TIL that he's now a race car driver
otter
joined 2 years ago
MODERATOR OF
Nice, I had no idea
I tried out Fladder, Moonfin, and Wholphin
- Fladder does load, but it crashes on certain pages for me. My guess is that my hardware isn't powerful enough to handle something that it's trying to do
- Moonfin and Wholfin are both beautiful with an intuitive UI. Between the two, I liked Wholfin the best. It has a preview when customizing the home page, which is very helpful compared to the back and forth guess and test with the other ones. I also prefer it's UI and default settings over the others
I replaced Findroid with Wholphin on ours
Neat, are there any other clients for Android TV aside from the official one?
Fladder was working on it, but last I tried it was still too unstable to use
Scientists captured female sperm whales on video working together during a birth to protect the calf
Some cool details
Scientists want to know how whales cooperate and socialize in the wild, but it’s tough to study this in animals that spend most of their time underwater. There are just a handful of sperm whale birth records from the past 60 years, and all are anecdotal accounts or from whaling boats.
Several years ago, researchers were studying whale communication on a boat off the Caribbean island of Dominica when they noticed something odd. Eleven whales — most of them female — surfaced, their heads facing one another, and started thrashing and diving above and below the water. The scientists immediately took out drones and microphones to capture the event.
The full delivery took about 30 minutes. For hours afterward, pairs of whales held the baby above the water until it was able to swim.
After observing the birth, the scientists created software to analyze exactly what was going on. They chronicled the sights and sounds in two studies published Thursday in the journals Scientific Reports and Science.
What struck the researchers was how many mother, sister and daughter whales united to support the new calf, even ones that weren’t related. Sperm whales live in close-knit, female-led societies, and the new observations show how those dynamics persist in the animals’ most significant and vulnerable moments.
I love the colors in this one, who is the subject sitting by the window?
It might be the thesis, but it definitely raises discussions on why some protests work and others don't. It's true that a one and done protest is easy to ignore. That doesn't mean all protests are ineffective.
Historically, protests were effective when they were the signal that people were unhappy, and that if something didn't change, people would take further action.
So I'm order for protests to be more effective:
- they need better organization and consolidation instead of being distributed
- they need a clear set of actionable demands, so that protestors know when they need to ratchet up to the next level of escalation
- they need to have agreed upon levels of escalation that will be followed by those attending the protest. That could include general strikes, focussed boycotts, focussed civil disobedience, etc.
Simplifying it down to "🔫 or nothing" is just as silly as the octopus protest, in that people need to find the right set of actions for each situation.
As for the US specifically, I don't see what an immediate armed revolution would accomplish.
I agree, rather I was surprised that threads grew big enough for people to be trying to migrate away from it.
In my area / friend circles, I don't know anyone that continued to use Threads after the initial launch. However, there are people using Mastodon, Bluesky, and Twitter
I think if someone is interested in the topic, then they will be better equipped to navigate tech products if they've learned about what's going on under the hood. Same as health/science education for navigating pop science, or mechanical knowledge for navigating scammy car mechanics.
I agree on some of the other points though. I would not use any of the random chat apps that these new accounts have been posting
The tooltip explanation for the handles should help, since that's a very common point of confusion.
especially for more mainstream users looking for an alternative to X or Threads.
That many people use Facebook Threads? That sounds like saying "especially for more mainstream users looking for an alternative to Reddit or New Digg."
I think it would be nice as an opt-in feature in the user settings
Explanation and article: https://boilingsteam.com/cachy-os-is-now-the-most-popular-distro-on-proton-db/
Graph
34
YSK: NASA has a free guide on how to get into astrophotography with just a smartphone
(assets.science.nasa.gov)
cross-posted from: https://ibbit.at/post/195854
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has dropped 5,000 bombs on Iran since the United States and Israel launched an attack last week, according to a statement by the IAF on March 4.
Bellingcat has monitored weapons used in the first few days of the war, and strikes across the region, including those that caused civilian harm. Some weapons, such as the US Precision Strike Missile, have seen their first use in combat. A variant of the Tomahawk missile, previously unknown to the public, was also used.
On March 3, the IAF posted three images in three separate posts showing a bomb not publicly seen in Israeli service before. The Israel Air Force released these photos accompanied with claims they were of jets participating in the strikes on Iran. Experts told Bellingcat that this bomb appears to have an incendiary component, and may be one intended to destroy chemical or biological warfare agents.
Photo of an Israeli Air Force jet purportedly participating in strikes, equipped with two of these bombs (far left and far right). Source: Israeli Air Force.
The images appear to show 2,000-pound-class air-delivered bombs fitted with Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kit with a red band around the nose. Red is commonly used to denote an incendiary, while yellow indicates high explosive effect.
Image of a bomb with the body of a MK 84 2,000-pound-bomb, but with a red band near the nose, and a US JDAM guidance kit. The image is cropped by Bellingcat to focus on the bomb. Source: Israeli Air Force.
We identified key details about the munition and shared the images with two weapons experts.
Apparent Similarities to the MK 84
Dr N.R. Jenzen-Jones, the director of Armament Research Services (ARES), a weapons intelligence consulting company, told Bellingcat these images show a 2,000-pound-class air-delivered bomb fitted with a Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kit.
Frederic Gras, an Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) expert, also told Bellingcat that the bomb could be of the US MK 80 series, or an Israeli copy, and has a JDAM guidance kit.
Left: 2,000-pound bomb with red band and US JDAM guidance kit posted by the IAF. Right: Standard MK 84 2,000-pound bombs with US JDAM guidance kits. Sources: IAF and SrA Karalyn Degraffenreed/DVIDS.
The US JDAM bomb guidance kit is designed for use with bombs that use the MK 80 series bomb bodies, and the closely related BLU-109 “bunker buster” body.
The Open Source Munitions Portal added the munition to their website on March 3, describing it as “visually similar to a MK 84 general purpose aerial bomb”, while noting that “the marking scheme is distinctly different”. The War Zone also reported on these distinct markings, and possible munitions it could be.
Open Source Munitions Portal’s (OSMP) entry on the bomb, with an analyst note. The OSMP is jointly run by Airwars and ARES, and entries undergo a review by at least two experts. Source: Open Source Munitions Portal.
“The combination of yellow and red bands probably indicates both a high explosive and incendiary payload, which would be consistent with a 2,000-pound-class bomb of MK 84 form factor known as the BLU-119/B Crash Prompt Agent Defeat (CrashPAD),” Dr Jenzen-Jones told Bellingcat.
Frederic Gras, an Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) expert said that the US and Israel both use red markings to indicate an incendiary payload, or effect. The bomb could be a full incendiary payload, with the yellow band indicating a bursting charge, or it could be a bomb primarily with a high explosive component, and a secondary incendiary effect, Gras added.
Red Bands on Israeli Weapons
It’s not the first time the Israeli Air Forces has published weapon images with red bands marking the warhead or payload section of a munition. Shortly after the start of the Gaza War in 2023, the IAF posted a photo which included an Apache attack helicopter with a Hellfire missile with a red band. The IAF deleted the post and replaced it with a similar photo of an Apache without this missile.
Israeli Air Force AH-64 Apache with Hellfire missiles, including one with a red band. Source: Israeli Air Force.
This fueled speculation online that this could be an incendiary or the thermobaric variant of the Hellfire missile, the AGM-114N. It has been approved by the US for sale to Israel.
M825A1 155mm white phosphorus artillery projectiles, munitions designed to create smoke, used by Israel also have a red band and a yellow band around the nose.
Israeli munitions which are not incendiary have also been spotted with light red bands over the fuel tanks for munitions with jet engines, such as the Delilah cruise missile.
Israeli Delilah Cruise Missile. Source: KGyST, Wikimedia.
Designed To Target Chemical or Biological Weapon Stockpiles
The markings are consistent with the US-produced CrashPAD, but “given the possible CBW [chemical and biological warfare] threats Israel has long faced from Iran, it is entirely plausible that an Israeli analogue was developed,” Dr Jenzen-Jones told Bellingcat.
The CrashPAD contains white phosphorus and high explosives, and is designed to destroy biological and chemical warfare agents according to US government documents.
Components of a BLU-119/B (CrashPAD). Source: US Department of Defense.
Dr Jenzen-Jones told Bellingcat that the CrashPAD is the only publicly known weapon of this type utilising a MK 84 bomb body although there are several programs producing similar munitions. A penetrating variant is known as the Shredder but it uses a modified BLU-109 bomb body, which is visually different from the MK 84 bomb body visible in the IAF photos.
BLU-109 2,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs equipped with JDAM guidance kits. Source: OSMP.
CrashPAD has been in the US inventory for nearly two decades. “Chemical Agent Defeat weapons, such as Crashpad, are not illegal”, and they must undergo a legal review to ensure compliance with US domestic and international law, Michael Meier, former Senior Advisor to the Army Judge Advocate General for Law of War and current Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, told Bellingcat.
“The express purpose for the reservation is that these weapons, such as Crashpad, are the only weapons that can effectively destroy certain targets such as biological weapons facilities, for which high heat would be required to eliminate bio-toxins,” Meier said.Dr Arthur van Coller, Professor of International Humanitarian Law at the STADIO Higher Education, told Bellingcat that “if the CrashPAD is used as designed, i.e. to target chemical or biological weapon stockpiles sufficiently removed from civilian populations, then its use is consistent with IHL [International Humanitarian Law] and treaty law, even under CCW [Certain Conventional Weapons], Protocol III.”
Dr Arthur van Coller also said that the “United States and Israel are State Parties to the CCW itself,” but only the US is also a party to Protocol III on incendiary weapons, albeit with reservations, which means that Israel “is not legally bound by Protocol III’s restrictions on incendiary weapons (including those applying to CrashPAD) under treaty law”. Iran is not a party to the CCW at all.
The US is a major supplier of weapons to Israel, and has sent thousands of MK 80 series and BLU-109 bombs to the country. Israel also produces some MK 80 series bombs.
Israel and US Responses
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which publishes details of some major arms sales, does not mention any transfers of the CrashPAD. Bellingcat asked the Department of State if the CrashPAD or weapons with similar capabilities were transferred to Israel. Bellingcat also asked the Department of State if they assessed that Iran had a chemical weapons program. A State Department Spokesperson told Bellingcat that “The Trump administration backs Israel’s right to self-defense” and referred Bellingcat to the IDF for questions about procurement and munitions used.The US Department of Defense did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
Bellingcat asked the IDF what the bomb was, if it was supplied by the US, if it contained white phosphorus, thermobaric or fuel air explosives, and if the IDF assessed that Iran had a chemical weapons program. The IDF told Bellingcat that it “will not be able to provide details regarding the types of munitions it uses. With that said the IDF uses only legal weapons and ammunition.”
Bellingcat’s Carlos Gonzales contributed research to this article. Livio Spaini from Bellingcat’s Volunteer Community also contributed to this piece.*Bellingcat is a non-profit and the ability to carry out our work is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. If you would like to support our work, you can do so here. You can also subscribe to our Patreon channel* here. Subscribe to our Newsletter and follow us on Bluesky here, Instagram here, Reddit here and YouTube here.
The post The Incendiary Bomb Never Seen in Israel Before appeared first on bellingcat.
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cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/30261135
Sharpless 249 and the Jellyfish Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Katelyn BeecroftExplanation: Normally faint and elusive, the Jellyfish Nebula is caught in this alluring telescopic field of view. Floating in the interstellar sea, the nebula is anchored right and left by two bright stars, Mu and Eta Geminorum, at the foot of the celestial twins. The Jellyfish Nebula itself is right of center, seen as a brighter arcing ridge of emission with dangling tentacles. In fact, this cosmic jellyfish is part of bubble-shaped supernova remnant IC 443, the expanding debris cloud from a massive star that exploded. Light from the explosion first reached planet Earth over 30,000 years ago. Like its cousin in astrophysical waters the Crab Nebula supernova remnant, the Jellyfish Nebula is known to harbor a neutron star, the ultradense remnant of the collapsed stellar core. An emission nebula cataloged as Sharpless 249 fills the field at the upper left. The Jellyfish Nebula is about 5,000 light-years away. At that distance, this image would be about 300 light-years across.
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Do you have an article about the case you're talking about?
There is a difference between Lyme disease and chronic Lyme disease. My guess is that this case has something to do with that difference.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_Lyme_disease