Tootfinder

New mapping data show where oil blocks threaten Venezuela’s protected areas https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/new-mapping-data-show-where-oil-blocks-threaten-venezuelas-protected-areas/

New mapping data show where oil blocks threaten Venezuela’s protected areas
Since the U.S. ousted Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, earlier this year, officials in Caracas have been looking for ways to increase oil production, including by attracting foreign private investment. In February, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited facilities operated by Chevron and met with interim government officials, describing plans to unlock “Venezuela’s enormous potential.” New […]

'Broadview Six' case will be dropped after closed-door hearing about grand jury transcripts
The case is one of the most highly publicized prosecutions to result from last fall’s Operation Midway Blitz deportation campaign.
That’s because it began as a conspiracy case against six people who protested outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Chicago's Broadview suburb
The remaining four members of the so-called “Broadview Six" are Br…

'Broadview Six' trial called off for now, following closed-door hearing about grand jury transcripts
The case is one of the most highly publicized prosecutions to result from last fall’s Operation Midway Blitz deportation campaign. That’s because it began as a conspiracy case against six people who protested outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in suburban Broadview.

I've seen a bunch of "the CA age verification law is the best way to do a bad thing and so we shouldn't oppose compliance" takes, which others are rightly pointing out is a bad stance because it's blindingly obvious that compliance now sets the stage for compliance later and the clearly set up later is mandatory verification of age data. Even if you think that, for example, California's current "progressive" government won't go there, we're all currently seeing just how easy it is for a new government to pick up the oppressive tools the "good" government was using "restraint" with and put them to worse ends.
On the other hand, I'll freely admit that distros *do* need a way to shield themselves from liability right now. The clear (to me; IANAL) correct solution is to say on your website "don't download this OS if you're in a jurisdiction where it's not legal for us to provide it."). Assuming this does put you in the clear liability-wise, it has several positive effects:
- Stops zero people from downloading it.
- Makes it clear that your project will not collaborate with fascists/oppressive regime enjoyers.
- Means that when the next law makes verifying user ages mandatory (and/or explicitly requires using Palantir-adjacent services to do so) you've already got a strategy in place and there's no need for a "debate" in your "community" about compliance.
- Gets users more practice with "the law is malicious/needlessly bureaucratic/oppressive; let's ignore it" which to be honest people in general clearly desperately need at this point.
- Is the most effective political move if you want to resist the way things are going. Forcing the other side to explain why "California bans Linux" is good rhetorical strategy. Make *them* try to explain "well it's actually not so harmful since we let users set it themselves" and answer your follow-up "but what if next year the requirements change; I just refuse to go along with this slippery slope stuff and I'm not bothered if that means you want to *ban* me."
#AgeVerification

Die Merzregierung spielt gerade Vereinen gegeneinander aus. Sie fördert nicht Demokratieprojekte, in dem sie von einem Demokratieprojekt zum anderen umverteilt. Sie zerstört damit demokratische Vielfalt im Vereinswesen.
Wenn sie Demokratie fördern wollen würde, würde sie gegen Rechtsextremismus vorgehen, sie würde antidemokratische Netzwerke bekämpfen und sie würde sinnlose Ausgaben für Gaskathis Lobbymilliarden abstellen und dieses Geld in Demokratieprojekte stecken.

The devastating toll of Iran’s counterattack on U.S. service members after Donald Trump’s surprise strikes on Iran is even more severe than previously known.
A deadly attack that killed six U.S. service members has also left dozens of others suffering from traumatic brain injuries,
memory loss,
and other “urgent” health issues
at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany,
the largest U.S. military hospital abroad,
CBS News reported Wednesday.
As o…

Jaw-Dropping Scale of Troops Wounded by Trump’s War Is Leaked
Scores of U.S. soldiers were gravely injured—but the Pentagon has not been upfront about it.

Sea levels rising dramatically in some areas due to land subsidence https://phys.org/news/2026-05-sea-areas-due-subsidence.html
Sea level rise is swallowing US Mid-Atlantic farmland faster than expected, study finds

Sea levels rising dramatically in some areas due to land subsidence
Densely populated coastal regions in many parts of the world are particularly vulnerable to flooding. The sinking of land masses exacerbates the impacts of rising sea levels in these areas, according to a study by researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Tulane University.

A ground invasion would be disastrous for the U.S., the Iranian people, and global markets, analysts say.
“I think any attempt to seize [Kharg] island would be close to a suicide mission,”
said former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Harrison Mann in an interview with Democracy Now!.
“If you drop troops on that island,
they could really end up being trapped there,
which would really play into the hands of the Iranian government.
And I think a U.S. mass ca…

US Is Sending Thousands More Troops to Middle East, Reports Say, in Escalation
New polling this week found the majority of Americans say the war benefits Israel more than it does the US.

Cuba rejects U.S. Embassy request to bring in fuel, calls it ‘shameless’
The Cuban government this week refused a request by the U.S. Embassy in Havana
to import diesel fuel for its generators,
calling the ask “shameless,”
given the Trump administration’s fuel blockade on the island,
according to diplomatic cables reviewed by The Washington Post.

The denial could force the embassy to order nonessential staff to leave Cuba in May
or “possibly earlie…

Cuba rejects U.S. Embassy request to bring in fuel, calls it ‘shameless’
An effective U.S. oil blockade has worsened the island’s energy crisis. The U.S. Embassy in Havana, too, is feeling the effects.

FBI Director Kash Patel
👉granted waivers to Deputy Director Dan Bongino and two other newly hired senior FBI staff members,
💥exempting them from passing polygraph exams normally required to gain access to America’s most sensitive classified information,
according to a former senior FBI official and several other government officials.
Bongino’s role as the FBI’s second-highest-ranking official means he is responsible for day-to-day operations of the agency,
inclu…

FBI Director Kash Patel Waived Polygraph Security Screening for Dan Bongino, Two Other Senior Staff
As the FBI’s deputy director, Bongino receives some of the country’s most sensitive secrets, including the President’s Daily Brief. His ascent to that position without passing a standard bureau background check is unprecedented, insiders say.

Survey after survey has shown that the United States’ international popularity has steadily declined in recent years.
That trend now appears appears to be accelerating during U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term.
The American chattering classes tend to discuss the dangers of the country’s worsening image in terms of geopolitics and waning “soft power”
—and they’re not wrong.
Washington’s globe-spanning alliances have long been one of its major strengths.
If …

Donald Trump’s War on Tourism
Turned off by U.S. policies and border practices, foreign visitors are going elsewhere.