Today's links

• Vicky Osterweil's "The Extended Universe": How Disney killed the movies and took over the world.
• Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
• Object permanence: Zappa v censorship; Chemistry set with no chemicals; Short cons; Mitsubishi's Dieselgate; "Bellwether."
• Upcoming appearances: Berlin, NYC, Barcelona, Hay-on-Wye, London, NYC.
• Recent appearances: Where I've been.
• Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
• Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
• Colophon: All the rest.

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Vicky Osterweil's "The Extended Universe" (permalink)

Vicky Osterweil's The Extended Universe: How Disney Killed the Movies and Took Over the World makes the kind of long, polemical, startling and illuminating argument that defines great cultural criticism; it's the sort of book that encapsulates the reasons I read criticism in the first place:

https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2525-the-extended-universe

My first brush with this kind of criticism came more than two decades ago, when I read John Kessel's now-classic "Creating the Innocent Killer," a critique of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, a book I had read and enjoyed enough to re-read several times:

https://johnjosephkessel.wixsite.com/kessel-website/creating-the-innocent-killer

Kessel's argument is that Card used Ender's Game to smuggle in some very ugly ideas, wrapped in a story that was compelling, even exhilarating. In Ender's Game, we meet Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, a small, physically weak boy possessed of a prodigious intellect and a great deal of sensitivity and empathy. Ender is tormented by an escalating series of aggressors, whom he retaliates against with overwhelming force, first to the point of lethality and then all the way to literal genocide. And here's where Card makes his move: Ender's sensitivity and empathy and intellect tell him that he must respond this way, because he can tell that his aggressors will not back off from their intention to harm him; and because Ender is so small and weak, he has to use whatever tactic his brilliant mind can devise, and if that tactic results in the death penalty for mere bullying, well, that's the bully's fault, not Ender's. Indeed, in dying at Ender's hands, these bullies re-victimize Ender, because Ender is a gentle, smart, wise, weak person, and these inescapable murders that he is goaded into committing are a stain on his soul that he can never wash away.

Before reading "Creating the Innocent Killer," I confess I didn't really understand what criticism was for. Like many people, I conflated "criticism" with "reviews," thinking of critical works as a species of inconveniently difficult-to-digest essays that might help me figure out which books to read and which movies to see.

Kessel's magnificent essay changed all that, and not in spite of the fact that Kessel had pointed out some very important problems with a book that I loved, but because of that fact. In helping me understand the ugliness hidden within something whose beauty and virtues I saw very clearly, Kessel taught me more about myself – about where my aesthetics and my values overlapped, and where they diverged. It was literally life-changing.

Like Kessel, Osterweil's 'Extended Universe' deals with media that I have a great deal of affection for – the products of the Walt Disney Company. Though I'm primarily interested in theme parks – I love a big, ambitious built environment of any description and Disney pursues these with a seriousness that few others can touch – the Disney films (and the films of the studios Disney purchased, like Marvel and Lucasfilm) are obviously intimately bound up in those theme park designs.

Osterweil has her own ambivalent affection for these movies. Like so many of us, she's been raised on them, and they've shaped how she sees the world and its stories. But – like me – Osterweil is deeply suspicious of capitalism, American imperialism, and the notion of "intellectual property," and she uses reviews of a dozen Disney films to make the case that Walt Disney and the studio he founded with his brother are standards-bearers for these odious forces, and not just in the overt ways that might immediately spring to mind, but also in subtle ways that can be teased out of a close reading of the films.

In so doing, Osterweil also makes a sharp and well-argued case that intellectual property, colonialism and racial oppression are all facets of the same drive, the drive of people who fancy themselves born to rule to dominate others, which requires that those others also be dehumanized and their work denigrated. When Walt Disney insisted that his be the only name associated with "his" movies, he was playing out the same logic that underpinned his virulent opposition to labor unions and his participation in American imperialism in Latin America.

As with Kessel, Osterweil's argument is full of surprises and illuminations that are especially vivid for those of us who have great affection for these works. As her chapter on Black Panther shows, this contradiction need not go unresolved. There is plenty of scope for fans to seize the reins of the narrative (and as her chapter on the reactionary backlash to the later Star Wars movies shows, it's not just the forces of progress and anti-racism who can pull off this move).

Like the very best criticism, Osterweil's book is more than a way to deepen your understanding of the material she dissects – it's a way to deepen your understanding of the world that produced it, and to deepen your understanding of yourself.

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Hey look at this (permalink)

• BRIEF OF PENN & TELLER AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25-6774/400679/20260312113948009_25-6774%20Penn%20and%20Teller%20Amicus%20Brief.pdf

• Zack Polanski calls for Trump to be 'kicked out' of his Scottish golf courses https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8954xe8yjpo

• Uncovering Global Telecom Exploitation by Covert Surveillance Actors https://citizenlab.ca/research/uncovering-global-telecom-exploitation-by-covert-surveillance-actors/

• What's Missing in the 'Agentic' Story https://www.mnot.net/blog/2026/04/24/agents_as_collective_bargains

• Licensed to Loot https://static1.squarespace.com/static/65c9daef199ea70aa66592fe/t/69e7b2f2949631007bb3d969/1776792306864/Licenced+to+loot+AI+Data+Centre+Report.pdf

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Object permanence (permalink)

#20yrsago Frank Zappa’s anti-censorship letter https://www.flickr.com/photos/mudshark/117551768/in/set-72057594090059726/

#15yrsago Chemistry kit with no chemicals https://web.archive.org/web/20110427212354/http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/04/chemistry-set-boasts-no-chemicals.html

#15yrsago Russian corruption: crooked officials steal multi-billion-dollar company, $230M tax refund, then murder campaigning lawyer https://web.archive.org/web/20110426045152/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/04/20/russia_s_crime_of_the_century?

#15yrsago Golden-age short-change cons https://web.archive.org/web/20110429014539/https://blog.modernmechanix.com/2011/04/26/tricks-of-short-change-artists/

#10yrsago Campaigners search Londoners’ phones to help them understand the Snoopers Charter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szN7DlmMLYg

#10yrsago Mitsubishi’s dieselgate: cheating since 1991 https://web.archive.org/web/20160427145038/https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/mitsubishi-cheated-fuel-economy-tests-since-1991/#ftag=CAD590a51e

#10yrsago Bellwether: Connie Willis’s classic, hilarious novel about the science of trendiness https://memex.craphound.com/2016/04/26/bellwether-connie-williss-classic-hilarious-novel-about-the-science-of-trendiness/

#5yrsago The Big U https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/26/moolah-boolah/#poison-ivies

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Upcoming appearances (permalink)

• NYC: Enshittification at Commonweal Ventures, Apr 29
  https://luma.com/ssgfvqz8

• NYC: Techidemic with Sarah Jeong, Tochi Onyebuchi and Alia Dastagir (PEN World Voices), Apr 30
  https://worldvoices.pen.org/event/techidemic/

• Barcelona: Internet no tiene que ser un vertedero (Global Digital Rights Forum), May 13
  https://encuentroderechosdigitales.com/en/

• Berlin: Re:publica, May 18-20
  https://re-publica.com/de/news/rp26-sprecher-cory-doctorow

• Berlin: Enshittification at Otherland Books, May 19
  https://www.otherland-berlin.de/de/event-details/cory-doctorow.html

• Hay-on-Wye: HowTheLightGetsIn, May 22-25
  https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/hay/big-ideas-2

• SXSW London, Jun 2
  https://www.sxswlondon.com/session/how-big-tech-broke-the-internet-b3c4a901

• NYC: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Jonathan Coulton (The Strand), Jun 24
  https://www.strandbooks.com/cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaur-s-guide-to-life-after-ai.html

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Recent appearances (permalink)

• Artificial Intelligence: The Ultimate Disruptor, with Astra Taylor and Yoshua Bengio (CBC Ideas)
  https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-23-ideas/clip/16210039-artificial-intelligence-the-ultimate-disruptor

• When Do Platforms Stop Innovating and Start Extracting? (InnovEU)
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cccDR0YaMt8

• Pete "Mayor" Buttigieg (No Gods No Mayors)
  https://www.patreon.com/posts/pete-mayor-with-155614612

• The internet is getting worse (CBC The National)
  https://youtu.be/dCVUCdg3Uqc?si=FMcA0EI_Mi13Lw-P

• Do you feel screwed over by big tech? (Ontario Today)
  https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-45-ontario-today/clip/16203024-do-feel-screwed-big-tech

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Latest books (permalink)

• "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/04/illustrious/#chairman-bruce

• "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025
  https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/

• "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels).

• "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (thebezzle.org).

• "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org).

• "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245).

• "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com.

• "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com

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Upcoming books (permalink)

• "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2026 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/)

• "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2026

• "The Post-American Internet," a geopolitical sequel of sorts to Enshittification, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2027

• "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, April 20, 2027

• "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2027

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Colophon (permalink)

Today's top sources:

Currently writing: "The Post-American Internet," a sequel to "Enshittification," about the better world the rest of us get to have now that Trump has torched America. Third draft completed. Submitted to editor.

• "The Reverse Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book for Farrar, Straus and Giroux about being an effective AI critic. LEGAL REVIEW AND COPYEDIT COMPLETE.

• "The Post-American Internet," a short book about internet policy in the age of Trumpism. PLANNING.

• A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING

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This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution.

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"When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla

READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.

ISSN: 3066-764X

LOOSDRECHT (ANP) - De politie gaat ervan uit dat de vernielingen aan het deels leegstaande gemeentehuis in Loosdrecht het werk zijn van een groep mensen. Laat op de avond op Koningsdag werden in het Noord-Hollandse dorp onder meer stenen door de ramen gegooid. Ook werd het hek vernield, laat een politiewoordvoerder weten.

De gemeente Wijdemeren, waar Loosdrecht in ligt, meldde maandagavond laat dat één persoon zou zijn aangehouden voor de vernielingen. De politie kan die aanhouding dinsdagochtend nog niet bevestigen. Wel meldt een woordvoerder dat "een groep actievoerders" verantwoordelijk is voor het gooien van stenen door de ruiten van het leegstaande gemeentepand. Om hoeveel mensen het gaat, kan de politie niet zeggen.

In het gemeentehuis aan de Rading moeten vanaf 6 mei tijdelijk asielzoekers gehuisvest gaan worden. Daar is meermaals tegen gedemonstreerd.

DEN HAAG (ANP) - PostNL heeft in het eerste kwartaal meer omzet behaald met het bezorgen van post, terwijl het bezorgen van pakketjes juist minder geld opleverde. De onderneming profiteerde van verkiezingspost, terwijl de pakketmarkt kampte met zwakkere marktgroei door lagere consumentenbestedingen.

De cijfers lijken de omgekeerde wereld van het beeld dat PostNL vaak schetst. De onderneming kampt juist al langer met dalende postvolumes en moet het vooral hebben van inkomsten met pakketbezorging. Volgens PostNL vormen de cijfers evenwel geen reden om zijn eerder gestelde financiële verwachtingen voor dit jaar bij te stellen. Exclusief de verkiezingspost daalde het aantal poststukken wel.

Op 12 juli stapt het bedrijf, zoals eerder aangekondigd, over op standaard postbezorging binnen twee dagen. "Maar voor levensvatbaarheid op de lange termijn zijn een verruiming naar bezorging binnen drie werkdagen en compensatie van nettokosten in de overgangsjaren noodzakelijk", benadrukt PostNL.

SAN DIEGO (ANP) - Edith Eger is op 98-jarige leeftijd overleden. Dat heeft haar familie bekendgemaakt via Instagram. De Hongaars-Amerikaanse psycholoog en schrijfster werd wereldwijd bekend met haar boek The Choice (De keuze).

Eger overleefde als tiener het concentratiekamp Auschwitz, waar ze samen met haar familie naartoe werd gedeporteerd. Haar ervaringen tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog vormden de basis voor haar werk als psycholoog en auteur.

Volgens de familieverklaring "is ze vredig heengegaan, met dezelfde gratie waarmee ze leefde" en "als een engel die naar huis terugkeert". De familie benadrukt de impact van haar leven en werk. "We zijn diep geraakt door haar leven en zullen haar herinnering levend houden met onze daden." Ook bedankt de familie het publiek "voor de liefde en steun voor haar leven en werk".

Met De keuze bereikte ze een groot internationaal publiek. Het boek, dat werd aanbevolen door Oprah Winfrey, beschrijft haar kampverleden en hoe ze daarna haar leven opnieuw opbouwde. Later verschenen ook Het geschenk en De ballerina van Auschwitz.

Het dodental van de Amerikaanse aanval op een basisschool in Iran op de eerste dag van de oorlog is bijgesteld naar 155, melden Iraanse staatsmedia. Eerder werden 175 dodelijke slachtoffers gemeld.

Bij de aanval in Minab op 28 februari kwamen 73 jongens en 47 meisjes om het leven. Ook 26 leraren, 7 ouders, een schoolbuschauffeur en een medewerker van de apotheek naast de school kwamen om.

Uit de voorlopige bevindingen van een Amerikaans militair onderzoek bleek dat de school geraakt werd door een Amerikaanse kruisraket, berichtte The New York Times eerder. Bij het bepalen van het doelwit zou een fout zijn gemaakt.

Taylor Swift laat haar stem en beeltenis als merk registreren om AI-misbruik aan te pakken. Nieuwe juridische strategie moet deepfakes en nep-reclames afremmen.

Taylor Swift zet een nieuwe stap in de strijd tegen AI-misbruik: ze wil haar stem én haar beeltenis als merk vastleggen. Daarmee probeert ze een juridisch schild op te bouwen tegen deepfakes, nep-reclames en door AI gegenereerde versies van zichzelf.

Het gaat niet om een algemeen verbod op imitatie, maar om concrete merkaanvragen bij het Amerikaanse patent- en merkenbureau. Twee aanvragen gaan over geluidsmerken – de herkenbare openingszinnen “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift” en “Hey, it’s Taylor” – een derde over een specifiek beeld van Swift met roze gitaar en glinsterende bodysuit op een roze podium. Juristen hopen dat zo’n geregistreerd merk meer slagkracht geeft tegen AI-platforms en adverteerders die met haar ‘digitale dubbelganger’ aan de haal gaan.

Swift is niet de eerste: acteur Matthew McConaughey liet eerder al zijn iconische “Alright, alright, alright” vastleggen. Toch is het juridisch terrein nog grotendeels onontgonnen; rechters hebben deze “trademark yourself”-strategie in de AI-context nog nauwelijks getest. Maar voor beroemdheden die al zijn geconfronteerd met ongewenste AI-porno, nepsteun aan politici of misleidende chatbots, wordt Swift zo een testcase voor de vraag: hoeveel controle kun je in het AI-tijdperk nog over jezelf terugwinnen?

Een Duitse bestuursrechter heeft geoordeeld dat de huidige grenscontroles van Duitsland binnen het Schengengebied in strijd zijn met het Europese recht. De controles beperken volgens de rechtbank ten onrechte het vrije verkeer van personen, een van de kernprincipes van de Schengenzone.

Kern van de uitspraak

Een man die in juni 2025 bij het Duitse plaatsje Perl in Saarland werd gecontroleerd na binnenkomst uit Luxemburg, stapte naar de rechter omdat hij de identiteitscontrole door de Bundespolizei onrechtmatig vond. De rechtbank in Koblenz gaf hem gelijk: de onderliggende verlenging van de Duitse grenscontroles in de periode maart–september 2025 was niet in lijn met de Schengengrenscode. De code staat binnengrenscontroles alleen toe als de openbare orde of de interne veiligheid daadwerkelijk in gevaar is, en dan ook nog slechts tijdelijk.

De rechter concludeerde dat die voorwaarden niet voldoende waren onderbouwd, en dat de concrete controle daarom als rechtswidrig – in strijd met het recht – moet worden beschouwd. Daarmee stelt de rechtbank impliciet dat de Duitse regering het Schengenverdrag en de Schengengrenscode te ruim heeft geïnterpreteerd bij het steeds weer verlengen van de controles.

Politieke context: Duitsland en Nederland

Duitsland voert sinds september 2024 opnieuw grenscontroles uit aan alle landsgrenzen, officieel om irreguliere migratie en grensoverschrijdende criminaliteit tegen te gaan. De maatregel, die telkens met een half jaar wordt verlengd, geldt nu tot medio september 2026. Ook aan de grens met Nederland vinden steekproefsgewijze controles plaats.

Nederland doet ondertussen iets soortgelijks: sinds december 2024 zijn er tijdelijke binnengrenscontroles aan de grenzen met België en Duitsland en op vluchten uit andere Schengenlanden. Het kabinet heeft deze maatregel al meerdere keren verlengd; op dit moment lopen de controles door tot 8 juni 2026, eveneens met als doel irreguliere migratie en mensensmokkel te bestrijden.

De Duitse uitspraak kan zo nieuw vuur geven aan het Europese debat over de vraag in hoeverre lidstaten het instrument van “tijdelijke” binnengrenscontroles gebruiken als feitelijk permanent migratie‑ en veiligheidsmiddel, terwijl Schengen juist uitgaat van vrij verkeer en slechts zeer beperkte uitzonderingen. Bovendien is zowel in Duitsland als in Nederland bewezen dat de grenscontroles leiden tot helemaal niets.

niggyl :) has added a photo to the pool:

The skeletons of Cider Gums beside Barren Plains Road. Central Highlands, Tasmania.

I have previously posted trees from the stands in the distance.

The living trees are pretty special with only one or two pockets remaining in the area - even these dead ones have an exclusion zone around them.

Fuji X-T5, XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8, 1/64000th sec at f/2.8, ISO 200 - this frame one of the first in the series and I failed to check the bloody aperture setting...

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: Technology tycoons Elon Musk and Sam Altman are poised to face off in a high-stakes trial revolving around the alleged betrayal, deceit and unbridled ambition that blurred the bickering billionaires' once-shared vision for the development of artificial intelligence. The trial, which started Monday with jury selection, centers on the 2015 birth of ChatGPT maker OpenAI as a nonprofit startup primarily funded by Musk before evolving into a capitalistic venture now valued at $852 billion. The trial's outcome could sway the balance of power in AI -- breakthrough technology that is increasingly being feared as a potential job killer and an existential threat to humanity's survival. Those perceived risks are among the reasons that Musk, the world's richest person, cites for filing an August 2024 lawsuit that will now be decided by a jury and U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California.

The civil lawsuit accuses Altman, OpenAI's CEO, and his top lieutenant, Greg Brockman, of double-crossing Musk by straying from the San Francisco company's founding mission to be an altruistic steward of a revolutionary technology. The lawsuit alleges they shifted into a moneymaking mode behind his back. OpenAI has brushed off Musk's allegations as an unfounded case of sour grapes that's aimed at undercutting its rapid growth and bolstering Musk's own xAI, which he launched in 2023 as a competitor. Gonzalez Rogers questioned potential jurors Monday about their views on Musk, Altman and artificial intelligence. Some jurors said they had negative views of Musk, but most said they would still be able to treat him fairly and focus on the facts of the case. [...] "Part of this is about whether a jury believes the people who will testify and whether they are credible," Gonzalez Rogers said during a court hearing earlier this year while explaining why she believe the case merited a trial. The judge will make the final decision on the case, with the jury serving in an advisory role. The latest development is that a jury has been seated. During selection, several prospective jurors expressed negative views of Elon Musk, but Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected attempts by Musk's lawyer to remove some of them solely on that basis, saying dislike of Musk does not automatically mean someone can't be fair.

The court is selecting nine jurors, and the case is expected to wrap by May 21, when it would go to the jury. Tomorrow, April 28th, will feature opening statements.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Headcounts, however, are mostly holding up

AI is beginning to make a dent in the business models of India’s big four technology services giants…

Gernot Trauner is weer terug bij Feyenoord, en hoe. De Oostenrijker begon tegen FC Groningen voor het eerst in bijna een jaar tijd in de basis en maakte indruk. Voor Trauner zelf voelde het als een emotioneel moment.

Positions ‘terminated, effective immediately’, says email to scientists sent on president’s behalf, in move labelled ‘dangerous attack’ on US innovation

The Trump administration has fired members of an independent board that oversees the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Members of the National Science Board received an email on Friday sent from the Presidential Personnel Office “on behalf of President Donald J Trump” stating that their position was “terminated, effective immediately”.

Continue reading...

Journalists face rising threats while media ownership is concentrated in fewer hands, leading civil liberties group warns

Journalists in the EU face increasing levels of harassment, threats and violence, while news outlets are owned by a shrinking number of proprietors and public trust in the media has plummeted, a report has found.

The Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) said the findings of its fifth annual media freedom report, released on Tuesday, should place EU officials “on high alert”, with media freedom and pluralism “under sustained attack” across mainland Europe.

Continue reading...

A fun, shareable Tunisian chickpea soup for a party, a one-pan moussaka, and a fragrant, layered, chocolate viennetta

Traditionally, this would be a Tunisian breakfast, and it’s not a million miles from one of my favourites, Egyptian ful medames. But here I’m proposing it as an evening offering: make a big pot of delicious flavourful chickpeas, then lay out a spread of accompaniments (pickles, olives, capers, boiled eggs). Second, a good traditional moussaka is a wholesome but time-consuming process, but that’s not the case with this simplified version, which you can easily make on a weeknight. Finally, you might not be surprised to learn that this basil viennetta was one of the most popular recipes when we were testing dishes for my new book, MEDesque. First, of course, because it tastes unreal. Second, because everyone got a huge tug of nostalgia, and third, because everyone became giddy with excitement, trying to figure out what the flavour was.

Continue reading...

Tees Transporter Bridge and a former working men’s club in Barrow-in-Furness among sites at risk of decay or neglect

Teesside’s Transporter Bridge, a disinfecting station in Hackney and a former working men’s club in Barrow-in-Furness have been included on a list ringing alarm bells for Victorian and Edwardian heritage.

The Victorian Society has published its annual top 10 endangered buildings list, intended as a way of drawing national attention to at-risk places in England and Wales.

Continue reading...

Weer voor Rotterdam ☁️ - 28-04-2026 07:15 CEST

In één oogopslag:
• 9.2°C · Bewolkt ☁️ | Min 9.1°C / Max 19.5°C | Kans op neerslag 2%

Verwachting voor vandaag:
• Min 9.1°C, Max 19.5°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 2%, 🧭 1022.7 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 22.0 km/u (6.1 m/s), richting: ↙ 54°

Uurlijkse voorspelling voor de komende 12 uur:

• 08:00: 9.7°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 2%, 🧭 1022.5 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 18.0 km/u (5.0 m/s), richting: ↙ 40°
• 09:00: 10.6°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1022.7 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 18.4 km/u (5.1 m/s), richting: ↙ 41°
• 10:00: 11.9°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1023.1 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 19.1 km/u (5.3 m/s), richting: ↙ 45°
• 11:00: 13.0°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1023.3 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 20.2 km/u (5.6 m/s), richting: ↙ 48°
• 12:00: 15.0°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1023.2 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 19.4 km/u (5.4 m/s), richting: ↙ 58°
• 13:00: 16.4°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1023.1 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 20.5 km/u (5.7 m/s), richting: ↙ 59°
• 14:00: 17.9°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1022.7 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 20.5 km/u (5.7 m/s), richting: ↙ 59°
• 15:00: 18.6°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1022.5 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 21.2 km/u (5.9 m/s), richting: ↙ 61°
• 16:00: 19.3°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1022.1 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 20.2 km/u (5.6 m/s), richting: ↙ 60°
• 17:00: 19.5°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1021.8 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 20.9 km/u (5.8 m/s), richting: ↙ 64°
• 18:00: 19.3°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1021.8 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 21.2 km/u (5.9 m/s), richting: ↙ 60°
• 19:00: 18.6°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1021.9 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 20.9 km/u (5.8 m/s), richting: ↙ 60°

Voorspelling voor de komende dagen:

• woensdag 29 april: Min 9.2°C, Max 19.5°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1026.1 hPa ↗️ +3.4 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 23.0 km/u (6.4 m/s), richting: ← 76°
• donderdag 30 april: Min 9.6°C, Max 18.5°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1026.8 hPa ↗️ +0.7 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 22.6 km/u (6.3 m/s), richting: ← 92°
• vrijdag 01 mei: Min 10.1°C, Max 24.5°C (Zonnig) ☀️, Kans op neerslag 1%, 🧭 1022.6 hPa ↘️ -4.2 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 13.7 km/u (3.8 m/s), richting: ↖ 132°
• zaterdag 02 mei: Min 13.9°C, Max 20.2°C (Matige motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 2.4 mm, Kans op neerslag 19%, 🧭 1016.1 hPa ↘️ -6.5 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 18.7 km/u (5.2 m/s), richting: ↗ 216°
• zondag 03 mei: Min 11.6°C, Max 19.4°C (Lichte regen) 🌧️, Neerslag 10.6 mm, Kans op neerslag 36%, 🧭 1013.0 hPa ↘️ -3.1 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 9.0 km/u (2.5 m/s), richting: ← 102°
• maandag 04 mei: Min 11.6°C, Max 17.9°C (Matige motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 9.2 mm, Kans op neerslag 31%, 🧭 1009.5 hPa ↘️ -3.5 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 12.3 km/u (3.4 m/s), richting: → 288°

Details:
• 🌡️ Huidige temperatuur (om 07:15): 9.2°C (Bewolkt)
• 🤚 Gevoelstemperatuur: 5.7°C (-3.5°C)
• 💨 Windsnelheid: 16.9 km/u (4.7 m/s), richting: ↙ 40°
• 🌬️ Windstoten: 34.6 km/h (9.6 m/s)
• 💧 Luchtvochtigheid: 68%
• 🧭 Luchtdruk: 1022.5 hPa ↗️ +0.6 hPa/3h
• 👁️ Zichtbaarheid: 20.6 km
• ☀️ UV-index: 0.5
• 🌅 Zonsopgang: 06:18 · 🌇 Zonsondergang: 21:01

Luchtkwaliteit:
• AQI: 40 🟢 (Goed)
• PM2.5: 9.2 μg/m³
• PM10: 12.7 μg/m³

Gegevens geleverd door Open-Meteo

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Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo: