@PeterLG@theblower.au cover
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

PeterLG

@PeterLG@theblower.au

Australian : Married, Nomad, Sarcast, Pyrrhonist, Irreligious Unbeliever, Democratic Socialist : Info/Comms Tech & Management, Fire fighter, Educator : He/Him : Born @ 316 ppm CO₂

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. For a complete list of posts, browse on the original instance.

Nonilex , to random
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

A helicopter carrying President of & his foreign minister crashed on Sunday in the country’s mountainous northwest, acc/to state media, deepening the turmoil that has gripped the nation on both the international & domestic fronts in recent months.

, 63, was traveling from Iran’s border w/ Azerbaijan to inaugurate a joint dam project.


https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/19/world/middleeast/iran-president-helicopter-crash.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@Nonilex

The USA sh9uld send an aircraft to find him.

I recommend an A-10.

GottaLaff , to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar
PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

That's an "Ouch!"

I wonder if any of Trump's supporters will read this and go "Hmmm..."

But then, Trump supporters probablynstay well away from Doonsbury.

PeterLG , to random
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

Why I'm not an author, Part LXXVII:

Reading a simple sci-fi space opera, humans against space spiders, mindless fun, and then ...

The protagonist's spaceship has to rendezvous with a space station orbiting Mercury. Fair enough. The narrator talks about how the station has to stay in the planet's shadow. OK, that makes sense. Summer's a bitch that close to good old Sol.

They then go on to say that Mercury is tidally-locked to the Sun. ARGH!

It's not. It's rotation period is ⅔ of it's orbit period (88 days), meaning the planet slowly turns to toast it's whole surface. That's been known since the 1960's. Frown.

Then, more egregiously, states that the station orbits at around 1,000 km from the planet's surface. WTAF?

A geostationary orbit for Mercury (needed to stay in shadow) given it's mass and rotation period, would be 240,420 km from the surface. Angry grimace.

Anyway, 🤣

GottaLaff , to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

starts HERE.
Please remember I don’t reply while live-posting. Plz use NFL (Not For Laffy, but no hashtag) so I can ignore those replies.

1/… Bower:

Trump enters the courtroom. Before arriving, he lingered for a moment in the doorway, talking to his lawyers, Emile Bove and Todd Blanche. He had a piece of paper in his hand, which he waved around as he spoke.

Wait for it….

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

NFA: Kimmel is absolutely loving all of these references to him and his show! 😄🤣🤣

GottaLaff , to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

President Joe Biden will honor 19 people, including Nancy Pelosi, Al Gore, Michael Bloomberg and Michelle Yeoh, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Friday, the nation’s highest civilian honor -ABC

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

Well, that's a much better list than Trump's.

GottaLaff , to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

NEW 🧵 starts HERE. 1/...

McBrien:

Merchan is back on the bench, Davidson is on the stand, and the jurors have returned.

Emil Bove for the defense begins the cross.

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

NFL

I just love the lawerly word games here:

You demanded money: threatened, thumped the table, blustered, shouted.
I made a monetary demand: I wrote a nice letter.

😂

GottaLaff , to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

#TrumpTrial 🧵starts HERE. #Trump #legal
PLEASE NOTE: I likely can’t reply while live-posting. Adding NFL (Not For Laffy) helps! Thx.

1/…

Via Andrew Weissmann:

Court about to begin. The defense table, from left to right: Blanche, the defendant (ie Trump), Bove, and Necheles (notably farthest from Trump). Gaggle of photographers shoot Trump, inches from his face: he maintains an implacable and dour expression. ADA Josh Steinglass and his team now enter: Steinglass is very much the lead here.

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

NFL

Don Sharty does realise that the Defence and Prosecution teams pick the jury, doesn't he?

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

NFL

And there's nothing at all stopping Trump from posting a snappy comeback at Biden about Biden. 🤷‍♂️

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

NFL I just love that the judge has to keep reminding Trump that he's the defendant in a criminal trial. I really don't think it has sunk in yet.

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

NFL Of course he has, and so bloody what? Being an adult frequently means ignoring people you would rather slap. But then, Trump is just a toddler in a suit.

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

NFL Cohen's last TikTok video was 24 April, over a week ago. Hardly "nightly".

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

Meanwhile, Trump is posting that he has been "fully gagged" and begging for money from his followers - while this is all going on! 😂🤬

GottaLaff , to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

LA Times: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday that he has qualified for #California’s presidential election ballot, giving his third-party candidacy a longshot chance at collecting 54 electoral votes this fall.
#RFKJr

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

He's in it for the lulz. He knows he can't win the state, but the notoriety will give him a chubbie.

I reckon he'll pull votes away from Trump, too, rather than Biden. People on the fence can see what Biden brings to the table compared to Trump, and they can also see that RFK brings absolutely nothing—somehow, even less than Trump.

randahl , to random
@randahl@mastodon.social avatar

Sometimes I have a hard time believing what I see, when I follow Trump on social media…

But I promise you, this is a real screenshot of what Trump has shared yesterday: A picture of God protecting him, containing a prayer asking God to strike down all enemies who [actual quote:] “what to harm him”.

After an entire week exposing Trump's crimes and extramarital affairs, he is sharing God memes — no political agenda, no vision for America.

This is not a party — it is a cult.

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@randahl

It most assuredly bloody is. And it's probably going to end the same way most cults centered around a single messianic personality do: painfully for all involved.

GottaLaff , to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

MEANWHILE, at , via Ryan Reilly:

Supreme Court Trump immunity arguments underway.

"There can be no presidency as we know it" without presidential immunity, Trump lawyer John Sauer argues. 🤦🏻‍♀️

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

That's it. I,m going to bed. It's gone 4 AM, and the USA is beyond help at this point. Laffy, thanks for your efforts.

GottaLaff , to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

1/…🧵

Let’s start with this, via @darthstar, because NY has laws that govern . I heard the Legals on TV say the same thing as Sean here:

https://mastodon.online/@darthstar/112320741962522803

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

Laffy, thank you for doing this; we greatly appreciate it. Your sense of humour shines through while helping us slobs out here get an idea of what's happening. 😊

randahl , to random
@randahl@mastodon.social avatar

Another day, another 800 Russian invaders eliminated.

Putin will lose this war.

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@randahl

With Ukraine's allies starting to get their collective act together? Decisively.

randahl , to random
@randahl@mastodon.social avatar

Today, the UK will announce their biggest Ukraine aid package to date including:

— More Storm Shadow cruise missiles
— 1600 other missiles
— 60 boats
— 400 vehicles
— 4 million rounds of ammunition

In the Russian trenches, it will be a cruel, cruel summer.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-to-announce-largest-ever-military-aid-package-to-ukraine-on-visit-to-poland

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@randahl

Good. This, with a couple of countries shipping everything they have by way of artillery to Ukraine and the US finally getting its head out of its arse, are good news.

marcelias , to random
@marcelias@mas.to avatar

You might think that even in today’s highly polarized election environment there would be a bipartisan consensus to protect election workers from intimidation and harassment. If you thought so, you would be wrong.

My latest.
https://www.democracydocket.com/opinion/republicans-are-suing-for-the-right-to-harass-election-workers/

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@marcelias

... and this is why Australia has an independent, non-partisan body dedicated to running, and making decisions about, our elections.

Our politicians still try it on occasionally, but they're not successful for very long.

mastodonmigration , to random
@mastodonmigration@mastodon.online avatar

New York AG rejects Trump $175M bond, setting the stage for a Monday hearing which may result in determination that the bond is without effect and lead to asset seizure.

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4606053-ny-ag-trump-civil-fraud-judge-declare-175m-bond-without-effect/

"The New York attorney general’s office has asked a judge to void the $175 million bond former President Trump secured to put off paying the larger monetary damage award in his civil fraud case."

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@mastodonmigration

Oh, I'm so here for this ... 🤣

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@mastodonmigration

That's... comprehensive.

Damn but James and her people do good work.

GottaLaff , to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Not sure how much I can post. Now my iPhone is slow. Via McBrien:

…waiting for the Sandoval hearing to begin, despite the tragedy that unfolded earlier this afternoon just outside the courtroom.

As Merchan said earlier, "We've come too far in this trial to jeopardize it now."

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

You're an absolute gem, Laffy. Thanks.

gee8sh , to random
@gee8sh@mastodon.online avatar

Given 's unwavering support for and its genocidal apparatus, I am thinking of starting to transition out of its ecosystem.

It's gonna be challenging, primarily because I use an Android smartphone, and because I have been using a Gmail account for ages.

I welcome your tips!

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@ThinkIsrael

Aww, bless! You're so cute in your ignorance 🥰

@gee8sh

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@Mary625 @ThinkIsrael @gee8sh

They simply refuse to see that their actions and laws are precisely the same as those of Germany in the 30's, and championed for precisely the same reasons.

"There are none so blind..." indeed.

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@DropBear

One would think that so many orthodox and traditional Jews standing against Zionist Israel would get moderate Jews considering what was happening.

One would think.

@ThinkIsrael @gee8sh

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar
PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@DropBear

Like all nations that exist in a state of exeptionalism.

@ThinkIsrael @gee8sh

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@carl

There are quite a few flavours of Zionism, most of them secular, and all of them espousing the theory that Jewish people are a race, rather than a collective of like-minded people who share a common history.

The Germans thought the same thing about Aryans, leading to what we know as the holocaust.

Any grouping of people who consider themselves to be ideal will also follow the same path (see: USA Exceptionalism).

@DropBear @ThinkIsrael @Mary625 @gee8sh @palestine @israel

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@hanscees

Why would it be? Zionism is older than either world war, and the German holocaust had nothing to do with Zionism and everything to do with Aryan exceptionalism, which is why they murdered millions of people who were NOT Jews but fell under the umbrella of not being of the perfect race, i.e. Aryans.

@DropBear @sentient_water @ThinkIsrael @Mary625 @gee8sh @palestine @israel

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@tzafrir

It was set up by Britain as a way to sort out a problem; a colony by any other name stinks as bad.

Jews came from all over the world; from Australia, Europe, North and South America, Asia, everywhere, not just "various nearby countries". Why the need to minimise what happened?

Hell, I can understand why Israel was created from a political viewpoint, and Palestine was the easiest solution available. Any person with half a brain could forsee the issues the "solution" would inevitably create though.

@DropBear @argumento @hanscees @sentient_water @ThinkIsrael @Mary625 @gee8sh @palestine @israel

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@tzafrir

You are eager to attend protests against your current government in favour of retrieving hostages from HAMAS and to throw your current government out (https://restart-israel.co.il/all-hafganot/) but seemingly fail to understand that a ceasefire is the safest, fastest, and surest was to ensure the remaining hostages are returned.

Meanwhile the official Israeli stance is that any Israeli who dies in the crossfire is unavoidable collateral damage, whether they are hostages of civillians; a stance that has been promoted for decades.

Israel have turned a legitimate retaliation for the HAMAS attack into an excuse to carry out a genocide the country has always wanted, extending the Dahiya doctrine into one of total destruction of an ethnic group, regardless of their religious beliefs.

@GregDance @Mary625 @ThinkIsrael @hanscees @DropBear @sentient_water @gee8sh @palestine @israel

GottaLaff , to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

👉🏼"In voting news, has become the latest state to join the National Popular Vote compact, which could transform the way presidents are elected in the United States. Sixteen states and Washington, D.C., have now pledged to award their combined 209 electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the nationwide popular vote. The compact will only go into effect once supporters of the compact control at least 270 votes." https://www.democracynow.org/2024/4/17/headlines/maine_joins_national_popular_vote_compact

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

It's a great idea, but the moment a Republican state government feels threatened, they will renege on the deal.

This type of change HAS to be made via a Constitutional amendment to stick.

futurebird , to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

I have no idea how you'd select a jury from New Yorkers. People here are a bunch of stubborn, idiosyncratic, weirdos.

I wouldn't worry about a "Secret Trump fan" on the jury I'd be worried about:

  1. Hustlers: genius who is going to sell their story for movie or something
  2. The Normal Except for ONE THING guy: Perfectly normal except ... they don't trust nurses.
  3. The TOO fair. A NYC liberal who is trying so hard to be fair they are biased the other way.
PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@3dogcouch

"According to reports" ... sorry, but we hear that too much. According to 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 reports?

@godofbiscuits @futurebird

flexghost , to random
@flexghost@mastodon.social avatar

…free speech as long as you don’t say “cisgender”

If you’re still on Twitter you’re a loser.

❤️

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@flexghost

Not surprising...

GottaLaff , to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

“Speaker Mike Johnson told GOP lawmakers that he’ll try to pass four bills this week to send aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan — each in separate bills, according to two Republicans in the private Monday meeting.

A fourth proposed bill would include a package of related measures, including a lend-lease deal for military aid, a ban on TikTok in the U.S. and provisions to sell off assets seized from Russian oligarchs.”

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/04/15/congress/johnsons-ukraine-israel-proposal-00152375

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

You mean, he might actually get some work done? 😳

randahl , (edited ) to random
@randahl@mastodon.social avatar

This is the level of disinformation, Elon Musk spreads at The Dead Bird’s Graveyard:

Picture 1: Elon Musk ensures a conspiracy tweet gets 59 million views.

Picture 2: The tweet claims, 1,250,710 Texan voters have registered without a photo ID in 2024 (insinuating fraud).

Picture 3: Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson clarifies, that the actual number of newly registered voters in Texas in 2024 is only 57,711.

It took me 2 minutes to Google the facts, but of course, Elon Musk does not care.

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@randahl

Lies are Musk's, like Trump's, stock in trade.

GottaLaff , to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

The largest fresh egg producer in the U.S. has found bird flu in chickens at a plant https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/largest-fresh-egg-producer-us-found-bird-flu-chickens-texas-plant-rcna146169

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@GottaLaff

1.6 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 hens is less than 4% of their flock? I do 𝘯𝘰𝘵 want to see what their "living" conditions are like!

ElleGray , to random
@ElleGray@mstdn.social avatar

people were making fun of this panda for his weird expressions but it turns out that when he was a baby his caretakers (people) had to break his bamboo apart. People are weak and had to exert themselves. He's now strong enough to do it himself easily, but thinks making the faces is part of the process 😄🐼♥️

A panda trying to break a piece of bamboo. It's actually pretty easy for him, but he's gritting his teeth comically, as though he's using all his might lol
Another shot of the panda grimacing from the concentration and effort, as a person would do

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@ElleGray

Thankfully, he never saw his carers on the loo ... 😣

futurebird , to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Last night our cable internet box randomly died. It’s totally fried and must be replaced. This happened just as my husband got home from work, waking me up to tell me the governor of NY had issued a warning about power outages during the Coronal Mass Ejection (there was a big solar storm last night) — basically I thought the world was ending and put my laptop in the oven. (it’s a faraday cage)

I may have overreacted.

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@futurebird

Decades ago, in the'80s, I and a workmate, city born and bred, travelled out to north western NSW, Australia, to a desert mining town. We were there to cut the town over from a manual party-line phone service to an automatic exchange. The work was all done; we were there as backup and to sort out a problem with some noisy electronics.

At the end of the big day, the town threw a party. During the night I realised my mate had disappeared. I went looking for him as there were unprotected mineshafts all over the place.

I found him lying on his back on the bed of a truck, forgotten beer in one hand, staring up at the stars. His only words were, "Oh, wow!"

Being from the bush, I had forgotten how seeing a dark sky full of stars affects people. I laid down next to him and explained what some of the things he was seeing for the first time were.

jeffowski , (edited ) to random
@jeffowski@mastodon.world avatar
PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@jeffowski

This cretin is a born-again born-again, and his thoughts are as disgusting as one would expect.

https://www.sotwe.com/covapologetics

dannotdaniel , to random
@dannotdaniel@mastodon.social avatar

almost didn't recognize Steven Tyler

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@dannotdaniel

She does NOT look well. 😳

HistoPol , to random
@HistoPol@mastodon.social avatar

... incoming:

"I stand with President Biden..." but he somehow is to blame for today's attack on and he will check this on Fox and OAN?!?

https://mastodon.social/@surfthebluewave/112141985668202936

@GottaLaff
@flexghost
@JustOneMoreThing
@noondlyt
@DemocracyMattersALot
@indivisibleteam


PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar
hrefna , to random
@hrefna@hachyderm.io avatar

I'm always kind of baffled and a lot sad when I see someone get an advanced and clearly have no idea what they are doing.

Yes, we all start somewhere, but an ethical rescue or seller should have at least given you a crash course, and even if you got it from an unethical rescue or seller I don't understand the mindset of getting a multi-thousand dollar bird without doing more than a cursory amount of research first.

Some basics:

1/

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@hrefna

I much prefer stainless steel, but then, when I'm cooking, I'm only cooking, so I don't have a problem with stuff sticking. Our kids tend to cook and watch TV, check Farcebook, post on Twatter, video call a friend, ...

Cast iron is the BEST for slow cooking, though.

Nonilex , to random
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

‘Welcome to Hell’: Panel Says Russian Are Widespread

In a report headed to the Council in next week, an investigative commission outlines the ongoing torture & starvation of Ukrainian prisoners.

#
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/15/world/europe/russia-war-crimes.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@Nonilex

We don’t have to perpetuate the stereotype of viscious Russian guards; they do it themselves.

wdlindsy , to random
@wdlindsy@toad.social avatar

"The Alabama decision is a direct result of the June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, decided thanks to the three religious extremists former president Trump nominated to the Supreme Court. That decision referred to fetuses as 'unborn human being[s]' when it overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision recognizing the constitutional right to abortion."

~ Heather Cox Richardson


/1

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-25-2024

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@wdlindsy

I bet the Dept of the Navy just loves that!

@donwatkins

PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@wdlindsy

Crazy thinking. Just because he belongs to the same tribe doesn't automatically mean he's good people.

@donwatkins

breadandcircuses , to random
@breadandcircuses@climatejustice.social avatar

"I Hope To God I Am Wrong" – Climate Change "Going Through The Roof"

https://www.medialens.org/2023/i-hope-to-god-i-am-wrong-climate-change-going-through-the-roof/

Media Lens takes a look at the different ways people may respond to all of the potentially frightening signals about climate breakdown we've been seeing lately...


There are two key responses to news of the latest climate disasters:

‘It’s bad, but not that bad. It’s manageable and we can carry on pretty much as normal.’

An alternative take:

‘No, it is that bad. This is just the ball starting to roll – it will gather more and more and more momentum, and it won’t stop. We need drastic change now!‘

The second of these is inarguably correct. The first is the underlying message delivered by state-corporate media that have a vested interest in the status quo, in discouraging us from seeking serious change. Despite a mountain of evidence, we are assured that the crisis is under the management of fundamentally decent, rational leaders. And this is exactly why the level of public alarm does not yet reflect the terrifying, rollercoaster reality depicted in the soaring and crashing graphs measuring temperatures and ice coverage.

Professor Bill McGuire, Emeritus Professor of Geophysical and Climate Hazards at University College London, tweeted last month:

"I hope to God I am wrong, but to me it is looking increasingly as if we have reached some sort of tipping point, with the global temperature, sea-surface temperature, ice loss, and other parameters, all going through the roof."

McGuire was responding to reports headlined by CNN: "Four alarming charts that show just how extreme the climate is right now"

The report noted:

>> We’re only halfway through 2023 and so many climate records are being broken, some scientists are sounding the alarm, fearing it could be a sign of a planet warming much more rapidly than expected. <<

The ‘four alarming charts’ showed that global air temperatures have risen to record levels in 2023. Oceans are also heating up to record levels and show no sign of stopping. Antarctic sea ice is at record lows. And atmospheric carbon dioxide levels hit a new record high in 2023. But many of these records are not merely being broken, they are being obliterated.

Brian McNoldy, an expert in hurricanes and sea level rise at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School, captured it exactly:

"I know there are a million people sharing temperature anomaly charts and maps lately, but there’s a good reason for that. This is totally bonkers, and people who look at this stuff routinely can’t believe their eyes. Something very weird is happening."


PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@breadandcircuses

I'm firmly of the opinion that we have passed a number of tipping points on land and in the sea. Changes are going to accelerate, in all probability much faster than the models allowed for due to interactions as yet unknown.

Ailantd , to random
@Ailantd@mastodon.art avatar
PeterLG ,
@PeterLG@theblower.au avatar

@Ailantd very nice!

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