Vaska Raeca
@vaskaraeca.bsky.social
He/Him
Technical Writer
Professional Doomscroller
Fan Of A Certain Spectre Haunting Europe
Technical Writer
Professional Doomscroller
Fan Of A Certain Spectre Haunting Europe
Pinned
Vaska Raeca
@vaskaraeca.bsky.social
· Jan 1
This account incoherently posts about the environment, politics, animal welfare, queer issues, the arts, world endurance championship racing, books, tea, systems analysis, various cats, movies, and the nuclear apocalypse in popular culture.
Back in 2022 the ACLU fired Katherine Oh in retaliation for highlighting discrimination and abuse at the organization. The NPEU took them to the NLRB where they won, and since then the ACLU has fought to dismantle a basic worker freedom. Do not, ever, give them money.
The ACLU Wants to Shrink Workers’ Speech Protections
The ACLU is trying to convince Trump’s labor board to overturn precedent that expansively protects workers’ speech rights. The nonprofit wants the NLRB to instead adopt narrower rules that make it muc...
jacobin.com
January 29, 2026 at 11:05 PM
Back in 2022 the ACLU fired Katherine Oh in retaliation for highlighting discrimination and abuse at the organization. The NPEU took them to the NLRB where they won, and since then the ACLU has fought to dismantle a basic worker freedom. Do not, ever, give them money.
Women are already dying at a higher rate because of various bans on abortion care and this policy reversal will allow conservative states to make things worse, increasing the death toll to satisfy christian fundamentalists.
HHS will allow pharmacies to boycott lifesaving drugs used in medication abortion
Misoprostol and methotrexate do more than end pregnancies—but anti-abortion pharmacists can now refuse to offer them and still get federal funds.
www.motherjones.com
January 29, 2026 at 9:50 PM
Women are already dying at a higher rate because of various bans on abortion care and this policy reversal will allow conservative states to make things worse, increasing the death toll to satisfy christian fundamentalists.
When this is over, vaccinations will need to be made mandatory and without exception (except real, rare medical ones) and parents who refuse to protect their children will have them removed by the court. Otherwise we will be dragged, by charlatans, grifters, and the mad into darkness.
South Carolina tops Texas measles outbreak record—with no end in sight
Since start of the year, South Carolina's outbreak has accelerated dramatically.
arstechnica.com
January 29, 2026 at 8:45 PM
When this is over, vaccinations will need to be made mandatory and without exception (except real, rare medical ones) and parents who refuse to protect their children will have them removed by the court. Otherwise we will be dragged, by charlatans, grifters, and the mad into darkness.
Sure is interesting how the payment processors threatened Steam and Itch for 'sexual' content but Musk's X has millions of new posts each day of child pornography and there's absolute silence as if the rules didn't really matter.
Payment processors were against CSAM until Grok started making it
“The industry is no longer willing to self-regulate.”
www.theverge.com
January 28, 2026 at 8:31 PM
Sure is interesting how the payment processors threatened Steam and Itch for 'sexual' content but Musk's X has millions of new posts each day of child pornography and there's absolute silence as if the rules didn't really matter.
There's 30 to 40 people in downtown Plant City, Florida (Population 40k) protesting ICE so I'd say there's no goddamn excuse for anything short of abolition.
January 24, 2026 at 8:21 PM
There's 30 to 40 people in downtown Plant City, Florida (Population 40k) protesting ICE so I'd say there's no goddamn excuse for anything short of abolition.
Black and Latino communities have always been targets of industrial projects because they often lack the political power to effectively fight them. It's the same for AI datacenters which, besides jacking up electrical prices, use diesel generators for back that emit dangerous chemicals. #environment
After a White Town Rejected a Data Center, Developers Targeted a Black Area
Four million Americans live within 1 mile of a data center. The communities closest to them are “overwhelmingly” non-white.
capitalbnews.org
January 21, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Black and Latino communities have always been targets of industrial projects because they often lack the political power to effectively fight them. It's the same for AI datacenters which, besides jacking up electrical prices, use diesel generators for back that emit dangerous chemicals. #environment
The ability of the shipping industry to hide behind dodgy shell companies and registration has allowed them to avoid responsibility for spills that have effected thousands of miles of the ocean, devastating areas decades and destroying the lives and health of people along the coast. #environment
Oil Spills Are Pushing Indian Fishers to the Brink
In the small town of Ennore, the effects of multiple disasters are threatening local waterways and livelihoods
newlinesmag.com
January 21, 2026 at 7:01 PM
The ability of the shipping industry to hide behind dodgy shell companies and registration has allowed them to avoid responsibility for spills that have effected thousands of miles of the ocean, devastating areas decades and destroying the lives and health of people along the coast. #environment
The energy demand for AI, even when paired with renewable energy sources, is wrecking the environment. Towns like Fangyuan are seeing fish stocks plummet and their livelihoods falling apart because of recklessly installed wind turbines and the noise from ships performing maintenance. #environment
AI’s green-energy goal is devastating Taiwan’s coastal villages
Aggressive expansion of wind energy to power the semiconductor industry is upending the livelihoods of farmers and fishers.
restofworld.org
January 21, 2026 at 6:03 PM
The energy demand for AI, even when paired with renewable energy sources, is wrecking the environment. Towns like Fangyuan are seeing fish stocks plummet and their livelihoods falling apart because of recklessly installed wind turbines and the noise from ships performing maintenance. #environment
Another set of proposals from the Trump White House, the people who claimed to be about state rights, to weaken the Clean Water Act and prevent states and tribes from halting pipeline and extraction projects on their land in another case of the oil industry dismantling our democracy. #environment
New EPA Proposal Would Strip States’ and Tribes’ Authority to Block Oil and Gas Pipelines, Other Infrastructure Projects - Inside Climate News
Environmental advocates warn the changes deprive states and tribes of their rights and weaken freshwater-quality protections.
insideclimatenews.org
January 20, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Another set of proposals from the Trump White House, the people who claimed to be about state rights, to weaken the Clean Water Act and prevent states and tribes from halting pipeline and extraction projects on their land in another case of the oil industry dismantling our democracy. #environment
The science-free, ideological commitment of conservatives to coal has meant plants that were already written-off and set for closure because they were no longer financially viable are being kept operational, often in contravention of state laws regulating pollution. #environment
Here we go again: Retiring coal plant forced to stay open by Trump Admin
This time, a Colorado plant scheduled to shut down will be kept on standby.
arstechnica.com
January 20, 2026 at 7:01 PM
The science-free, ideological commitment of conservatives to coal has meant plants that were already written-off and set for closure because they were no longer financially viable are being kept operational, often in contravention of state laws regulating pollution. #environment
No surprise that once tax-credits expired on the moratorium (that companies were already violating) Cargill and ADM plan to move ahead with obliterating the rain forest. This serves as a reminder that incentives are always abused and companies need to face regulations and jail. #enviroment
A major agreement to protect the Amazon is falling apart after 20 years
Amid changing political headwinds, the moratorium on soy-driven deforestation is in danger. What now?
grist.org
January 20, 2026 at 6:02 PM
No surprise that once tax-credits expired on the moratorium (that companies were already violating) Cargill and ADM plan to move ahead with obliterating the rain forest. This serves as a reminder that incentives are always abused and companies need to face regulations and jail. #enviroment
After nearly losing Detroit (Fermi 1), the eastern seaboard (Three Mile Island), and four prefectures in Japan (Fukushima) and the continued corruption and incompetence of the nuclear industry we have no reason to ever tolerate someone lecturing us on how nuclear power is a safe option. #environment
Japanese nuclear plant operator fabricated seismic risk data
Company staff were very selective about how they modeled earthquake dangers.
arstechnica.com
January 19, 2026 at 8:01 PM
After nearly losing Detroit (Fermi 1), the eastern seaboard (Three Mile Island), and four prefectures in Japan (Fukushima) and the continued corruption and incompetence of the nuclear industry we have no reason to ever tolerate someone lecturing us on how nuclear power is a safe option. #environment
The Miccosukee have done more to protect and restore the fragile wetlands in Florida more than the reluctant State government and for daring to fight against having an illegal concentration camp on their land Trump has punished them by blocking the overdue return of their land. #environment
The Miccosukee Tribe blocked Alligator Alcatraz. Then Trump blocked a bill to return their land.
After the tribe sued to stop an immigration detention center, the White House vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have expanded Miccosukee land and environmental stewardship.
grist.org
January 19, 2026 at 7:01 PM
The Miccosukee have done more to protect and restore the fragile wetlands in Florida more than the reluctant State government and for daring to fight against having an illegal concentration camp on their land Trump has punished them by blocking the overdue return of their land. #environment
Incredible in-depth report about the break-neck expansion of oil and gas extraction and processing facilities in Texas that highlights how marginalized communities are to bear the brunt of pollution, the massive carbon output, and the legalized corruption in the state. #environment
Texas Clears the Way for Petrochemical Expansion as Experts Warn of Health Risks - Public Health Watch
Public Health Watch chronicles, in 13 scenes, a fossil-fuel infrastructure boom that could worsen air pollution in some areas and exacerbate climate change.
publichealthwatch.org
January 19, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Incredible in-depth report about the break-neck expansion of oil and gas extraction and processing facilities in Texas that highlights how marginalized communities are to bear the brunt of pollution, the massive carbon output, and the legalized corruption in the state. #environment
Despite the economic ruin Trump brought to rural America, and in particular the farm belt, voters in those areas overwhelmingly voted for him again so I'm going to suggest maybe they deserve to lose everything.
US farm economy shows widening cracks as costs rise, jobs vanish
Across the U.S. farm belt, these have become depressing times. Farmers are facing another season of low prices, high costs and difficult decisions about how — or whether — to keep operating. Banks are...
www.reuters.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Despite the economic ruin Trump brought to rural America, and in particular the farm belt, voters in those areas overwhelmingly voted for him again so I'm going to suggest maybe they deserve to lose everything.
This passed almost without notice a few weeks ago but seems appropriate to bring attention to in light of the ICE raids which have happened with police and FBI acquiescence (or support) that the military needs to be zeroed out as it presents a threat to our democracy.
U.S. Military Willing to Attack “Designated Terrorist Organizations” Within America, General Says
“If I had no concerns and I was confident in the lawful order, I would definitely execute that order.”
theintercept.com
January 15, 2026 at 8:25 PM
This passed almost without notice a few weeks ago but seems appropriate to bring attention to in light of the ICE raids which have happened with police and FBI acquiescence (or support) that the military needs to be zeroed out as it presents a threat to our democracy.
It's not just the thousands, possible tens of thousands who will die as RFK Jr and the MAHA movement tear down health science, its the millions of children who will suffer for the rest of their lives because their parents wanted to believe lies.
SC measles outbreak has gone berserk: 124 cases since Friday, 409 quarantined
On Jan. 6, there were 211 cases. The outbreak, which began in October, is now at 434.
arstechnica.com
January 15, 2026 at 7:06 PM
It's not just the thousands, possible tens of thousands who will die as RFK Jr and the MAHA movement tear down health science, its the millions of children who will suffer for the rest of their lives because their parents wanted to believe lies.
This news kind of slipped past in the constant barrage of bullshit from the White House but is kind of important because it means a lot of people will be unable to afford not dying.
Exclusive: Drugmakers raise US prices on 350 medicines despite pressure from Trump
Drugmakers plan to raise U.S. prices on at least 350 branded medications including vaccines against COVID, RSV and shingles and blockbuster cancer treatment Ibrance, even as the Trump administration p...
www.reuters.com
January 7, 2026 at 6:25 PM
This news kind of slipped past in the constant barrage of bullshit from the White House but is kind of important because it means a lot of people will be unable to afford not dying.
You would think that a Jewish organization would be hesitant to use McCarthyite tactics since that movement destroyed the lives of many Jews under the pretense of fighting communism but Zionists have proven themselves incapable of reflection or critical thinking. #israel
StopAntisemitism Takes Credit for Getting Hundreds Fired. A Music Teacher Is Suing.
Known for targeting celebrities like Ms. Rachel, the pro-Israel blacklist also goes after private individuals who post in solidarity with Palestine.
theintercept.com
January 6, 2026 at 7:10 PM
You would think that a Jewish organization would be hesitant to use McCarthyite tactics since that movement destroyed the lives of many Jews under the pretense of fighting communism but Zionists have proven themselves incapable of reflection or critical thinking. #israel
The settlers ('legal' and illegal) work with each other and their contacts in the Israeli government to create plans for harassing, attacking, and murdering Palestinians to drive them off their farms and from their homes as part of the slow ethnic cleansing. #israel
How Israel’s hilltop settlers coordinate attacks to expel Palestinians
This year was one of the most violent on record for Israeli civilian attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to U.N. data.
www.reuters.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:14 PM
The settlers ('legal' and illegal) work with each other and their contacts in the Israeli government to create plans for harassing, attacking, and murdering Palestinians to drive them off their farms and from their homes as part of the slow ethnic cleansing. #israel
You try to warn people but its like shouting into the void. In fact people are asking you to stop shouting. They want to listen to the void. They like the void. They think the void makes valid points.
January 5, 2026 at 11:10 PM
You try to warn people but its like shouting into the void. In fact people are asking you to stop shouting. They want to listen to the void. They like the void. They think the void makes valid points.
These are the best Gods (Perchten) ever, I want to build a small, clean and orderly shrine to them.
The closest thing I can think about is the Schnabelperchten from Austrian folklore. These come from the Rauris Valley in Salzburg, and will cut open the stomachs of homeowners who failed to clean their homes in January, using giant scissors. Then they would stuff the body with all the clutter.
January 5, 2026 at 10:44 PM
These are the best Gods (Perchten) ever, I want to build a small, clean and orderly shrine to them.
These same outlets also kept quiet when they learned about Operation Desert Storm; they have never been an open, free press, they are merely arms of the same imperial machine.
News organizations held off on reporting Venezuela raid
The American news organizations held their stories over concerns about endangering US troops.
www.semafor.com
January 4, 2026 at 4:55 AM
These same outlets also kept quiet when they learned about Operation Desert Storm; they have never been an open, free press, they are merely arms of the same imperial machine.
Rather depressed by how all the Venezuelans at my workplace were happy for Maduro's removal and not concerned about the American coup (They're all too young to remember the horrors of the Cold War dictatorships). More depressing was the Cubans gleefully hoping their country was next.
January 3, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Rather depressed by how all the Venezuelans at my workplace were happy for Maduro's removal and not concerned about the American coup (They're all too young to remember the horrors of the Cold War dictatorships). More depressing was the Cubans gleefully hoping their country was next.
So we're having a rerun of Operation Just Cause on behalf of the oil comapnies who are going to install right-wings ghouls who will sell the country for parts and make the poverty worse.
Venezuelan president Maduro captured and flown out of country following ‘large scale’ US attack, Trump says – live
US president says ‘the United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela’
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2026 at 10:42 AM
So we're having a rerun of Operation Just Cause on behalf of the oil comapnies who are going to install right-wings ghouls who will sell the country for parts and make the poverty worse.