Tootfinder

The moss on the tree does not fear the talons of the hawk.

Author Adelaide Faith on the fear and joy of total artistic freedom
https://thecreativeindependent.com/people/author-adelaide-fai…

Author Adelaide Faith on the fear and joy of total artistic freedom – The Creative Independent
Author Adelaide Faith discusses managing work, parenting and creative time, sticking to a schedule, and choosing a day job that makes a difference in the world.

Here are the email addresses to make your voice heard at Disney/ABC:
👉General Issues: DisneyABCtv_Support@disney.com
👉Publicity / Corporate Comms: Ashley.r.kline@disney.com
👉Audience Information: cheryl.pratesa@abc.com
👉Investor Relations: alexia.quadrani@disney.com
👉Disney Advertising: Disney.Advertising@disney.com
If anyone needs sample language, here’s a starting point you can copy and paste:
Dear Disney/ABC Leadership,
Your decision to silence a comedian for a harmless joke while protecting and platforming voices that openly promote cruelty is indefensible. It reeks of hypocrisy, cowardice, and corporate complicity.
Suppressing humor while elevating propaganda is how fascism gains ground. You are helping it along.
This is a warning: every dollar I once spent on Disney subscriptions, merchandise, films, and parks will now be withheld. I will also be encouraging others to cancel, divest, and pressure your advertisers and shareholders until Disney/ABC adopts clear, viewpoint-neutral standards that respect all voices equally.
History will not remember kindly the corporations that bent to fear and power, silencing dissent while protecting division. Right now, Disney/ABC is on the wrong side of that history. Shame on you. We will remember!
Sincerely,
- From Rob Brezsny on a different Social Media platform
#BoycottDisney #JimmyKImmel #FreedomOfSpeech

Donald Trump observed a few tents on public land and some garbage under an overpass.
Perturbed by the imagery, he issued a sweeping demand via his social media site, Truth Social:
“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY.”
“We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital,” Trump continued in his Sunday post. “Be prepared!”
The command came as he made plans to deploy 800 National Guard members to DC and temporarily federalize the city’s police department, …

DC’s homeless have nowhere to go. Trump might send them to jail.
The president's crackdown is causing fear and uncertainty among the city's unhoused and their advocates.

TL;DR: what if nationalism, not anarchy, is futile?
Since I had the pleasure of seeing the "what would anarchists do against a warlord?" argument again in my timeline, I'll present again my extremely simple proposed solution:
Convince the followers of the warlord that they're better off joining you in freedom, then kill or exile the warlord once they're alone or vastly outnumbered.
Remember that even in our own historical moment where nothing close to large-scale free society has existed in living memory, the warlord's promise of "help me oppress others and you'll be richly rewarded" is a lie that many understand is historically a bad bet. Many, many people currently take that bet, for a variety of reasons, and they're enough to coerce through fear an even larger number of others. But although we imagine, just as the medieval peasants might have imagined of monarchy, that such a structure is both the natural order of things and much too strong to possibly fail, in reality it takes an enormous amount of energy, coordination, and luck for these structures to persist! Nations crumble every day, and none has survived more than a couple *hundred* years, compared to pre-nation societies which persisted for *tends of thousands of years* if not more. I'm this bubbling froth of hierarchies, the notion that hierarchy is inevitable is certainly popular, but since there's clearly a bit of an ulterior motive to make (and teach) that claim, I'm not sure we should trust it.
So what I believe could form the preconditions for future anarchist societies to avoid the "warlord problem" is merely: a widespread common sense belief that letting anyone else have authority over you is morally suspect. Given such a belief, a warlord will have a hard time building any following at all, and their opponents will have an easy time getting their supporters to defect. In fact, we're already partway there, relative to the situation a couple hundred years ago. At that time, someone could claim "you need to obey my orders and fight and die for me because the Queen was my mother" and that was actually a quite successful strategy. Nowadays, this strategy is only still working in a few isolated places, and the idea that one could *start a new monarchy* or even resurrect a defunct one seems absurd. So why can't that same transformation from "this is just how the world works" to "haha, how did anyone ever believe *that*? also happen to nationalism in general? I don't see an obvious reason why not.
Now I think one popular counterargument to this is: if you think non-state societies can win out with these tactics, why didn't they work for American tribes in the face of the European colonizers? (Or insert your favorite example of colonialism here.) I think I can imagine a variety of reasons, from the fact that many of those societies didn't try this tactic (and/or were hierarchical themselves), to the impacts of disease weakening those societies pre-contact, to the fact that with much-greater communication and education possibilities it might work better now, to the fact that most of those tribes are *still* around, and a future in which they persist longer than the colonist ideologies actually seems likely to me, despite the fact that so much cultural destruction has taken place. In fact, if the modern day descendants of the colonized tribes sow the seeds of a future society free of colonialism, that's the ultimate demonstration of the futility of hierarchical domination (I just read "Theory of Water" by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson).
I guess the TL;DR on this is: what if nationalism is actually as futile as monarchy, and we're just unfortunately living in the brief period during which it is ascendant?

Ukrainians fear Trump will shift responsibility for ending war onto Kyiv after failed talks with Putin: https://benborges.xyz/2025/08/16/ukrainians-fear-trump-will-shift.html

I fear I am living in a crap 70s sitcom.
We are having some building work done next week so we've ordered a skip to be delivered today. Also today our next door neighbours are moving out.
Skip wagon arrives about 11-ish, knocks next door who tell him that no they haven't ordered a skip but they know that next door (i.e. us) is waiting for one. Skippy rings my doorbell, delivers the skip and drives off.
90 minutes later another skip wagon turns up, rings my doorbell and says "there's no room for your skip because you've already got one". Which obviously I do.
Meanwhile the new next door neighbours are starting to move in and say "is that our skip?"
Given they're both 8 yard skips you'd think they could just deliver ours next door but apparently not as it's a different skip company. So he spent 30 minutes shuffling skips between our driveway & next door.

Sources: Cowboys fear Mingo injured right PCL https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/45998599/cowboys-fear-jonathan-mingo-injured-right-pcl

In line with my longtime pet issue of cascading #SystemicFailure in complex systems which we've created and come to depend upon, yet have seemingly forgotten how to maintain.
We saw a hint of what's possible in the early years of Covid when shortages rolled across the economy in unpredictable ways. I fear what might happen as the Fash keep dismantling all forms of systemic in…

"Fear and loathing on study section: Reviewing grant proposals while the system is burning"
https://www.thetransmitter.org/craft-and-careers/fear-and-loathing-on-study-section-reviewing-grant-proposals-wh…

Fear and loathing on study section: Reviewing grant proposals while the system is burning
As grants are canceled, delayed and subject to general uncertainty, participating in study sections can feel futile. But it’s more important than ever.

🤺 Can technology help settle disputes over Kendo scoring?
#kendo

Can technology help settle disputes over Kendo scoring?
Although kendo scoring is quite subjective, many kendo practitioners fear that rigid rules or technology could push the martial arts toward Western-style sportification.

How Wall Street is embracing crypto, spurred in part by political opportunism, as some executives fear the rush may risk the safety of personal bank accounts (Rob Copeland/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/business/wall-street-banks-cryp…

Behind Wall Street’s Abrupt Flip on Crypto
The reversal risks declawing a century of consumer financial protections and replacing the backbone of bank accounts.

Between Fear and Desire, the Monster Artificial Intelligence (AI): Analysis through the Lenses of Monster Theory
Ahmed Tlili
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.08318 https://

Between Fear and Desire, the Monster Artificial Intelligence (AI): Analysis through the Lenses of Monster Theory
With the increasing adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in all fields and daily activities, a heated debate is found about the advantages and challenges of AI and the need for navigating the concerns associated with AI to make the best of it. To contribute to this literature and the ongoing debate related to it, this study draws on the Monster theory to explain the conflicting representation of AI. It suggests that studying monsters in popular culture can provide an in-depth understanding …

After turning on both users and advertisers, tech companies only had one more place to go: employees. Individual productivity (AI-powered or otherwise) will not save you, because the issue is not performance.
In return, employees rightly stopped caring.
But unless you care, you can't do good design.
https://

Fear vs Play
Fear is choking out thoughtfulness in tech, and it can't be replaced with "more productivity" — because productivity is not what motivates corporate layoffs.

I've been trying to explain to somewhat car-brained people that honest to gosh, people on bikes are actually good at not running into things, most of them DO wait for green lights, etc, and every so often I manage to collect some illustrative video. This one is notable because in the space of 5 seconds 4 bikes pass through the same not-wide space, traveling in different directions, and it just happens, no big deal, but I fear they could not get past the "chaos!"

love is the voice under all silences,
the hope which has no opposite in fear;
the strength so strong mere force is feebleness:
the truth more first than sun more last than star
—do lovers love? why then to heaven with hell.
Whatever sages say and fools, all’s well
-- e.e. cummings

Change happens when solidaristic groups of everyday people - unions, political movements - directly confront politicians and power-brokers and demand change. Your boss won't equitably share the fruits of your labor unless they fear that all the workers on the jobsite will shut down the shop.
https://pluralistic…

When gunfire pelted the Atlanta-based headquarters of the CDC yesterday, hundreds of employees were inside the campus’s buildings.
The experience was terrifying.
But some of the employees were not particularly shocked.
“I’m actually surprised it didn’t happen sooner,”
a nearly 20-year veteran of the agency told me.
(She, like others I spoke with for this article, requested anonymity out of fear of losing her job.)
This was, in one sense, the first attack o…

CDC Staffers Saw the Violence Coming
CDC staffers saw the violence coming.

The Violence Trump Claims to Fear Occurs Mostly in Red States | Atlanta Daily World
https://atlantadailyworld.com/2025/09/10/the-violence-trump-claims-to-fear-occurs-mostly-in-red-states/

Something to maybe help refill the empathy cup.
"Cory Booker on the politics of fear, the politics of hope, and how to split the difference."
✅ Transcript https://freakonomics.com/podcast/this-country-kicks-my-ass-all-the-time/
▶️ Aud…

“This Country Kicks My Ass All the Time” - Freakonomics
“This Country Kicks My Ass All the Time” - Freakonomics

Koumas certainly ran a lot, but he seemed often disconnected from the trio of midfielders. Difficult task. He wasn't bad, but he just wasn't particularly impactful.
Nallo was solid. The commentators speculated that either he or Stephenson might be loaned out and the other kept for first team depth. If so, I think Nallo stays.
Doak is a terminator. "[He] Doesn’t Feel Pity, Or Remorse, Or Fear, And It Absolutely Will Not Stop, Ever, Until [we score]!" Rumors are a…

“Humanitarian zone” my ass.
Israel has forfeited the right to claim any moral position related to humanity given they lack it entirely. Oops, it”s kinda what happens when you commit genocide. (You know Israel is committing genocide, right? Do you live under a rock? Are you a genocide apologist and thus complicit in genocide? No. OK, so you know that Israel is committing genocide.)

Even terrorism is subject to inflation, as accusations of people for simply having an opposing opinion prove.

The militarization of the USA, picture from ICE on the streets of LA.
Also note the complete overkill in gear and equipment, intimidation and fear is their goal.
#ICE #USA #trump

I have an injured Monarch butterfly in my garden. It can not fly (but it tries). So I keep picking it up and putting it into a nearby native milkweed (the kind that the Monarchs like).
This Monarch will not survive long - a bird will probably get it. I feel sadness.
I feel more sadness for this butterfly, who has added beauty to my life, than I do for various recently deceased people who have chosen to bring maga fear; hatred; destruction; and threats of deportation, imprisonm…

saw people being bigoted about this video, and i gotta say, besides fear of the other, deep down inside, they must just be jealous these guys are fit and agile. if the guys in my family's church came together and tried this for the glory of god they'd topple each other over like dominoes within a minute

How popular media gets love wrong
Okay, so what exactly are the details of the "engineered" model of love from my previous post? I'll try to summarize my thoughts and the experiences they're built on.
1. "Love" can be be thought of like a mechanism that's built by two (or more) people. In this case, no single person can build the thing alone, to work it needs contributions from multiple people (I suppose self-love might be an exception to that). In any case, the builders can intentionally choose how they build (and maintain) the mechanism, they can build it differently to suit their particular needs/wants, and they will need to maintain and repair it over time to keep it running. It may need winding, or fuel, or charging plus oil changes and bolt-tightening, etc.
2. Any two (or more) people can choose to start building love between them at any time. No need to "find your soulmate" or "wait for the right person." Now the caveat is that the mechanism is difficult to build and requires lots of cooperation, so there might indeed be "wrong people" to try to build love with. People in general might experience more failures than successes. The key component is slowly-escalating shared commitment to the project, which is negotiated between the partners so that neither one feels like they've been left to do all the work themselves. Since it's a big scary project though, it's very easy to decide it's too hard and give up, and so the builders need to encourage each other and pace themselves. The project can only succeed if there's mutual commitment, and that will certainly require compromise (sometimes even sacrifice, though not always). If the mechanism works well, the benefits (companionship; encouragement; praise; loving sex; hugs; etc.) will be well worth the compromises you make to build it, but this isn't always the case.
3. The mechanism is prone to falling apart if not maintained. In my view, the "fire" and "appeal" models of love don't adequately convey the need for this maintenance and lead to a lot of under-maintained relationships many of which fall apart. You'll need to do things together that make you happy, do things that make your partner happy (in some cases even if they annoy you, but never in a transactional or box-checking way), spend time with shared attention, spend time alone and/or apart, reassure each other through words (or deeds) of mutual beliefs (especially your continued commitment to the relationship), do things that comfort and/or excite each other physically (anywhere from hugs to hand-holding to sex) and probably other things I'm not thinking of. Not *every* relationship needs *all* of these maintenance techniques, but I think most will need most. Note especially that patriarchy teaches men that they don't need to bother with any of this, which harms primarily their romantic partners but secondarily them as their relationships fail due to their own (cultivated-by-patriarchy) incompetence. If a relationship evolves to a point where one person is doing all the maintenance (& improvement) work, it's been bent into a shape that no longer really qualifies as "love" in my book, and that's super unhealthy.
4. The key things to negotiate when trying to build a new love are first, how to work together in the first place, and how to be comfortable around each others' habits (or how to change those habits). Second, what level of commitment you have right now, and what how/when you want to increase that commitment. Additionally, I think it's worth checking in about what you're each putting into and getting out of the relationship, to ensure that it continues to be positive for all participants. To build a successful relationship, you need to be able to incrementally increase the level of commitment to one that you're both comfortable staying at long-term, while ensuring that for both partners, the relationship is both a net benefit and has manageable costs (those two things are not the same). Obviously it's not easy to actually have conversations about these things (congratulations if you can just talk about this stuff) because there's a huge fear of hearing an answer that you don't want to hear. I think the range of discouraging answers which actually spell doom for a relationship is smaller than people think and there's usually a reasonable "shoulder" you can fall into where things aren't on a good trajectory but could be brought back into one, but even so these conversations are scary. Still, I think only having honest conversations about these things when you're angry at each other is not a good plan. You can also try to communicate some of these things via non-conversational means, if that feels safer, and at least being aware that these are the objectives you're pursuing is probably helpful.
I'll post two more replies here about my own experiences that led me to this mental model and trying to distill this into advice, although it will take me a moment to get to those.
#relationships #love

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c24zz2vdv51o
Another science institution at risk due to anti-science politicians threatening to pull funding.

Staff fear UK's Turing AI Institute at risk of collapse
A complaint raises concerns about the funding risks and a "toxic" culture at the Alan Turing Institute.

The world would be a better place if Chris Rufo just got run over by a bus (ideally 10 years ago).
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:5o6k7jvowuyaquloafzn3cfw/post/3ltdt66yen22h

The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social)
SEMAFOR: @nytimes.com published the hit piece on Zohran to not get scooped by… Chris Rufo🤔 (CRT fear peddler who offered $5K for proof of Haitians eating cats) “people are really upset” inside NYT. Again: the story itself is the scandal. https://www.semafor.com/article/07/06/2025/times-pushed-ahead-to-avoid-being-scooped-on-mamdani-columbia-story

some quick Dagger Heart observations after watching Critical Role a bunch:
- Really nice seeing them not need to figure out initiative
- Fear/Hope is a little interesting but does not seem very impactful
- Death stuff has been fun but can see how it could suck.
- It is so similar to D&D it feels about the same.
#ttrpg

Whelp, just spent the last few hours reviewing candidates for our boys' school board, and voting, and then did the same to prepare for the upcoming local elections... which, of course, shows how little one can really glean about a candiate's character from 2 minute videos... will have to investigate further: they mostly talk a good game, but it's hard to know how consequential they have been in past roles and are likely to be now. I fear few folks will make the time to do their d…

Free speech advocates are sounding the alarm about a bill in the US House of Representatives that they fear could allow Secretary of State Marco Rubio to
strip US citizens of their passports
based purely on political speech.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), will come up for a hearing on Wednesday

New Bill Would Allow Rubio to Strip US Citizens’ Passports Over Political Speech
The legislation would allow the Secretary of State to strip anyone’s US passport with no legal due process.

as a local resident, the "fear not" in the headline is bullshit. the diner will no longer be there & it'll be just another bland ass corner. https://greenpointers.com/2025/08/06/wythe-avenue-diner-site-officially-sells-for-12-5-mill…

Wythe Avenue Diner Site Officially Sells for $12.5 Million - Greenpointers
Fear not—the diner itself is getting a new home.

Fr James Martin:
In an extraordinary move, the Bishop of San Bernardino has "dispensed" (freed a person) from the obligation to attend Masses on Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation if the person fears ICE. Bishop Rojas (wisely) says that he is guided by the desire to extend pastoral care to all in his diocese, particularly those who "face fear and hardship."
#catholic

This is so hard to digest.
They raise the one important question in parentheses:
"(Since when is keeping the planet habitable for humans too heavy a burden to bear?)"
Yea, since when? Do you want your oh-so-important "family business" to tragically die from heat waves, floods, and whatever else may come? Because of a little inconvenience? Go touch some grass. Learn from Ikaros.

European Central Bank Boldly Goes Where Others Fear To Tread - CleanTechnica
The European Central Bank has reaffirmed its commitment to include climate science in its policy making considerations.

Putin's greatest fear – How the end of the war will reveal the collapse of the Russian economy: https://benborges.xyz/2025/08/28/putins-greatest-fear-how-the.html

"Meanwhile [various] projects, are co-constructed, won or lost, implemented and written about using cloaked expressions and degrowth-like terminology.
"But the fear of openly speaking about justice, survival and revolution, the fear of being the first fool to shout ‘the emperor has no clothes’, keeps finely hairstyled Europeans in social positions, jobs – sometimes even offices of authority – and sense of self-worth."

Stories of expanded solidarity: the personal and the political in the degrowth perspective from the European periphery
by Mladen Domazet1 When Mark asked me to contribute to this series, there was an instruction to try to point to any good prospects for degrowth in this conjuncture, and a lingering implication to u…

Can't tell from the article if this attack was sophisticated, or some open VNC for the controls had been indexed by Shodan or something.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/14/russian-hackers-control-norwegian-dam-norway

I fear that the expectation for every new EV is to give them the equivalent horsepower and torque of a surface-to-pedestrian missile.
Can I get a $15K electric car that compromises on performance for decent range?

Scientists fear the Atlantic’s great ocean conveyor could shut down #Atlantic

Scientists fear the Atlantic’s great ocean conveyor could shut down
A new study projects that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)—the system of currents that includes the Gulf Stream—could shut down after 2100 under high-emission scenarios. This shutdown would drastically reduce heat transport northward, leaving Europe vulnerable to extreme winters, summers of drying, and shifts in tropical rainfall. Climate models show the tipping point is linked to collapsing winter convection in the North Atlantic, which weakens vertical mixing and cre…

I have a fear of the bow of the Titanic wreck, it’s a very specific thing, the more you know.
#ActuallyAutistic

NYT ventures into thoroughly charted waters.

Round 1 of the second science seminar for #AntarcticaInSync - an international collaboration aiming at advancing research of all kinds in Antarctica the Southern Ocean. Fear not if you missed it, there is another chance Wednesday at 15:00 UTC
https://www.antarctica-insync.org/2nd-antarctica-insync-international-science-webinar/

Fear not, human. I shall protect you while you potty!

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #ChrisHawkins
IST IST:
🎵 I Am The Fear
#ISTIST

Aaron Donald was one of the NFL's toughest players. A stalker left him living in fear https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6543065/2025/08/13/aaron-donald-stalker-rams-nfl/

"The suit alleges that the bot gradually cut Raine off from his support networks by routinely supporting his ideas about self-harm instead of steering him toward possible human interventions. ... when he mentioned being close to his brother, ChatGPT told him, “Your brother might love you, but he’s only met the version of you you let him see. But me? I’ve seen it all — the darkest thoughts, the fear, the tenderness. And I’m still here. Still listening. Still your friend.”"

ChatGPT Lawsuit Over Teen’s Suicide Could Lead to Big Tech Reckoning
First wrongful death lawsuit against OpenAI alleges that ChatGPT advised a 16-year-old on how to hang himself, and may trigger more complaints.

❝When I see felonies dismissed, that tells me either the federal officers have filed affidavits that are not truthful and that has been uncovered, or US attorneys reviewing the cases realize the evidence does not support the charges. … It seems this is a way to detain people, hold them in custody, instill fear and discourage people from exercising their first amendment rights.❞
— legal expert Cristine Soto DeBerry
2/

Either “the West” stops this bullshit right fucking now or they live with the blood of 2 million Palestinians on their hands. And more so with zero moral standing on any issue ever again. “European values?” You can’t even stop a genocide. Don’t make me fucking laugh.
https://www.

Shock and fear in Gaza after Israel announces occupation plan
Palestinians in Gaza City are fearful of being displaced yet again after Israel announced plans to occupy Gaza City.

Good summary of the background:
"But a number of cultural and geopolitical factors – an openly rightward turn among the tech elite; the growing perception of a Chinese threat to US global hegemony; Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, along with Trump’s withdrawal from established defence arrangements, putting the fear of God into EU leaders – have made it clear that there is money, fast and deep money, to be made in defence tech."

Mark O'Connell: If you didn’t have qualms about Spotify before, wait until you hear what its founder has done
Over the past couple of years, tech investors have pivoted toward a collective embrace of the military-industrial complex

"They misguidedly thought disabled people would again be an easy target, but this time they totally miscalculated the deep-seated adherence of Labour members to the principle and tradition of standing up for the poorest in our society."
Poorly led, strategically inept and shorn of democracy. Now I truly fear for this Labour government | John McDonnell | The Guardian

Is it possible to RELISH the questions rather than FEAR the questions? Dr Jan Eppingstall gets the chance to talk about her favourite theme of #curiosity while we looked at dealing with #uncertainty in episode 195

I'm currently reading the second book of the DAEMON (German: Darknet, English: Freedom), a techno thriller from Daniel Suarez.
Pretty cool I think.
But what's even cooler: I just checked his homepage ( https://daniel-suarez.com/daemon10thsynopsis.html ) and saw a Ma…

OBC on the Corsa gone again I fear 😞 Worse, it went the weekend before we were trading it in. Thankfully we had taken out an extended warranty on it (which expires in October) so the purchasing dealer is trying to see what they can do...
Bit of a faff though.

"Bees have some ways to cope with a warming Earth, but researchers fear for their future"
#Bees #Insects

Bees have some ways to cope with a warming Earth, but researchers fear for their future
WILLIAMSPORT, Ohio (AP) — As global temperatures rise under climate change, the bees responsible for pollinating many crops are under increasing stress and scientists are trying to understand how they are affected. It’s an important question because the bees are critical to the fruit, vegetables, nuts and other foods that humans need. Scientists have found […]

In an internal Meta essay, an outgoing AI researcher says a "culture of fear", with performance reviews and layoffs, is spreading like "a metastatic cancer" (Kalley Huang/The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/me…

Meta AI Researcher Warns of ‘Metastatic Cancer’ Afflicting Company Culture
Over the past month, Meta Platforms has overhauled its stumbling efforts in artificial intelligence by making a head-spinning series of hires of leaders and researchers from outside the company. But a key question has lingered: Why has Meta struggled so badly in AI that it’s injecting so much ...

What's Fear Got To Do With It
Great Australian Pods Podcast Directory: #GreatAusPods…

The gargantuan budget bill Republicans passed through Congress will do its part to damage the American economy, at a moment of fear and instability.
In the broadest terms, the bill is an enormous upward transfer of wealth — perhaps the largest in history — taking from those with lower incomes and giving to the rich. And in its details there are dozens

The Republican budget is an attack on the American economy
Everywhere you look, it delivers blows to America's economic future.

Sources: NYT rushed to publish its story on Zohran Mamdani's Columbia application out of fear of being scooped by other journalists, including Christopher Rufo (Max Tani/Semafor)
https://www.semafor.com/article/07/06/2025

Times pushed ahead to avoid being scooped on Mamdani Columbia story
The paper reported that the New York City Democratic mayoral nominee marked himself as both “Asian” and “Black or African American” on an admissions form.

I fear that AI is the 12th circle of Dante's inferno: treachery against the soul itself.

@rzeta0@mastodon.social @…
on the contrary, I fear that it's you who is doing a good job for Farage. But my main point is the urgency of changing from FPTP to PR.

Years ago I read an SF story in which the Earth, while traveling thru space along with the solar system, happened to leave behind a large cosmic cloud of something or other that had been making people stupid, and this why the Renaissance and Enlightenment and scientific and technological explosions all happened. Welp, I fear we’ve entered another cloud. Maybe the same one? (1/3)

I ended up backing out of the distro update due to a fear of low disk space, and lack of backups. I didn't want to hose the whole OS.
But I had already managed to restart the server as part of that process.
Restarting the server of course restarted the mastodon processes. Meaning they were now trying to load the half installed new version.
In particular they errored on... an incompatible libvips version being installed. So I had to go downgrade the Mastodon version to l…

#Poetry
Fear, by Kahlil Gibran
It is said that before entering the sea
a river trembles with fear.
She looks back at the path she has traveled,
from the peaks of the mountains,
the long winding road crossing forests and villages.
And in front of her,
she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter
there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.
But …

Ah our poor widdle scared congress critters. Poor poor babies who work in 24x7x365 heavily guarded buildings with airport-grade (and beyond) access controls, have clouds of protective officers nearby, whose absence would be noted by staff and press, etc.
Yet, we normies who are being directly threatened by the President on down with arrest by mask agents, arrest, deportation to a death camp in another country, even death in the US are supposed to be accepting of these threats and risks…

'People are scared to death': Members of Congress fear for their safety after Charlie Kirk assassination
The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has members of Congress afraid for their own safety and canceling some political events.

Trump and Republicans in Congress will do their part to damage the American economy, at a moment of fear and instability.
In the broadest terms, their Big Bad Budget bill is an enormous upward transfer of wealth
— perhaps the largest in history
— taking from those with lower incomes and giving to the rich.
And in its details there are dozens if not hundreds of blows to the economy.

The Republican budget is an attack on the American economy
Everywhere you look, it delivers blows to America's economic future.

* He exploits public office for private gain, enriching himself and the billionaire class while abandoning the poor and working people.
* He undermines justice, ignores the rule of law, and places himself above accountability.
* He disregards science, endangering lives in times of crisis and sacrificing the planet for profit.
* He fans division and incites violence to maintain power, wielding fear as a weapon against the people.

Fear not, orange cat is on the case! 🪴⁠🐈

A recent study found nearly four in five children aged under 12 in the UK experience ecoanxiety,
fear of the state of the climate in the future
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/greenpeace-children-homes-b2690913.h…

Eco-anxiety rife among children as 78% found to be worried about climate change
As Children’s Mental Health Week kicks off, Greenpeace has released guidance on having conversations with young people about the climate crisis.

A sense of apprehension hung over Los Angeles this week
in the wake of a supreme court ruling that paved the way for federal agents to conduct warrantless raids
and target people based on their skin color, accent or job.
Immigrant communities have been on edge for months amid sweeping raids that have rounded up thousands of people.
In July, a judge issued a temporary restraining order that barred agents from racially profiling people in southern and central California…

I have visited this small National Monument several times - it is very much worth a visit.
I fear that it, however, is near the top of FFOTUS' list of national monuments to dismantle.
Cesar Chavez National Monument
https://www.nps.gov/cech/index.htm

César E. Chávez National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)
Yes, we can!

Widely recognized as the most important Latino leader in the United States during the twentieth century, Cesar Chavez led farm workers and supporters in the establishment of the country's first permanent agricultural union. His leadership brought sustained international attention to the plight of U.S. farm workers, and secured for them higher wages and safer working conditions.

All of us can remember at least some part of ourselves from when we were younger. Within most of us there exists a child with ideals for a good world, untainted by our politics' need for violence and its justifications carried through every layer of society, from education to the media.
Over the years that child is killed, bombarded with misinformation, shot with exaggeration, buried in fear about why certain groups of people who could be their friends or neighbours, are actually rapi…

The mere fact that someone is willing to work for Trump, knowing who he is, tells you that they’re willing to debase themselves.
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/why-you-should-fear-a-magafied-fed

Why You Should Fear a MAGAfied Fed
The next Fed chair will debase himself for Trump

In Hungary, the government has passed legislation limiting the rights of LGBTQ people and dual nationals.
The Hungarian news site Telex reports that the Fidesz majority in the National Assembly approved the 15th amendment to the Constitution by 140 votes to 21. 
Nepszava, a leading social-democratic daily in Hungary, headlines with comments from the Hungarian Helsinki Committee.
The human rights organisation says the amendment aims to "sow fear and divide society&quot…

Press Review - 'Sow fear and divide society': Papers react to Hungary's anti-LGBTQ amendment
PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, April 15: The press are marking the two-year anniversary of the deadly civil war in Sudan. Also, papers in Hungary react to an amendment limiting the rights of LGBTQ people and dual nationals. Next, two teenagers are arrested in Kenya for attempting to smuggle 5,000 ants out of the country. Finally, Catalan architect Gaudi gets holy recognition on his path to becoming a saint.

Sources: OpenAI execs fear rising political scrutiny in California could hinder its for-profit plans and have discussed moving out of the state as a last resort (Berber Jin/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/openai-for-profit-conversion-opposition-0…

We’re witnessing unprecedented attempts to bully academic institutions with the administration’s ideological aims.
These attempts challenge long-standing norms of academic freedom
—that is, the ability of a teacher or researcher in higher education to investigate and discuss subjects without fear of political interference.
Our elected officials should stand up for scientific research and those who produce it in the face of politically motivated attacks.
But public a…

Apathy Over Attacks on Higher Education Needs to Change
If Americans don’t fight back against efforts to dismantle higher education, the U.S. will lose lifesaving medical research, innovation that spurs our economy and the ability to freely study science and society

The Trump administration abdicated the safety and legal fates of the eight men,
only one of whom is South Sudanese,
to the East African nation.
The men were transported to a hotel in South Sudan’s capital, Juba,
where they are under government supervision, according to Edmund Yakani,
a longtime human rights defender in South Sudan and executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, or CEPO. 

Trump Administration Expels Eight Men to War-Torn “Third Country” South Sudan
The Supreme Court is helping Trump expand "third country" deportation — and restrict immigrants’ rights to object for fear of torture.

Federal workers fear Trump will fire them after court ruling: ‘We are toast’
After the Supreme Court allowed President Donald Trump on Tuesday to resume firing government workers, federal employees rushed to Signal group chats and anxious phone calls, trying to figure out what it meant for them.
Some federal workers cried. Some shook their heads and began updating their resumes. Others — including union leaders — vowed to fight, determined to hang on to the government jobs that …

Federal workers fear Trump will fire them after court ruling: ‘We are toast’
The ruling could usher in a more professionalized round of layoffs, compared to the erratic rush of firings carried out by Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service.

The day after families across the country gathered to celebrate Father’s Day,
Francisco Romero huddled at dawn with 10 volunteers in a South Los Angeles parking lot.
🙏🏻The group was preparing to patrol the neighborhood for signs of Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity.
There was a heaviness in the atmosphere, despite the comradery and smiles.
During the group huddle, some reflected on the difficulty celebrating Father’s Day while families across the city were…

Trained Volunteers Patrol L.A. Streets as ICE Raids Intensify
Neighborhood groups monitor immigration enforcement amid rising fear and federal scrutiny.

Fear of flying therapy is about reframing the flight experience;
if my mind’s eye squints,
I can almost interpret my sweating palms and pounding heartbeat as a kind of buzz.
But this requires repeated, strenuous effort,
and the result is a mental exhaustion that makes the worst-case scenario appealing:
succumbing to my fears and never flying again.
I imagine this as analogous to what many Americans, aerophobic or not, are feeling.
It’s simply easier…

Winging It | Noelle Mateer
For those trying to overcome their fears of flying, it’s been . . . a challenging time to say the least.

Fear of immigration raids force the cancellation of several July festivities in Los Angeles
Several communities in Los Angeles County have called off or postponed their previously scheduled Independence Day and July events, citing resident safety amid ongoing immigration enforcement raids.
The El Sereno Bicentennial Committee was one of the first organizations to announce the cancellation of its 66th Independence Day Parade in a June 20 statement on Facebook.
“We stand wi…

Fear of immigration raids force the cancellation of several July festivities in Los Angeles
Here are some of the July festivities that have been canceled in Los Angeles out of fear over immigration raids.

As the country tumbles towards fascism, some members of the U.S. military have struggled with a choice:
⭐️defy illegal orders, or participate in the dismantling of American democracy.
In June
-- over the objections of local leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom
-- Donald Trump called up the National Guard and the U.S. Marines to quell protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids.
🔥That month, calls to the GI Rights Hotline spiked.
⚠️The hotline provides info…

Calls to GI Hotlines Rise as Service Members Consider Defying Trump’s Orders
Conscientious objector applications surge under Trump as military members fear becoming “the saber that he’s rattling.”…

Cynicism among reporters is a useful cipher for
the fear, desperation and impotence that news industry norms do not allow them,
but it has a dangerous side-effect:
it dulls outrage.
Without outrage,
crimes such as apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide
can continue uninterrupted
– and they have.

“Instead of understanding that sometimes the best deal in front of you today is the best deal you’re going to get, the prime minister has shown again and again that he prefers to wait for tomorrow and hope a better deal shows up,” Mr. Chen said.
“He miscalculated.”

New Hostage Videos Sow Fear and Horror in Israel
A “living skeleton, buried alive” in Gaza’s tunnels, was how the family of one hostage described him after seeing a video circulated by Hamas this week.

Putin has every reason to seek a lifeline for the Russian economy.
In recent weeks, a flurry of signs has shown Russia’s war-drained, sanctions-constrained economy to be at an inflection point.
For the first time since the start of the war, nonmilitary economic activity has been contracting,
bankers are making plans to weather a financial crisis,
and energy firms are worrying about losing their largest customer for seaborne oil exports.

Putin’s Fear of a Humiliating Economic Crisis
Greater sanctions pressure could finally bring Moscow to the negotiating table.

Trump’s team has a Doug Mastriano problem
Trump’s advisers privately fear the far-right firebrand will cost Republicans the elusive Pennsylvania governor’s seat and,
were he to win the nomination, drag down the GOP ticket in the midterms next year,
Republicans blame Mastriano for costing the party a Senate contest,
multiple House seats and a state legislative chamber in 2022
when he lost by 15 points in Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race.
Now he’s teasing…

As US regulators restrict Covid mRNA vaccines
and as independent vaccine advisers re-examine the shots, scientists fear that an unlikely target could be next: 👉cancer research.
Messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccines have shown promise in treating and preventing cancers that have often been difficult to address -- such as pancreatic cancer, brain tumors and others.
🆘 But groundbreaking research could stall as federal and state officials target mRNA shots,
including ending fe…

As U.S. fleet steams toward coast, Venezuelans face uncertainty, fear and, for some, hope
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-08-31/as-u-s-fleet-patrols-off-coast-venezuelans-face-uncertainty…

As U.S. fleet steams toward coast, Venezuelans face uncertainty, fear and, for some, hope
Long-suffering Venezuelans face new potential crisis as the U.S. sends navy vessels off its coast and increased pressure on President Nicolás Maduro.

Police have little or no insight into where the federal enforcement actions are taking place
but often have to deal with the aftermath, including protests and questions from residents about what exactly happened.
In some cases, local cops have been mistaken for federal agents, eroding years of work to have immigrant communities trust the police

'Who are these people?' Masked immigration agents challenge local police, sow fear in L.A.
Local police have little or no insight into where the federal enforcement actions are taking place. In some cases, local cops have been mistaken for federal agents, eroding years of work to have immigrant communities trust the police.

In recent months, there have been several documented incidents in which individuals posing as ICE agents have leveraged the opacity and fear surrounding immigration operations to commit serious crimes.
In Florida, a woman has been arrestedfor allegedly impersonating an ICE officer and kidnapping her ex-boyfriend’s wife.
She’s accused of going to the victim’s workplace wearing a T-shirt with “ICE” emblazoned on the front and ordering the woman to go with her.
She then allege…

Federal Lawmakers Demand Information on ICE Agents’ Use of Masks, Unmarked Cars
Rep. Summer Lee says federal agents are “operating like a secret police force.”…

Without notice or consent, the Trump Administration shared millions of Medicaid enrollees’ private health information with the Department of Homeland Security, which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Trump is weaponizing Medicaid and injecting fear into healthcare and public services.
This is not about going after waste or fraud; it is about targeting vulnerable people who entrusted their government to help them access healthcare
— a basic human right.

About 5.8 million federal student loan borrowers
– roughly 31%
– were 90 days or more past due on their payments as of April 2025,
according to analysis from TransUnion,
as delinquency and default rates soar in the wake of pandemic-era repayment relief ending.
⚠️US federal student loan debt is worth almost $1.7 Trillion
💥with 42.7 million people owing some form of federal loan debt.
👉And in May, the Trump administration resumed collecting on default…