SLRPNK
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Basic Rules:
- be constructive: there is no need of another internet space full of competition, negativity, rage etc.;
- no bigotry, including racism, sexism, ableism, transphobia, homophobia or xenophobia;
- be empathic: empathy is more rebellious than a middle finger;
- no porn and no gore: let's keep this place easy to manage;
- no ads / spamming / flooding, we don't want to buy/consume your commodified ideas;
- occasional self-promotion by active members is fine.
For any community related question or to just test some function: !meta@slrpnk.net
Try our Photon & Alexandrite frontends.
Or try our lightweight UI and Voyager mobile UI.
All accounts also work with XMPP chat automatically incl. our Movim client.
If you need to jointly brainstorm on your next Solarpunk text, try our Etherpad.
And don't miss our Wiki.
founded 2 years ago
ADMINS
Monthly community highlight: Tree Huggers
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This meta post isn't our typical monthly update.
📡 Technical updates 📡
The previously announced server maintenance of the supplementary services (Movim, XMPP, Wiki) had to be postponed to this month due to some difficulties encountered with the upgraded host system. We are currently looking into making it a bit more modular, but the PHP software doesn't lend itself very well to containerization.
We also started some slow improvements to our overall network structure to prepare for a potential upgrade to a 10 gbit fiber connection next year, but this will likely not have a big impact on SLRPNK itself as we are currently still far from exceeding the currently available bandwidth. It could allow for a sister Peertube site or something similar though.
💌 Donation support 💌
We hope to finally open a way to donate for helping to run the infrastructure that SLRPNK runs on this month. Initially it will be possible to donate through LiberaPay or directly to us through Stripe with a credit card. Since we are not a registered non-profit or so, we cannot provide you with a certificate for tax deductions though. If there is a big demand for alternative donation platforms like Patreon or KoFi etc. we can also consider it, but usually those just end up costing additional fees with little or no benefit to us.
We also applied for a small grant from NLnet to help us implement an option to donate through GNU Taler, which might become available to people in EU countries via a German coop bank sometimes mid 2025. We will keep you updated if that grant gets approved and how and when you can try it. If you are generally interested in GNU Taler, check out /c/money.
The United States elected a fascist government
SLRPNK is an international instance, and we try to avoid centering United States politics and news, as there is enough of that elsewhere in the Threadiverse. As the center of the world order, unfortunately much of what happens in the USA has resounding repercussions across the world. Sometimes those events are so big it becomes important to discuss them, even in our tiny corner of the internet.
During the campaign, the centrist Democratic Party appropriated a leftist talking point: Trump is a fascist. Now the Democrats are preparing for the peaceful transition of power to a fascist. This in unequivocally a bad thing for the people of the United States and the people of the world. A small cottage industry has arisen overnight of pundits giving post-election analysis. Here's what I think is relevant to you as a solarpunk:
You and I are in the midst of fomenting a media revolution through our participation in the Fediverse. It may sound self-congratulatory to compare the invention of ActivityPub to the printing press, the radio, internet, social networking sites, and micro-blogging. But I wouldn't be this committed to the platform if I didn't believe it was true.
Pay close attention to how fascists made extremely good use of emerging media messaging methods this election to disseminate false information to gullible voters. The last time fascists came to power, they did the very same thing with the new technology of radio broadcasting.
I believe there is a structural difference between Fediverse technology and those previous technologies - most of the fascists have already fucked off to their isolated islands, while our social graph continues to grow. If we can keep the Fediverse growing, the political revolutions it will eventually facilitate will have a much different character.
The other thing to notice is it wasn't just the United States where the incumbent party lost votes this election. Pundits have noted that during times of high inflation, it is typical for the electorate to blame their economic anxiety on the current government. This is backed by data.
[Image Description: Data showing historical and recent shift in vote share from incumbent parties across governments]
Every ruling party in every developed country got a smaller percentage of the votes than it did in the previous year. This is attributed to worldwide inflation and economic hardship.
As one of the few communities not in passive or active denial of the seriousness of global warming, we can recognize the climate catastrophe is directly responsible for a significant amount of this economic chaos. We can also predict that since little is being done to slow environmental collapse, economic conditions will get worse.
If there is an election in four more years, it is unlikely that fascists will stay in power. If there is no fair election, or Trump suspends elections, that does not change the facts on the ground. Ask Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain if autocracy saved them from popular unrest due to inflation. Trump is planting the seeds of revolt now by planning to dismiss his most competent generals and hundreds of thousands of female, gay, and transgender soldiers. If there is a revolution in the United States, it will probably involve the disbanded military.
Two years after the death of Hitler, Albert Camus published La Peste. It is a story where a plague overruns a city, only to disappear just as quickly, but with the looming threat to one day return. The plague is a excellent metaphor for fascism. I can't offer much solace, but I'm confident of this -- fascism is terrible but not sustainable. The silver lining of this tragedy is that it will one day be over. Let's continue our preparations so that day comes sooner, and that we and our loved ones survive to see it.
The preparations
The future is more difficult to predict than ever, but we can narrow down some essential preparations that could end up being the most critical. These recommendations are mostly based on Deviant Ollem's talk on Risk & Preparedness. I'd recommend watching that for more detail, if you have the time.
Find a good lawyer and memorize their phone number ⚖️
This goes for everyone, but especially if you are an activist, a minority, trans, an immigrant, a person who is publicly leftist, or any other person who is likely to be targeted by the new regime. If they use the legal system against you, already having a lawyer in mind and their number in your head (or a business card with their number on it inside your phone case or wallet) will give you a critical leg up if you're sitting in a jail cell without access to the contacts in your phone. This advice may become less useful as time goes on and the courts become sidelined entirely, but at least right now, I would consider it worth the effort.
Get your passport 🛂
If you've ever thought about getting a passport but have been putting it off, or you have one that's expired: get one. Get it soon. There may come a time when you need to flee the country quickly to save your life, and the most critical piece of documentation you will need is a valid passport, and the time to get one is long before you need it. If it eventually becomes possible or necessary to legitimately claim asylum in a less hostile country due to political persecution in the US, having a passport will be essential.
Also, though this is highly dependent on your lineage, if you have a parent, grandparent, or possibly even great-grandparent who was a foreign citizen, look into the process of applying to become a dual-citizen for that country by ancestry. Some countries make the process somewhat easy, and will even be willing to sorta fudge things a bit to grant you citizenship (Italy is one example, more details in the Deviant talk linked above). If you're able to take this route, this would give you the easiest escape route out of the US if it became too dangerous for you to stay. If this is a viable route for you, I would advise you to gather the required documents and begin the process as soon as possible, as some countries can take 6 months or more to get a foreign passport in your hand, while others can be quicker.
Consider acquiring the means to keep yourself safe 🛡️
Having a good can of pepper spray probably wouldn't be a bad idea; they're cheap, easy to learn how to use, non-lethal, and usually quite effective at giving yourself an opportunity to escape a bad situation (I would recommend POM, who also offer inert training canisters to practice with).
In addition, it may be worth considering taking a reputable self-defense class that teaches you how to fight with your hands or a melee weapon effectively. Learning how to take a punch will really help if things get physical.
Learn First Aid! ⛑️
It is equally, if not more important, to be able to keep yourself and others alive if they get hurt. This is a tremendously useful skill for anyone to learn, you can never have too many medics.
Tacticool Girlfriend provides a great introduction building a personal first aid kit, called an IFAK, which can deal with things like bullet wounds and other serious bleeding wounds. I also want to emphasize her recommendation of only buying medical gear from reputable sources (not Amazon!), such as North American Rescue to avoid fakes that could cost you your life.
But you'll need to learn how to use that equipment, too. The best resource for that is to take a local Stop The Bleed class, which are pretty widely available in most places. They may cost a small fee, but can also sometimes be free. Alternatively, if you cannot access a local class, this video by PrepMedic will give you a solid understanding of how to use Tourniquets and Gauze for wound packing.
Injuries are less harmful if they are tended to early. Learning first aid can help conserve resources when healthcare becomes unaffordable. Having several medics in case of harm by police is an extremely powerful morale booster during a protest that may become a police riot. When you become comfortable with the basics of first aid, riot medicine is the next suggested step.
Establish or join local Mutual Aid networks ✊
If you haven't already, get to know your neighbors. Mutual aid is a willingness to support and grow your community. This can include informal networks through friends, tenant/renter organizations, solidarity groups, and industrial unions.
These are groups using direct action to solve each other's problems. Building strong communities makes it difficult for fascism to take root. The actions of the government are going to hit every community hard, and the ones who build trust in each other and work together are most likely to survive. We've been building a list of resources in !inperson@slrpnk.net to help you on your way.
This isn't only for your own community protection. Your ability to organize today will change the political landscape tomorrow. When revolution occurs, the social organizations that show the greatest resilience through the regime are the ones typically calling the shots when the dust settles. When it comes to elections, get out the vote drives are useless if most of the voters are fascists. At some point, you have to do grassroots political education if you don't want fascist candidates winning elections. Mutual aid networks are excellent forums not only for teaching each other good political ideas, but demonstrating them in practice.
Open Discussion
You don't have to endorse my or any of our views to be welcome on this platform. Our fight for a better future brings us all together. This isn't just my soap-box though - it's your soap-box too. If you've got questions about the server or the Fediverse in general, this is a great place to ask them. If you notice an issue with the service, posting the problem here will get it visibility.
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Data centers consumed 4.4% of US power in 2023, could hit 12% by 2028
(www.datacenterdynamics.com)
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From Marie Read
I've picked this Snowy Owl surrounded by blowing snow for my holiday card 2024. Photographed ten years ago, February 2014, in Ontario, Canada.
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From Kerry Platzgraff
Superb Owls! Took these in Costa Rica. Zoos are illegal in Costa Rica but they have rehab/sanctuaries. All animals are rehabbed and released. The few that cannot be released obviously stay. Really enjoyed seeing these beautiful Owls. First one is a Crested Owl and second is a Spectacled Owl. Had to take the picture through a screen but considering still got some good pictures. I almost forgot the Black-and-white Owl. Added to the post.
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In Owl of the Year, I discussed the Barn Owl being one of the most well studied of all owls. That doesn't mean we've come anywhere close to understanding all their secrets. I can't across this interesting article, and it explorers done theories about why the Barn Owl, which hunts at night, is bright white instead of a dark color like most owls.
From AccuWeather
An owl’s ‘shocking’ color should hinder hunting. Scientists may have figured out why it works.
By Katie Hunt, CNN
17 DEC 2024
(CNN) — Flying slowly and silently through the night sky, barn owls are majestic nocturnal hunters that successfully prey on rodents scurrying along the ground below.
Scientists have long puzzled over a feature that would appear to handicap the bird during its midnight hunts. The plumage on its underbelly and wings is gleaming white, an unusual trait that in theory should make it more difficult for the owl to approach its prey undetected.
Unlike the snowy owl, the barn owl lives at latitudes where it doesn’t regularly snow. The barn owl’s paradoxically bright plumage baffled biologist Juanjo Negro and his colleagues, who thought the intriguing biological phenomenon warranted further investigation.
“We started from the intuitive feeling that the outstanding whiteness of the barn owl is so shocking that it should imply some adaptive advantage,” said Negro, a research professor at Doñana Biological Station–Spanish National Research Council in Seville, Spain, via email.
Previous research from September 2019 had suggested that bright white coloration was essentially a form of shock and awe, exploiting rodents’ aversion to bright light. Making the predator more visible to the rodent prey, which freeze in fear, the owls’ whiteness made voles easier to kill, the prior study found.
Negro and his team’s latest research suggests instead that the barn owl’s brilliant white plumage is in fact a form of nocturnal camouflage or counter-illumination that gives the hunter an element of surprise.
Barn owl’s feathers match the moonlight The bird’s white reflective underside effectively mimics moonlight, according to the new study describing the team’s findings that published in the journal PNAS on Monday. The bright plumage allows its silhouette to blend into the nocturnal sky and makes it harder for mice or other rodents to spot the owl.
“When the moon is visible, the sky has some brightness that varies depending on the observing direction. Under these conditions, a dark bird would be seen by its potential prey as a black silhouette against the sky,” said Negro, the study’s lead author. “But, if the ventral part of the bird is reflective enough, in other words if it is ‘white’ enough, it would reflect a good part of the moon.”
According to the researchers’ calculations, the contrast between the reflective, white undersides of barn owls and wide areas of the illuminated night sky falls below the detection threshold of rodent visual acuity, allowing barn owls to approach prey to within a few meters from a broad range of directions without being detected.
“This explanation has not been proposed before to justify the whiteness of barn owls,” Negro added.
A similar phenomenon exists in the ocean, where fish often have light-colored undersides to match sunlit water and make them less visible to predators hovering in the depths below.
Not all barn owls have white underbellies, however; some have reddish-brown plumage instead.
Negro said the research did not investigate hunting success in relation to plumage color, but earlier research had suggested that whiter barn owls were more efficient hunters than their darker counterparts during a full moon.
Bright-white shock value vs. concealment Barn owl expert Alexandre Roulin, a professor of biology at the University of Lausanne’s department of ecology and evolution who conducted the prior research that suggested the species’ white coloration shocked and immobilized its prey, said he was not fully convinced by the new explanation. However, he said he couldn’t rule it out.
“We do not wish to dismiss the authors’ hypothesis outright. It may, in fact, be complementary to our own. Perhaps at long distances the white plumage aids in camouflage, while at closer range, it may serve to make the owl more visible,” he said via email.
One key aspect Roulin said needed further explanation was the behavior of voles under moonlight.
“We observed that voles remained immobile longer when the approaching owl was white rather than reddish. Previous research has shown that this immobilization is an anti-predator response,” Roulin said. “Based on this, we would argue that the voles recognized the white owl as a predator, suggesting that the owl was visible, rather than camouflaged.”
Negro said the owl’s ability to fly in complete silence, a trait that helps it approach prey in stealth, does not tally with the idea that the predator would want to make itself more visible. However, he agreed that the new hypothesis doesn’t totally disprove the previous theory.
Camouflage is often considered a daytime phenomenon based on light and shade. Negro said that there are likely other forms of animal coloration that served as nighttime camouflage, which has not been as well studied as daytime concealment tactics.
“Nocturnal ecology is an emerging field, and considering that half the animals in the planet are essentially nocturnal, adaptations to the natural cycles of the Moon are surely widespread,” he said.
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This art comes from the official twitter account. Check out the Crunchyroll article for additional information. Synopsis for the source manga from AniList:
The master spy codenamed has spent his days on undercover missions, all for the dream of a better world. But one day, he receives a particularly difficult new order from command. For his mission, he must form a temporary family and start a new life?! A Spy/Action/Comedy about a one-of-a-kind family!
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