1
posts
2
3
4
5
- /aww - s4e2 "I Have No Bones, Yet I Must Flee"
- /cooking - s4e1 "Twovix"
- /historymemes - s4e4 "Something Borrowed, Something Green"
- /lemmyshitpost - s2e2 "Kayshon, His Eyes Open"
- /politics - s5e9 "Fissure Quest"
- /rpgmemes - s3e2 "The Least Dangerous Game"
6
7
8
Full text
Elon Musk’s “flying” Tesla Roadster, which the tech titan unveiled on Thursday, is simultaneously an extraordinary engineering feat and a vanity project with little practical value. That is, no consumer will need a car equipped with rocket thrusters to drive up walls and perform acrobatics in the air.
But here’s what’s fun about technological progress: The world would be far worse off if people invested only in research and development that could generate immediate market value.
Consider, for instance, the laser, first operated in 1960 by Theodore Maiman at the Hughes Research Laboratory in California. His goal was to produce a single wavelength of light, which critics panned as “a solution looking for a problem.” The academic journal Physical Review Letters rejected Maiman’s write-up of his achievement.
Today, lasers are woven into modern life in the familiar journey from improbable to unremarkable. Imagine going to the store without being able to check out with a barcode scanner. High-speed internet was made possible by laser-transmitting fiber-optic cables.
Think also about Felix Bloch’s and Edward Purcell’s 1940s experiments on how the nuclei of atoms behave in a magnetic field. At first, the experiments were purely academic ventures. Within a few decades, however, the researchers’ discoveries became the foundation for magnetic resonance imaging, better known as MRI. The technology is now a workhorse of modern medicine, helping to detect cancers, cardiovascular diseases and much more.
Americans in the 1950s had no obvious commercial need for government scientists to start launching hunks of metal into low Earth orbit, mostly because the Soviets were working on the same thing. Those missions eventually laid the path for satellite imaging and communications, which today we consider so essential to daily life that any threat to satellites is properly considered a grave national security concern.
Nor did Americans need a computer that was good enough at playing chess that it could defeat Garry Kasparov, the world’s best player, in 1997. Yet IBM created one anyway, a key milestone on the road to artificial intelligence. Today, that technology is revolutionizing countless industries in ways we are only beginning to understand.
Whether Musk’s ultra-cool vehicle demo marks another sneakily transformative moment remains to be seen. It may end up leading to minimal changes in how we live our daily lives, or this week might be remembered as the dawn of a new era of flying cars. A growing U.S. economy makes such gambles possible. And when they pay off, they pay off for everyone.
9
10
11
12
Nah, I'll just take the getting railed please. I know what I want :3
And it's this:
I live in a constant state of needing to be railed and treated like a princess at the same time
Just rail me please :3
13
I initially made a similar post but then deleted, since I found this more detailed article on the same website.
Translation:
On Sunday afternoon, police raided the Casa Kuá health center on Naunynstrasse in Kreuzberg on suspicion of illegal drug trafficking. Casa Kuá is a health center and community space for queer people, established in 2020.
At the time of the raid, the "Dolls" group was holding a meeting there, a gathering specifically for trans women. The "Dolls" aim to be a safe space, free from fear of (transmisogynistic) violence, offering opportunities to swap clothes, participate in workshops, and share meals. The "Dolls" are a refuge, especially for poor and non-white trans women.
Kim* was there for the first time on Sunday. She described her experience to taz: "Suddenly, police officers entered the building, and the relaxed atmosphere instantly turned tense." Thirteen trans women were present at Casa Kuá at the time.
The police had forbidden them from using their cell phones. Their hands had to be visible to the officers at all times. Even going to the toilet was strictly controlled, Kim continued. The police had a search warrant for the center. They were looking for two substances. According to Kim, those present were surprised because they didn't recognize these substances, as they are not used in standard hormone replacement therapy.
Alleged Doping Agents
Hormone replacement therapy is a fundamental component for many transgender people and has been internationally recognized and practiced for decades. It is one of the few ways to alleviate gender dysphoria, the distress a person experiences when their perceived gender identity does not match the sex assigned to them at birth. Hormones such as estrogen or progesterone are used.
However, the public prosecutor's office told taz that "suspected doping substances" had been seized. They did not specify the exact names of these substances. Estrogen and progesterone have the opposite effect, as they do not raise testosterone levels.
In addition, police seized a four-figure sum of cash. According to the women present, this money was used to pay for workshops or a laser hair removal machine and had nothing to do with illegal hormone trafficking.
Personal details seized
Kim described how police officers used bolt cutters to open the door to a back room. The personal details of everyone present were then recorded. According to the police report, data storage devices were also confiscated.
During the raid, police informed the women that they were investigating whether anyone had a criminal record. The operation has sparked outrage in the community. Thea Etcetera, a trans female artist, described it on Instagram as "one of the worst attacks on trans rights in the recent history of this country."
For decades, advocacy groups have criticized the treatment of trans people as being insufficiently accessible and degrading. Obstacles, especially for medical gender reassignment surgery, remained even after the introduction of the Self-Determination Act in 2024. Furthermore, poor, non-white, or refugee trans women in Germany often lack health insurance or experience discrimination within the healthcare system.
Before the women were allowed to leave the building after several hours, each one had to undergo a bag search. Kim says, "One woman had her estrogen tablets with her. The police immediately became suspicious and started harassing her." They insisted on seeing a prescription—a prescription that would remain at the pharmacy when the medication was picked up.
Around 140 people gathered outside the building during the operation to express their solidarity. Their demand: an immediate end to the police action. One participant reported that everyone found it incomprehensible why the "dolls" were being targeted in a raid. She sees the alleged possession and distribution of hormones as a pretext for violent action against trans women. “In the end, there were about ten police cars there. This is completely disproportionate. Neither the number of people present nor the quantity of allegedly illegal hormone pills justifies this threatening deployment,” said the eyewitness.
When the police announced an even larger deployment in response to the spontaneous gathering, supporters called for an impromptu demonstration at Rio Reiser Square. Among them was Stella*, who regularly attends meetings of the “Dolls.” “Eating or talking with the Dolls means a lot to me!” Stella told taz. For her, it’s clear: “This was a targeted attack on the trans community in Berlin.”
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
transcription: friendship between girls are so beautiful
21
22
23
24
25
Yessss, pull it please :3
Artist is Minou/_puppyloser
view more:
next ›