When simulation becomes the norm, it weakens the human capacity for discernment. As a result, our social bonds close in upon themselves, forming self-referential circuits that no longer expose us to reality. We thus come to live within bubbles, impermeable to one another. Feeling threatened by anyone who is different, we grow unaccustomed to encounter and dialogue. In this way, polarization, conflict, fear and violence spread. What is at stake is not merely the risk of error, but a transformation in our very relationship with truth.

Saudi Arabia just bought Pokémon GO, and probably all of your location data with it. 🔗 404media.co/saudi-arabia-buy…

Huge win for conservation last month in New South Wales, Australia! The NSW gov banned all oil and gas exploration, mining and infrastructure in state waters. Props to Surfers for Climate and the community organizations that campaigned to protect Australia’s oceans. Photos: Jarrah Lynch

Believing her right to free speech would be protected at @Harvard, Joan Donovan @BostonJoan published the Facebook papers. The University cut off her funding, while receiving $500m from Mark Zuckerberg’s charity. theguardian.com/technology/2…

In four newspapers today, 70 organisations and individuals across the media, civil society and legal landscape came together to demand an end to the prosecution of whistleblowers and urgent law reform to ensure whistleblowers are protected, not punished droptheprosecutions.org.au/

A new filter made from fruit and wood compounds has been shown to remove nintey-nine percent of microplastics from drinking water. The filter has been shown to prevent microplastics from building up on the organs of mice who drank the filtered water. buff.ly/3QQxl1s

What is digital repression? And how are authoritarian regimes using new technologies to control their populations? 🎙 @SteveJFeldstein discusses his book "The Rise of Digital Repression" on the @IrregWarfare Podcast: irregularwarfare.org/podcast…

The state has decided who is a menace. “The reason I commit these offences is because I am terrified of the worsening climate crisis. I am not a menace to society.” Environment volunteer activist sentenced to jail over protest - ABC News abc.net.au/news/2023-07-14/a…

The @nypost story is mistaken. I have never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews. I accurately pointed out — during an off-the-record conversation — that the U.S. and other governments are developing ethnically targeted bioweapons and that a 2021 study of the COVID-19 virus shows that COVID-19 appears to disproportionately affect certain races since the furin cleave docking site is most compatible with Blacks and Caucasians and least compatible with ethnic Chinese, Finns, and Ashkenazi Jews. In that sense, it serves as a kind of proof of concept for ethnically targeted bioweapons. I do not believe and never implied that the ethnic effect was deliberately engineered. That study is here: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3266…

“This prosecution is not in the public interest and it’s time for this prosecution to be dropped” Emma Davidson. ACT government Minister theguardian.com/australia-ne…

Tasmania’s takayna, where the cathedral like myrtle trees are 500 years old, or even older, they are threatened with destruction. We are campaigning every day for protection of Australia’s native forests and one of the worlds last wild places. Support us pozible.com/profile/bob-brow…

Weekend #longreads: The dirty road to clean energy Indonesia’s islands are some of the most biodiverse areas of the world. They’re also home to the planet’s largest reserves of nickel — a key component in many electric vehicle batteries restofworld.org/2022/indones…

ASPI’s Critical Technology Tracker explores global tech competition across 44 critical technologies. The @jakpost reported that the 'study showed that, in some fields, all of the world's top 10 research institutions are based in China' Read more: bit.ly/3YqtQyR

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"Be curious. Read widely. Try new things. What people call intelligence just boils down to curiosity." - Aaron Swartz Time to re-watch and shed a tear youtu.be/9vz06QO3UkQ :')

This needs coverage.

WHAT KILLED THE CRABS? The official story is something like “a billion snow crabs disappeared.” If that sounds fishy to you, keep reading. Let’s dive into the ecology, oceanography, & geopolitical history of the Bering Sea. A science thread on crabs, corruption, & collapse: 🦀