Tootfinder

The fracturing of the Dutch far-right, after Wilder's reminded everyone that bigots are bad at compromise, is definitely a relief. Dutch folks I've talked to definitely see D66 as progressive, <strike>so there's no question this is a hard turn to the left (even if it's not a total flip to the far-left)</strike> a lot of folks don't agree. I'm going to let the comments speak rather than editorialize myself..
While this is a useful example of how a democracy can be far more resilient to fascism than the US, that is, perhaps, not the most interesting thing about Dutch politics. The most interesting thing is something Dutch folks take for granted and never think of as such: there are two "governments."
The election was for the Tweede Kamer. This is a house of representatives. The Dutch use proportional representation, so people can (more or less) vote for the parties they actually want. Parties <strike>rarely</strike> never actually get a ruling majority, so they have to form coalition governments. This forces compromise, which is something Wilders was extremely bad at. He was actually responsible for collapsing the coalition his party put together, which triggered this election... and a massive loss of seats for his party.
Dutch folks do still vote strategically, since a larger party has an easier time building the governing coalition and the PM tends to come from the largest party. This will likely be D66, which is really good for the EU. D66 has a pretty radical plan to solve the housing crisis, and it will be really interesting to see if they can pull it off. But that's not the government I want to talk about right now.
In the Netherlands, failure to control water can destroy entire towns. A good chunk of the country is below sea level. Both floods and land reclamation have been critical parts of Dutch history. So in the 1200's or so, the Dutch realized that some things are too important to mix with normal politics.
You see, if there's an incompetent government that isn't able to actually *do* anything (see Dick Schoof and the PVV/VVD/NSC/BBB coalition) you don't want your dikes to collapse and poulders to flood. So the Dutch created a parallel "government" that exists only to manage water: waterschap or heemraadschap (roughly "Water Board" in English). These are regional bureaucracies that exist only to manage water. They exist completely outside the thing we usually talk about as a "government" but they have some of the same properties as a government. They can, for example, levy taxes. The central government contributes funds to them, but lacks authority over them. Water boards are democratically elected and can operate more-or-less independent of the central government.
Controlling water is a common problem, so water boards were created to fulfill the role of commons management. Meanwhile, so many other things in politics run into the very same "Tragedy of the Commons" problems. The right wing solution to commons management is to let corporations ruin everything. The left-state solution is to move everything into the government so it can be undermined and destroyed by the right. The Dutch solution to this specific problem has been to move commons management out of the domain of the central government into something else.
And when I say "government" here, I'm speaking more to the liberal definition of the term than to an anarchist definition. A democratically controlled authority that facilitates resource management lacks the capacity for coercive violence that anarchists define as "government." (Though I assume they might leverage police or something if folks refuse to pay their taxes, but I can't imagine anyone choosing not to.)
As the US federal government destroys the social fabric of the US, as Trump guts programs critical to people's survival, it might be worth thinking about this model. These authorities weren't created by any central authority, they evolved from the people. Nothing stops Americans from building similar institutions that are both democratic and outside of the authority of a government that could choose to defund and abolish them... nothing but the realization that yes, you actually can.
#USPol #NLPol

"Education Secretary Linda McMahon has apparently decided that giving blind contractors priority at Army dining halls "adversely affects" U.S. interests."
Trump Officials Plan To Drop Preference For Blind Vendors | HuffPost Latest News
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-blind-vendors-preference_n_6949a499e4b099a75cbdb8b1?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=us_main

Mean-field limits \`a la Tanaka and large deviations for particle systems with network interactions
Louis-Pierre Chaintron, Antoine Diez
https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.04894 https:/…

Mean-field limits à la Tanaka and large deviations for particle systems with network interactions
This article proposes a unified framework to study non-exchangeable mean-field particle systems with some general interaction mechanisms. The starting point is a fixed-point formulation of particle systems originally due to Tanaka that allows us to prove mean-field limit and large deviation results in an abstract setting. While it has been recently shown that such formulation encompasses a large class of exchangeable particle systems, we propose here a setting for the non-exchangeable case, inc…

Mathematical basis, phase transitions and singularities of (3 1)-dimensional phi4 scalar field model
Zhidong Zhang
https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.07439 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2511.07439 https://arxiv.org/html/2511.07439
arXiv:2511.07439v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: The lambda phi4 scalar field model that can be applied to interpret pion-pion scattering and properties of hadrons. In this work, the mathematical basis, phase transitions and singularities of a (3 1)-dimensional (i.e., (3 1)D) phi4 scalar field model are investigated. It is found that as a specific example of topological quantum field theories, the (3 1)D phi4 scalar field model must be set up on the Jordan-von Neumann-Wigner framework and dealt with the parameter space of complex time (or complex temperature). The use of the time average and the topologic Lorentz transformation representing Reidemeister moves ensure the integrability, which takes into account for the contributions of nontrivial topological structures to physical properties of the many-body interacting system. The ergodic hypothesis is violated at finite temperatures in the (3 1)D phi4 scalar field model. Because the quantum field theories with ultraviolet cutoff can be mapped to the models in statistical mechanics, the (3 1)D phi4 scalar field model with ultraviolet cutoff is studied by inspecting its relation with the three-dimensional (3D) Ising model. Furthermore, the direct relation between the coupling K in the 3D Ising model and the bare coupling lambda0 in the (3 1)D phi4 scalar field model is determined in the strong coupling limit. The results obtained in the present work can be utilized to investigate thermodynamic physical properties and critical phenomena of quantum (scalar) field theories.
toXiv_bot_toot

Join us for the 6th Annual 'Rethinking Thanksgiving' webinar!
Date: Sunday, Nov 23 at 4pm ET / 1pm PT
Theme: "Colonialism is the Problem, Solidarity is the Answer"
Register: tinyurl.com/2025rethinking
ASL, Spanish Interpretation and live captions in English.
This is a free event. It is a fundraiser and donations will be accepted. The event will be recorded, so if you cannot attend live, register and the recording will be sent to you.
Join us to challenge the legacy of the ‘thanksgiving’ holiday. We will discuss how to collectively work together to confront colonialism and defend Mother Earth.
¡Únase a nosotros en el Sexto Webinario Anual ‘Repensando el Día de Acción de Gracias’!
Fecha: domingo, 23 de noviembre, a las 4 pm ET / 1 pm PT.
Tema: “El Colonialismo es el Problema, la Solidaridad es la Respuesta”.
Inscríbase: tinyurl.com/2025rethinking.
Interpretación en lengua de señas americana (ASL) y español, y subtítulos en vivo en inglés.
Este es un evento gratuito. Se trata de una recaudación de fondos y se aceptaršn donaciones. El evento se grabarš, por lo que si no puede asistir en directo, inscríbase y se le enviarš la grabación.
Únase a nosotros para cuestionar el legado de la festividad de “Acción de Gracias”. Dialogaremos de cómo trabajar juntos colectivamente para hacer frente al colonialismo y defender la Madre Tierra.
Sponsors/Patrocinadores: Tonatierra; Indigenous Solidarity Network; Catalyst Project; Showing up for Racial Justice (SURJ); American Indian Law Alliance; Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) Action; Honor the Earth; 350.org; Spirit of Mandela, Christians for a Free Palestine; Sudan Solidarity Collective; Anticolonial Arrivants; Land Justice Futures; Westchester for Palestine.

"Look again at this small world. This is home. The only home we’ve ever known.
Every person who has ever lived. Every story ever told. Every love, every war, every sacrifice – it has all happened here on this tiny, drifting world.
And yet, we act as if there is another waiting for us. We carve borders into the land and fight over them. We build towers of wealth while others are left to starve.
We poison the water we drink, scorch the air we breathe and tear apart the very foundation of life, driven by the hunger for more, by the illusion of control.
We hold power over each other but not over the forces that could erase us in an instant. A rock adrift in space could end it all. A wave of fire from deep within the earth could rewrite the world in a single eruption. A burst of radiation from a distant sun could silence everything we’ve built.
In the face of the universe we are fragile beyond measure. Mere passengers on a planet that owes us nothing. And yet, we fight, we kill, we burn our home as if it were replaceable.
We act as though our time here is infinite. Though history has shown us otherwise. But for now this is all we have. Out there among the countless stars, there may be other worlds. Planets where life has taken root. Where others look up and wonder if they too are alone. But they are distant beyond our reach, beyond our time.
For the foreseeable future there is no second earth, no distant rescue. This is where we stand. This is where we make our living. What happens here, what we choose to destroy, what we choose to protect will echo long after we’re gone.
Think again how small we are. how brief our time is, how easily we could vanish. A fraction of a second in the lifespan of the universe, a blink in the endless dark. And yet in this fleeting moment we are here.
We love, we create, we shape the world around us. What we do with our time matters. Because in the end everything we leave behind is what we chose to built and who we chose to be. But for now we stand together on a mote of dust."
#Trance
#Techno
#AmbientTechno
#EnlusionLabel

EVs are surprisingly powerful. This is not an endorsement to drive badly, but here's a relevant anecdote.
Yesterday, I was moving along our local freeway just above the posted 110kph limit when I started to get boxed in by some silly drivers doing silly things and acting erractically.
In order to avoid any possibility of a bad situation, I moved into the passing lane and accelerated quickly to go around someone and separate myself from the crowd.
I stepped on the “gas” and easily went around the person in a few seconds… then I looked down and realized I was doing 150kph.
Whoa horsey!🐎
I pulled back into the travelling lane and slowed down to 115kph.
That kind of acceleration, especially at that already high cruising speed, just wasn’t possible in any other car I've ever owned.
EVs are great, but they are still vehicles that can reach dangerously high speeds.
Here's another anecdote: Last week my daughter was very nearly run over by a truck as she was walking in a crosswalk. She was halfway across the street when an (oversized) pickup truck turned left across her, completely on a red light. She is relatively small in stature, her head would have barely been above the hood of the truck.
She saw it at the last second and jumped back... the truck missed by inches. Another car at the intersection honked at the truck. It stopped in the crosswalk, the driver gave HER a dirty look, and zoomed off. The car driver who honked leaned out the window and kindly asked if she was ok. She was.
Driving is the most dangerous thing we do on a daily basis.. for ourselves, and everyone around us. Take care out there friends.
#Driving #Commuter #EVs #Transportation #PublicTransit #Pedestrians
https://flipboard.com/@insideevs/insideevs-diuanki5z/-/a-ngD5hVuiSdatWdkb-4BdLw:a:2577024118-/0

Dans un arrêt rendu le 19 novembre, le TAF vient d’en faire la démonstration en prenant position sur un recours contre la loi fédérale sur le renseignement (LRens), qui autorise de facto le SRC Š espionner massivement les Suisses, sans limite ni contrôle. Afin de respecter les droits fondamentaux ainsi bafoués, le parlement fédéral est invité, dans un délai de cinq ans, Š réviser sa copie, approuvée Š 65,5% par la population lors d’un référendum en 2017.
https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/autorisant-la-surveillance-de-masse-des-suisses-y-compris-des-journalistes-et-avocats-la-loi-sur-le-renseignement-devra-etre-revisee?shouldPreventPurchase=true&inAppView=3.19.0&didomiConfig.user.externalConsent.value={"purposes":{"consent":{"enabled":["abtesting-p6FL2BYL","audiencem-hJxaeGrR","cookies","create_ads_profile","create_content_profile","device_characteristics","geolocation_data","improve_products","market_research","measure_ad_performance","measure_content_performance","parselyne-Ya2EC4dG","select_basic_ads","select_personalized_ads","select_personalized_content","use_limited_data_to_select_content"],"disabled":[]},"legitimate_interest":{"enabled":[],"disabled":[]}},"vendors":{"consent":{"enabled":["amazon","c:aws-cloudfront","c:bannerwise-EeHwBjLT","c:chartbeat","c:cloudflare","c:echobox-GqD96L9K","c:forecast-ZRJPAUT7","c:googleana-4TXnJigR","c:hotjar","c:jsdelivr-xdD77X6w","c:jw-player","c:kameleoon-experiment","c:kameleoon-personalization","c:keycdn","c:linkedin","c:magnitein-ePEpbCQ7","c:meta-43HDmFRa","c:microsoft","c:nonli-jnWf8kqD","c:pianohybr-R3VKC2r4","c:pinterest","c:spyri-XAtBPx3i","c:tapadinc-VDTUUcKw","c:tiktok-KZAUQLZ9","c:unrulygro-nKyLqdKi","c:youtube","facebook","google","twitter",1,10,1020,1021,1028,1046,1069,108,109,11,1126,12,120,1269,128,13,130,131,1310,132,136,137,138,142,143,1449,154,156,16,164,202,209,21,211,23,238,24,241,243,25,253,264,28,284,290,30,301,32,36,39,4,412,422,45,469,475,493,50,519,52,559,58,61,612,617,68,684,69,73,76,77,783,790,793,80,81,811,84,85,855,898,91,92,95,965,98],"disabled":[]},"legitimate_interest":{"enabled":[],"disabled":[]}},"user_id":"36B03261-8BC8-4FB4-A026-0543FF748710","created":"2025-05-28T08:36:56.058Z","updated":"2025-11-08T21:05:15.048Z","source":{"type":"app","domain":"ch.letemps.LT"},"action":"webview"}

📝 Join us for the 6th Annual 'Rethinking Thanksgiving' webinar!
Date: Sunday, Nov 23 at 4pm ET / 1pm PT
Theme: "Colonialism is the Problem, Solidarity is the Answer"
Register: tinyurl.com/2025rethinking
ASL, Spanish Interpretation and live captions in English.
This is a free event. It is a fundraiser and donations will be accepted. The event will be recorded, so if you cannot attend live, register and the recording will be sent to you.
Join us to challenge the legacy of the ‘thanksgiving’ holiday. We will discuss how to collectively work together to confront colonialism and defend Mother Earth.
¡Únase a nosotros en el Sexto Webinario Anual ‘Repensando el Día de Acción de Gracias’!
Fecha: domingo, 23 de noviembre, a las 4 pm ET / 1 pm PT.
Tema: “El Colonialismo es el Problema, la Solidaridad es la Respuesta”.
Inscríbase: tinyurl.com/2025rethinking.
Interpretación en lengua de señas americana (ASL) y español, y subtítulos en vivo en inglés.
Este es un evento gratuito. Se trata de una recaudación de fondos y se aceptaršn donaciones. El evento se grabarš, por lo que si no puede asistir en directo, inscríbase y se le enviarš la grabación.
Únase a nosotros para cuestionar el legado de la festividad de “Acción de Gracias”. Dialogaremos de cómo trabajar juntos colectivamente para hacer frente al colonialismo y defender la Madre Tierra.
Sponsors/Patrocinadores: Tonatierra; Indigenous Solidarity Network; Catalyst Project; Showing up for Racial Justice (SURJ); American Indian Law Alliance; Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) Action; Honor the Earth; 350.org; Spirit of Mandela, Christians for a Free Palestine; Sudan Solidarity Collective; Anticolonial Arrivants; Land Justice Futures; Westchester for Palestine.
!rethinking thanksgiving flyer (https://cdn.some.pics/adjb/690fbe4acd06c.jpg)