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Happy Friday from Marlowe and Her Dad

Have a wonderful weekend, friends.




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Six unelected people forcing their unpopular christian nationalist agenda on a population of three hundred and forty million is not a Democracy. It is tyranny.

America has not been attacked like this since 9/11. Six unelected people forcing their christian nationalist agenda on a population of three hundred and forty million is not a Democracy. It is tyranny.




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Write you fool: Congo Bongo

This is about Congo Bongo, except for the parts that aren't.




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What have you done, America?

I am anguished, I am heartbroken, I am afraid of what's coming for people I love. I am shocked that my country just gave 247 years of Democracy away over one night. We live in a different country now, than we did when we woke up, yesterday. Exactly how violent and cruel and hateful this new country is has yet to be revealed, but it's going to be pretty terrible.




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Sweet memories

Comics Curmudgeon readers! Do you love this blog and yearn for a novel written by its creator? Well, good news: Josh Fruhlinger's The Enthusiast is that novel! It's even about newspaper comic strips, partly. Check it out! Blondie, 11/11/24 Remember just weeks ago, when Dagwood dismissed the pumpkin spice concept, now in its second decade, […]




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The perils of wokeness

The latest Stephanie Stirling video dropped a tantalizing mention. There exists something called a “woke content detector“, which is basically a small group of self-appointed censors who are busily telling everyone which video games are bad. Not particularly interesting, except that the criteria they use to decide which games are too woke are hilarious. They […]



  • Miscellaneous and Meta

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I grieve for my country

I lived for 8 years under President Ronald Reagan, a shallow, stupid, evil man who wrecked the economy and laughed as gay men, and others, died of AIDS, who made deals with our enemies to get elected, and I said, “at least it can’t get worse than this.” I lived for 8 years under President […]




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We all need a pretty little spider to brighten up our day

Remember, pretty does not mean it doesn’t have a savage bite.




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My unpleasant Christmas memory

I’m in the mood for some self-abasement, and also to nod in the general direction of the Xmas season. I’m going to tell you about the most horrible, embarrassing moment of my life so far. Maybe it’ll inspire you to mention your moment of humiliation in the comments to make me feel a little better. […]



  • Miscellaneous and Meta

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Another step in the evolution of multicellularity

I’m not a fan of phys.org — they summarize interesting articles, but it’s too often clear that their writers don’t have a particularly deep understanding of biology. I wonder sometimes if they’re just as bad with physics articles, and I just don’t notice because I’m not a physicist. Anyway, here’s a summary that raised my […]




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Science needs specific, informed, productive criticism

Professor Dave demolishes Sabine Hossenfelder. I feel that. The topic of my history class last week and this week is about bias in late 19th/early 20th century evolutionary biology, and how we have to be critical and responsible in our assessment of scientific claims. It’s tough, because I’m strongly pro-science (obviously, I hope?) but I […]







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Chris Mason: A change-making Budget but a moment of jeopardy

The government's fate will depend on whether it can make things better, says political editor Chris Mason.




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How many farms will be affected by Budget tax rises?

Estimates of the number of farms affected range from 100 to 70,000.




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Chris Mason: Badenoch will need all her political savvy to transform Tory fortunes

Kemi Badenoch is a political fighter and she now has a battle on her hands to rebuild her party.




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Badenoch's win and Labour's big Budget mean we now have sharper left-right divide

With the government announcing big spending and tax, the differences between the two main parties feel sharper, writes Laura Kuenssberg.




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How the UK's 'big brother' role in Africa is changing

David Lammy is on his first visit to the continent since he became foreign secretary.




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Chris Mason: Trump win provokes trade-offs and dilemmas for UK

The president-elect's positions on issues ranging from Ukraine to trade have implications for the UK.




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What's so wrong with Right To Buy?

The Labour government is expected to make major changes to the Right To Buy scheme launched in the 1980s.




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Rise in teenage problem gamblers, says survey

More than 60% of young people have also seen or heard gambling advertising, a big increase on last year.




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Lammy dismisses past criticism of Trump as 'old news'

The foreign secretary previously called Trump a "tyrant" and "xenophobic" when he was a backbench MP.




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Keir Starmer picks Powell as security adviser

Jonathan Powell will replace Sir Tim Barrow, who has held the role since September 2022.




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Fujitsu boss 'does not know' if Horizon is reliable

Paul Patterson raises concerns about the system at the heart of sub-postmasters' wrongful convictions.




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Macron and Starmer vow 'unwavering' Ukraine support

The leaders' discussions also focused on the Middle East and the problems caused by migration in Europe.




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Wales pushes ahead with tourism tax plans

New law would allow councils to charge tourists to stay overnight in Welsh hotels.





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This Is Still Usable, Right?

Unfortunately for me, the only time I think about buying a new bar is around day seven. On day 104 I'm still trying to use the last smooshed-together bits of the bar. Maybe I should switch to body wash?

-Amemeda







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Probability of operating an alarm clock Rubix cube, doable with hours of concentration Qauntum physicists have yet to unravel the mysteries

Probability of operating an alarm clock








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How pen and paper comes to the rescue in an IT crisis

Firms are advised to practise operating with pens and paper in case of a computer meltdown.




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Could you switch careers into cyber-security?

From ex-policemen to former physicists, cyber-security firms search outside the industry for staff.




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Why there's a rush of African satellite launches

Falling launch costs have given African nations a chance to send their own satellites into orbit.




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'It's our moonshot': Why scientists are drilling into volcanos

In Iceland scientists plan to drill down to magma to understand it and use it for energy production.




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Why colouring clothes has a big environmental impact

Start-up firms are looking for ways to dye clothes using less water and heat.




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Up close with the 300 tonne driverless trucks

Big mining firms are switching to driverless trucks and other autonomous equipment.




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SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission blasts off

The expedition, funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman, will attempt the world's first private spacewalk.




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Is Elon Musk’s Starlink a game changer for Africa?

The satellite internet company is expanding across Africa, but not without some controversy.




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Musk promises self-driving Tesla taxis, but are they safe?

BBC Tech Correspondent Lily Jamali analyses the 'robocabs' and if their technology is up to par.




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Tech Life: The big business of online charity donations

We speak to the CEO of charity fundraising company GoFundMe




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US 'click to cancel' rule to ban subscription traps

New rule requires businesses to make subscribing and cancelling subscriptions equally simple.




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How does WhatsApp make money? It's free - with some tricks

We all use messaging apps such as WhatsApp for free, but what's in it for them?




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US probing Elon Musk's Tesla over self-driving systems

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's evaluation is the first step toward a potential recall of 2.4 million Tesla vehicles