Oh, the history of history and Star Trek!
Star Trek’s Cold War
While America was fighting on the ground, the Federation was fighting in space.
By Tom Nichols
To be sure, some Star Trek episodes were just fantasy and fluff. (“Spock’s Brain,” in which the first officer has his brain stolen by a planet of gorgeous but apparently daft women, is often regarded as the worst episode, but there are several contenders.) Others commented on American social problems, such as racism, with thuddingly obvious symbolism: “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” describes an endless war between two races on the same planet, one black on the right side of their body, one black on the left side, and … well, you get the picture.
But to appreciate the Cold War setting of Star Trek, you need only to understand that the Earth-led United Federation of Planets (a free and democratic association committed to equality among all beings) was NATO...
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Oooh! Today's standards. I've gone through a couple generations of young people saying, "They didn't know better back then." Having lived through those times, they did indeed know better but chose to ignore it. We are going through this right now with the MAGA and Techbro lot. Twenty years in the future people may say they didn't know better. They most assuredly do.
Trek could be both enlightened and abyssmally sexist when it came to female characters. Some portrayals I found upsetting even as a kid without any understanding of women's rights. Did I still love Star Trek? Yes, I did. But I did wish it could have been better. JK Rowling has this same problem.
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Astronomy Activation Ambassadors: A New Era - NASA Science
The NASA Science Activation Program’s Astronomy Activation Ambassadors (AAA) project aims to measurably enhance student Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) engagement via middle school, high school, and community college science …science.nasa.gov
Red and Green Aurora Move Through Earth’s Atmosphere - NASA
Peering through the window of the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured this image on Oct. 7, 2024 of the SpaceX DragonNASA
Assessment of PFO as Related to DCS in the Spaceflight Environment and During Ground Testing - NASA
In June 2024, the NASA Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer (OCHMO) Standards Team hosted an independent assessment working group to review theSarah D. Childress (NASA)
Tesla replaced laid off US workers with foreign workers using H-1B visas that Musk want to increase
Elon Musk Wants Indentured Servitude Employees
H1B are primarily a vehicle for US corporations to get access to cheaper foreign labor with reduced labor protections. H1B workers always live under the threat of being deported if they lose their job, which forces them to be more compliant to their corporate masters while they're here. If we really cared about improving US workers' tech skills, we'd just spend money training and educating US citizens.
#ElonMusk #Tesla #H1B #VisaAbuse
Tesla replaced laid off US workers with foreign workers using H-1B visas that Musk want to increase
Tesla has replaced some of its US employees who were let go as part of a big wave of layoffs...Fred Lambert (Electrek)
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It's the new Liam Neeson film, where his daughter gets carjacked.
Taken 4: A Ride
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APOD: 2024 December 31 – The Twisted Disk of NGC 4753
A different astronomy and space science related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.apod.nasa.gov
I'm falling asleep, soooo...
HAPPY NEW YEAR! from Australia two hours early!
Grevillea fireworks
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"Wealth might make it possible to pay people and communities to accept harms; conversely, the less wealth that the recipients have, the more likely they are to accept the terms. But that doesn't mean the terms are fair. Worse, it means that existing inequalities are compounded."
— Deb Chachra: How Infrastructure Works, pp. 134-134
How Infrastructure Works - BookWyrm
bookwyrm.socialA new way of seeing the essential systems hidden inside our walls, under our streets, and all around us
Infrastructure is a marvel, meeting our basic needs and enabling lives of astounding ease and productivity that would have been unimagin…
Eight Clams Control This Polish City’s Water Supply
In the city of Poznań, Poland, a group of eight clams controls the local water supply through a clever bio-monitoring system: Tkottke.org
Volkswagen leak exposed precise location data on thousands of vehicles across Europe for months | TechCrunch
The data was found exposed on an Amazon cloud server, and contained precise location data on thousands of vehicles.Zack Whittaker (TechCrunch)
I arranged to have this on a karaoke machine for my birthday one year, so I could sing it with my friends!
@Christoph
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For me, TESCREAL is the word of year for 2024.
Coined by @timnitGebru and @xriskology in 2023 to describe multiple overlapping techno-philosophies that constantly try to redefine and rebrand to evade criticism. The word TESCREAL pins them down, bundles together, and invites further scrutiny.
"The Milky Way’s Unusual Twin in Pegasus."
International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Image Processing: J. Miller (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab) & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sols 4402-4415: Rover Decks and Sequence Calls for the Holidays - NASA Science
Earth planning date: Friday, Dec. 20, 2024 Welcome to the 2024 holiday plan for Curiosity! This year we’re spanning 14 sols to last us through the Earth new year.science.nasa.gov
There are good things and bad things about the new generation of AI, but one of the most terrible is the ability to impersonate humans. Let's not do this.
Counterfeit people are more dangerous than counterfeit money. They are tools for disinformation and manipulation. They destroy trust.
Let's not allow them. futurism.com/the-byte/facebook…
Facebook Planning to Flood Platform with AI-Powered Users
Meta says it envisions Facebook as being filled with AI generated characters that exist on the platform the same way as human users do.Frank Landymore (Futurism)
Just great.
Facebook Planning to Flood Platform with AI-Powered Users
"Meta says that it will be aiming to have Facebook filled with AI-generated characters to drive up engagement on its platform, as part of its broader rollout of AI products."
Facebook Planning to Flood Platform with AI-Powered Users
Meta says it envisions Facebook as being filled with AI generated characters that exist on the platform the same way as human users do.Frank Landymore (Futurism)
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Remembering President Carter - NASA
President Jimmy Carter, wife Rosalynn, and daughter Amy, along with Kennedy Space Center Director Lee Scherer, look at a scale model of the crawler thatNASA
How does the use of Nextcloud in Public Sector keep your data safe?
Nextcloud CEO @Karlitschek shares the importance of digital sovereignty in today's digital world, how open source in Germany is finding success, and a taste of the latest features in Nextcloud Hub:
Thank you @CollaboraOffice !
#CollaboraOnline #DigitalSovereignty
Does the Public Sector Keep Your Data Safe? - Nextcloud CEO Frank Karlitschek
We speak with Frank Karlitschek, CEO of Nextcloud about why Germany is investing so much in Open Source, the rising importance of digital sovereignty in the public sector and the latest improvement...@fps_gbg – PeerTube
What's Up: January 2025 Skywatching Tips from NASA - NASA Science
Each evening, enjoy a sweeping view of four planets at once. Also look for Mars occulted by the Moon and meteors!science.nasa.gov
Earth to Space Call: NASA Leaders to Speak with Station Astronauts - NASA
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy will speak with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, and Don Pettit onNASA
Hi folks. Please help get the word out! 🙏
lmno.lol, my blogging service, is now generally available. No invite needed!
😡 No #tracking #ads #paywall or #bloat
🥰 #privacy first, read anywhere (even #terminal), #markdown, bring your own #editor
My blog lmno.lol/alvaro
I hope LMNO gets you blogging in 2025!
Please help me get the word out 🙏
#vim #emacs #vscode #indiedev #indieweb #indie #plaintext
APOD: 2024 December 30 – M27: The Dumbbell Nebula
A different astronomy and space science related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.apod.nasa.gov
The city of Joplin, Missouri is doing a series of PSA's about porch pirates (depicted as actual theatrical pirates) and the videos have got less than 100 views.
youtube.com/watch?v=-7EYZ4Uwex…
- YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.www.youtube.com
NASA Administrator Pays Tribute to President Carter - NASA
The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Sunday’s passing of President Jimmy Carter:NASA
Jimmy Carter’s idealism and humility left a lasting imprint on American life
Former US president Jimmy Carter, a man defined by his humility and idealism, has died at 100.
Many US presidents come from modest upbringings. Born in Plains, Georgia, Jimmy Carter’s Depression-era childhood was no exception. His home lacked running water and electricity, while his rural high school lacked a 12th grade.
What made Carter exceptional was the degree to which these humble beginnings would influence his life, most notably his time as America’s 39th president from 1977-1981.
Jimmy Carter’s idealism and humility left a lasting imprint on American life
The former US president was widely criticised for his time in government, but his work on leaving office came to exemplify what a post-presidential life could entail.The Conversation
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Tiffany & Company - Liars or Time Travellers
- YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.youtube.com
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