Brian Schmidt

@ben_a_goldfarb Was it up during Halloween? Even better if so.

Mindblowing presentation last night by USFWS’s Kristin Salamack: temporary fencing deployed in SE Colorado during mating season successfully funneled tarantulas (& occasional burrowing owls) into existing culverts. That’s right: it’s America’s first SPIDER WILDLIFE CROSSING. 🤯

@AzorInfo @bayraktar_1love Capturing and knowing how to use are two different things. MANPADs aren't hard, but have limited reach. Real SAM systems aren't just point and shoot.

@BSchmidtTweets @bayraktar_1love I understand the rebels have captured SAM systems...

Russian Ka-52 used against Syrian rebels in the city of Homs. It’s interesting that Ka-52 is used just for launching unguided rockets while pitching up. This is probably the most ineffective way to use the Ka-52, which has a lot of precision weapons systems in its arsenal. Although in Ukraine such use of Ka-52 has become the norm because Russians are afraid to approach too closely to the front because of air defense. The fact that Russians use Ka-52 just to fire unguided rockets in Syria indicates either that Russians are afraid of anti air capabilities of the Syrian rebels, even despite the fact that their capabilities are rather limited. Or Russians just do not have enough stocks of modern precision weapons systems in Syria.

@AzorInfo @bayraktar_1love Yeah, but that's kind of weird. Their opponents are rebels, not the Ukrainians. Other than MANPADs (maybe those), there shouldn't be anything.

@bayraktar_1love Must be worried about GBAD

@Grunt2000 @shashj They were, implicitly:

@shashj Hard to believe unless it was programmed for self preservation.

@shashj The good news is the AIs were told to succeed no matter what. Make those paperclips. The bad news is that they were fairly sophisticated about it.

@PaleoLaura Surprised at how low-key this was, just ran across a single article in SFGate. Seems like it would've been a bigger deal. Anyway, some of the elk herd in Santa Clara County need to get across 101 and into better habitat.

After years of commenting during the National Park Service planning process, visiting the Tomales Point area extensively, watching the tule elk, and working with true grassroots citizens who care, the Fence is coming down! Point Reyes National Seashore. Release the wildlife! Win

@webdevMason [citation needed] [somethng better than the Cass Report]

Refocus on adults. There is simply not the empirical support for transitioning minors that activists so feverishly claimed there was. The costs to their physical, sexual and reproductive health are horrifying and continuing to mount. Parents are never "coming around" on this one

Trans activists totally overstepped with kids. Elevating munchausen moms transitioning their barely-verbal toddlers, encouraging schools to create "gender support plans" kept secret from parents, outright lying about puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries on minors

SHE DID IT AGAIN! Wisdom, the world’s oldest known wild bird, is back with a new partner and just laid yet another egg. At an approximate age of 74, the queen of seabirds returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge last week and began interacting with a male.

@watn_tarnation And Trump supporters think you can't lose when playing Russian Roulette with wannabe Caesars.

every time

Anyone who is troubled by the Hunter Biden #pardon should support my constitutional amendment to reform the pardon power—an effort I've led since 2017. It bans pardons for a POTUS's family, staff, or crimes committed for their benefit. In 7 years it's never received a Republican cosponsor. I hope that will change.

@ProfDBernstein Sabotaging the trials helped Trump win, the greatest benefit possible. I doubt it tipped the scales on its own, but nobody knew beforehand what the margin would be.

@BSchmidtTweets Because at the time Trump was leading Biden in the polls, and the relevant federal criminal investigations would be moot if Trump won, as he did.

Trump announces he will investigate and potentially prosecute Biden for violating various federal anti-corruption statutes in pardoning his son... Oh, WAIT! Trump can't do that because the Supreme Court just ruled that presidents can't be prosecuted for official acts. Because they were in the tank for Trump, or something... (I have some doubts about the immunity decision, but it was obvious even at the time that Biden was at least as likely to be a beneficiary as Trump.)

@1Chillwind @joshtpm @TPM No, it's far more specific than being an a-hole. Hunter's manipulated being Joe's son for decades to get benefits no one else gets, now it harms him. Cry me a river, and get in the same pardon line as everyone else, including btw other Biden Admin people who aren't pardoned.

@BSchmidtTweets @joshtpm @TPM You want Hunter to pay, for being an asshole. I'd say he already has and then some. That these charges were brought to trial is an aberration of the status quo application of "rule of Law," and were brought under intense political pressure to damage the President.

The Pardon talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-par… via @TPM

@BradyInAZ @joshtpm @TPM You're welcome!

@BSchmidtTweets @joshtpm @TPM

@AlecStapp @mattyglesias Contrarianism is a hell of a drug. Too bad for Matt, maybe he'll survive it.

Great post from @mattyglesias slowboring.com/p/we-need-real…

The US share of global carbon emissions is just 13% and falling over time. The biggest lever we have to mitigate climate change is through innovation and diffusion.

@AlecStapp His error is failing to distinguish long term v. near and medium term. For near and medium term, having actual policies, not great technology prospects, are more important. Speeding up the very slow rate of eliminating gas furnaces and water heaters is critically important.

@jonkay @WesternU @Quillette The lesson many commenters are taking is "they tried to repress our ideology - we are outraged and so we should repress their ideology." Or maybe, there's always this free speech thing....

In 2022, @WesternU teachers college denounced a student who’d asked questions about decolonization. The DEI committee demanded her expulsion—until a UWO tribunal defended the student’s rights. @Quillette has its 70-pg decision, internal email & recordings quillette.com/2024/11/29/les…

@barbarapuciul @anneapplebaum Ukraine should be what it wants to be. Democratic Mexico has plenty of critiques of the US, and it has the right to do so. If we first invaded Mexico and Russian missiles were then used to protect them, that would be a problem that we created.

@anneapplebaum Just a moment....why can't we put ourselves in Russia's shoes and ask ourselves how We would feel if Russian missiles were in Mexico pointed at Us. Security is usually the #1 concern of All countries. Ukraine should be neutral.

"Europa debe plantar cara a Rusia en la guerra de Ucrania, sostiene Anne Applebaum. El régimen de Putin amenaza con extender su imperialismo y apoya una deriva autocrática en el resto del mundo" elpais.com/ideas/2024-12-…