd who moans like children about these really great AGENTS.md files and how bros aren’t writing docs for humans but for AI instead get butt hurt when you point out those are written by AI and not humans.

I wanna jump one more time on the whole "distraction" framing, because this is a point that needs to be hammered home (and I need a reminder to write something longer).
Attacks on trans youth are not a distraction from other types of coercion, they are central to it. Attacks on trans youth come from a conceptualization of children as property, which is literally patriarchy in the Roman sense of the legal objectification all people who share a household as belonging to a man. This legal structure, Roman slave law, continues to be the root of property rights and therefore the foundation of capitalism.
But colonialism also extends from it through the infantalization of colonized people as a justification for oppression. This can also be turned inward again manifesting as the justification for police (that is, some people "can't handle themselves and need external authority to act right").
The #Epstein stuff isn't some weird thing that rich people get away with, it's core to how wealth works. Money isn't useful by itself, it's a proxy for power. One manifestation of power is being able to violate laws that constrain others (this is the "freedom of the monarch" that Graeber talks about in Dawn of Everything). The war in Iran, especially the threats of nuclear weapons and genocide is not a distraction from the #EpsteinFiles, but rather a manifestation of the same thing.
Power must be demonstrated to affirm that it is real. War is a demonstration power. Violating the law without consequences is a demonstration of power. The most taboo things are using nuclear weapons and child sexual abuse. He has already done one of those, and he is going to do everything he can to do the other.
These are not distractions, these are all manifestations of the underlying thing that we need to fight. But we need to make sure we're fighting it as a single thing. We have to tie these things together, because if we do not then we risk reproducing the same thing again but worse.

OH, 10-yr-old boy at a birthday party: “Why do people have to be complete man-children about stuff all the time?”

Vía @ireallyhateyou on Twitter:
Roald Dahl, 1983, about Beirut under Israeli bombs:
"One finds it almost impossible to believe that a civilised people could perform such acts of fiendish barbarism upon women and children and patients in hospitals... The Israelis pinpointed and hit no less than thirteen out of the seventeen hospitals in Beirut, one of them a mental hospital and many of the others full of children."

With all the Government talk around the western world about Internet "safety", and using the tired old lines about "protecting the children" when in reality they just want to lockdown the Internet like they've wanted to from the start. Just remember these words.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." ~ Benjamin Franklin

US strike likely hit Shajareh Tayyiba school in Minab, Iran due to outdated intelligence, sources briefed on initial findings say | CNN Politics https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/11/politics/us-iran-school-strike-civilians

US strike likely hit a school in Iran due to outdated intelligence, sources briefed on initial findings say
The US military accidentally struck an Iranian elementary school, in an attack that state media said killed at least 168 children and 14 teachers, likely due to outdated information about a nearby naval base, according to two sources briefed on the preliminary findings of an ongoing military investigation.

Did you know the average human large intestine is about 1.5 meters long? [1]
#SuperBowelFacts
[1] https://www.chp.edu/our-services/transplan

Differences in Small & Large Intestines | Children's Pittsburgh
Do you know the main differences between the small and large intestines? Learn exactly how your body absorbs nutrients from your food on a daily basis.

The Trump administration’s immigration enforcement arm
is requesting unfettered access to what is considered to be the most comprehensive government database of people in the United States
and their most private information,
including sensitive details about individual children, according to six current and former federal officials.
It is called the "Federal Parent Locator Service", and it’s meant for finding people who owe child support.
Granting acc…

DHS Seeks Access to Massive Employment, Salary and Family Database Legally Restricted to Use in Child Support Cases
The Trump administration’s immigration enforcers are requesting unfettered access to the government’s “most powerful people-finder system,” which contains sensitive information on children and victims of domestic violence.

Despite the hot air from government about protecting children, they've voted down our Bill to turn off the toxic algorithms.
These algorithms push toxic content promoting eating disorders, self harm, misogyny and hate.
Big Tech profits should not come before children's health.
— Paul Murphy, Member of the Irish Parliament for the party People before Profit.

Today…
“The speaker of the House was tweeting about transgender athletes. The Republican senator who leads oversight of the Pentagon was promoting Trump-branded investment accounts for children. The chairman of the main foreign affairs panel in the House was posting photos of newborn bald eagles.”
…

As Trump Swings on Iran War, Republicans Leaders in Congress Are Largely Silent
In a week in which President Trump has veered from threatening to wipe out Iranian civilization to declaring a cease-fire, Congress is out of session and lawmakers with the power to declare war are mostly in the dark.

💔129-drone attack: Ukraine readies laser air defense; Russia killed a father and three children!: https://benborges.xyz/2026/02/11/drone-attack-ukraine-readies-laser.html

Remembering when I got booked to do a tedx talk about algorave and went on and on about maypole dancing

Grieving Iranian mother tells UN about children before school attack | US-Israel war on Iran | Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/3/27/grieving-iranian-mother-tells-un-about-children-before-school-attack

Study finds dangerous lead levels in children’s clothing #children

Study finds dangerous lead levels in children’s clothing
Fast fashion might come with a hidden danger: lead. Researchers testing children’s shirts from multiple retailers found every sample exceeded U.S. safety limits, raising concerns about toxic exposure—especially since young kids often chew on clothing. Brightly colored fabrics like red and yellow showed particularly high levels, likely due to chemicals used to fix dyes. Simulations suggest that even brief mouthing could expose children to unsafe amounts of lead, a substance known to harm bra…

Jury deliberations begin in New Mexico's lawsuit against Meta over children's safety risks, after both sides delivered closing arguments (Morgan Lee/Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/meta-trial-child-sexual-exploitation-5ad9…

New Mexico trial nears end over children's safety risks on Meta
Closing arguments are underway in a landmark trial where New Mexico prosecutors are accusing social media conglomerate Meta of misleading people about the safety of its platforms for children. Meta denies violating state consumer protection laws. Nationwide, social media companies are contending with lawsuits that allege the platforms harm children. Closing arguments in the New Mexico case were being delivered Monday after six weeks of testimony from scores of witnesses that included teachers, …

the deontological shopping mall known as Lloyd Center in Portland Oregon

CHILDREN AND PREGNANT WOMEN INJURED! 💔 Russia began February with bloody terror in Zaporizhzhia!: https://benborges.xyz/2026/02/01/children-and-pregnant-women-injured.html

It is a vile scandal that 2 of the biggest AI companies in the world attack children by inciting them to self-harm, and by generating sexually exploitative imagery of kids for profit. I wanted to document this so that people in tech will stop saying they don't know: https://www.anildash.com/2026/02/18/threat…

How did we end up threatening our kids’ lives with AI?
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.

The speaker of the House was tweeting about transgender athletes.
The Republican senator who leads oversight of the Pentagon was promoting Trump-branded investment accounts for children.
The chairman of the main foreign affairs panel in the House was posting photos of newborn bald eagles.
As Donald Trump swung this week from threatening to annihilate Iran to announcing a cease-fire whose terms and durability remain murky,
Congress
— the branch of government vest…

As Trump Swings on Iran War, Republicans Leaders in Congress Are Largely Silent
In a week in which President Trump has veered from threatening to wipe out Iranian civilization to declaring a cease-fire, Congress is out of session and lawmakers with the power to declare war are mostly in the dark.

Series C, Episode 07 - Children of Auron
SERVALAN: Deral? What are you talking about?
GINKA: Did you know he persuaded the woman Franton to remove some cells from one of the placentas and replace them with his own.
SERVALAN: Whose cells did he replace?
https://blake.torpidity.net/m/307/551<…

Based on anecdotal evidence it appears that resurrection of The Draft is a serious issue in retirement homes.
Older people (who have experienced eras in which the draft was active) seem to be becoming quite fearful that their grand and great-grand children will be swept into trump/hegseth wars.
But there is no sign that the D party recognizes the draft as an issue at all, much less how it could quite persuasive among older people (a demographic that tends to vote.)

Could the US Bring Back the Draft? Who Would Be Called First — and Who Qualifies
Could the U.S. bring back the draft? Here’s how Selective Service works today, who would be called first and why only about 23% of young Americans qualify.

I'm currently serving on district grand jury. I am forbidden by oath from ever revealing any details about any case we hear. But in general, some of the hardest details to hear are of child sexual abuse of various kinds, followed by violence against women, almost always sexual.
https://www.

If I could change one thing about #Scotland it wouldn't be the weather (what would this place be like if it were warm?!) or independence (we'll get there, I'm sure). It's the religion. From the very first weeks I was here, I, and later my children and students, have confronted horrible prejudice at every turn. Colleagues have threatened to resign rather than "working with a Buddhi…

The discussion around "age verification" in systemd/XDG has been largely focused against the California law. But honestly, there's a much deeper problem there.
Firstly, the data collected. The question initially asked is "are you at least 18 years old?" However, that's not the data collected. In fact, the data collected is not even the age — it's the full birth date. It's a perfect example of collecting more data than you need, and a sensitive information too, and sharing it with any application that asks.
Secondly, the extended goal of "parental controls" used as a justification to collect more data. When you think about it, you realize how bad this is: it isn't the case of asking the user about their birth date (with the assumption that a kid will enter a fake date to workaround the limitations). It is effectively a tool for *parents* to impose restrictions on their children, which means that they are more likely to enter the real date to ensure that these restrictions work. And given how popular sharenting is today, do you really think they'd come up with a fake birth date that happens to roughly match their child's age?
This is simply irresponsible.
https://github.com/flatpak/xdg-desktop-portal/pull/1922

I just came across "On encule le monde" by Les Guignols.
"We are the world" will never be the same anymore.

🤬 National poll: Less than half of parents say swearing is never OK for kids
#swearing

National poll: Less than half of parents say swearing is never OK for kids
Today's parents may be growing more relaxed about their children using curse words, according to a national poll.

RE: https://smnn.ch/@nohillside/115962247338547543
"Finally, it matters that this was the second broad-daylight murder, and that it came after weeks of horror stories about kidnapped children, citizens pepper-sprayed in the face, and more. I already knew, …

chatcontrol e oscuramento: la guerra alla crittografia è in aumento. A causa di una losca collaborazione tra Stati Uniti e Unione Europea.
Sorveglianza di massa statale
Dopo la denuncia di Snowden nel 2013, ampie porzioni di Internet sono diventate crittografate, consentendo comunicazioni private e sicure. Non tutti hanno accolto con favore questo cambiamento. In particolare, l'FBI e altre agenzie governative statunitensi hanno combattuto quella che viene spesso definita la &q…

Fascist paramilitary invaders gassed thousands including children during the Labor Against I.C.E. Rally and March (Portland, OR - 1/31/26)
This was a mid-afternoon march with the Unions. It was peaceful and respectful until ICE got insecure and decided to be dicks about it. No warnings either.
Source:
https://reddit.com/comments/1…

American dream: "The sad thing is it’s tough but it’s not a surprise. We’ve been furloughed over 90 days. That’s ridiculous. Right now, I’m missing two and a half checks. Some people have taken out unemployment assistance. Some people have relied on predatory loans to get by. You have to pay off your car, you have to pay your mortgage. I had to apply for food stamps a couple weeks ago. It’s embarrassing as a federal employee for ten years. And I don’t even have children."

A TSA Agent Tells Us What’s Happening at La Guardia Airport
A fatal crash and government shutdown has made La Guardia a mess. We spoke to a TSA officer about what it’s like to work in the airport right now.

Russia ATTACKS CHILDREN in DONBAS! Brutal drone-missile strikes on Ukraine: https://benborges.xyz/2026/01/25/russia-attacks-children-in-donbas.html

What @… says is what a lot of us have been lamenting since the ICE invasion started. Shouldn’t local police protect citizens from ICE?? Why this hasn’t happened is a really good question. Factors to consider:
- “Obstructing a federal agent” is illegal, and local police / politicians feel constrained by that (even if the agents themselves don’t seem constrained by the actual law at all, only by what they think they can get away with)
- Police can in theory cite federal agents for e.g. traffic violations or illegal plate swapping after the fact, as long as they’re not “obstructing” the agents — but how do you cite a masked person with fake plates who refuses to give ID?
- Some police are visibly supportive of ICE, chumming it up with them and giving literal fist bumps; a nontrivial subset are outright closet Nazis. A lot of people don’t really see any need to go past “ACAB” as a full explanation for all of this — and certainly The ACAB Hypothesis is…um, not really being proved false right now in Minneapolis.
- I think some police quietly resent ICE for stepping on their turf, but that does not seem to have boiled up into actual confrontation in MSP. One police leader here painted it in early Dec as “some people want to instigate a confrontation between Minneapolis Police, and that’s not going to happen.” Police culture says that police should be a neutral party in a dispute between ICE and residents, and actually protecting residents would be taking sides. (Duh, yes, taking sides that way is your literal job, you dumbasses…but I digress.)
- Some police (especially leadership) really want to get on the community’s good side after the murder of George Floyd, and see this as an opportunity, but unfortunately this has materialized entirely as non-interventionist support: “We responded to a 911 call and help a distressed resident after her husband was abducted!” “We transported children left parentless on the streets by ICE safely back to their home!” “Our officers volunteered at the food shelf!” OK, nice, good for you buddy.
So yeah, I’m wondering this too, and am bitter about it. https://tilde.zone/@n1xnx/115928447564126393

"Climate change is forcing rice growers to abandon farming, says Mars"
#Climate #ClimateChange #Farming #Agriculture

Climate change is forcing rice growers to abandon farming, says Mars
New research has revealed that the majority of rice farmers in India and Pakistan do not want their children to enter the profession because of extreme weather reducing global yields every year, raising concerns about future supply.

Ukraine returns 2 children from Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast: https://benborges.xyz/2026/02/21/ukraine-returns-children-from-russianoccupied.html

"GiveWell has long recognized the potential for highly cost-effective vaccine programs. We started supporting #vaccination programs in 2015 and have made over $200 million in vaccination-related grants to date. For example, New Incentives, one of our Top Charities, aims to increase routine childhood vaccinations in northern Nigeria by providing small cash incentives to caregivers who brin…

Podcast Episode 24: Testing New Strategies to Increase Vaccination Coverage - The GiveWell Blog
In this episode, GiveWell CEO and co-founder Elie Hassenfeld speaks with Natalie Crispin about how our research approach has evolved and what it means for helping more children access life-saving vaccinations.

What about all those kids who enjoy #Gladiators. It might finish after their bedtime now.
Won't somebody think of the children!

Liam Ramos, the 5-year-old from Minnesota who was detained last week after coming home from preschool,
is being held in the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.
Congressmembers who visited Liam report that has been depressed and hasn’t been eating well.
Javier Hidalgo, legal director at RAICES, has worked with families at the detention center for years.
“We often hear about food with bugs or worms in it,
half-frozen food being given,
gua…

“Let Us Out”: ICE Detention of Children Sparks Protests at Immigration Jail in Dilley, TX
Liam Ramos, the 5-year-old from Minnesota who was detained last week after coming home from preschool, is being held in the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. Congressmembers who visited Liam report that has been depressed and hasn’t been eating well. Javier Hidalgo, legal director at RAICES, has worked with families at the detention center for years. “We often hear about food with bugs or worms in it, half-frozen food being given, guards yelling at parents if their kid…

@…
This is about glucagon rescue devices.
Endo told me I need to get one. Said there are two groups especially in need of them. Young children and elderly. Said not to hurt my feelings but I am solidly in the second group.
Wow that is some expensive stuff! Debating if I really need it or not. Been able to handle lows myself for over 50 yea…

Russian drone strike on Zaporizhzhia kills 2, injures at least 8, including children: https://benborges.xyz/2026/02/03/russian-drone-strike-on-zaporizhzhia.html

Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 4, injure 21, including children, over past day: https://benborges.xyz/2026/02/01/russian-attacks-against-ukraine-kill.html

This week, ProPublica published a story I wrote
based in part on interviews with parents and children being held at the nation’s only operating detention center for immigrant families in Dilley, Texas.
I had asked some of the parents to see if their children would be willing to write to me about their experiences inside.
-- More than three dozen did.
One of those letters came from 9-year-old Maria Antonia Guerra Montoya from Colombia.
Her letter was written on…

How a Planned Disney World Vacation Turned Into Four Months in Immigration Detention
A 9-year-old shares her story of being held at the nation’s only operating detention center for immigrant families in Dilley, Texas.

Russia tightens passport rules for children in occupied Ukraine, complicating escape, activists say: https://benborges.xyz/2026/01/26/russia-tightens-passport-rules-for.html

Trump Has Detained the Parents of More Than 11,000 U.S. Citizen Kids
More Moms Deported:
An exclusive data analysis found Trump has deported moms of U.S. citizens at four times the rate of his predecessor.
Left Stranded:
Because American-born kids can’t legally join their parents in immigration detention, some end up with friends or strangers when their parents are detained or deported.
New Directive:
Trump administration officials revised a document advi…

Trump Has Detained the Parents of More Than 11,000 U.S. Citizen Kids
A ProPublica analysis of new ICE data shows that Trump has detained parents of U.S. citizen children at about twice the rate that Biden did, and moms have been deported four times as often.