Luke Kemp at Cambridge University argues that a global collapse is almost inevitable unless 3 fundamental changes occur: introduction of radical democracy (incl citizen assemblies), a $10M wealth cap, and people refusing to work for big tech/arms/fossil fuel. Do you agree?

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) condemns the use of airdrops to deliver desperately needed aid to Gaza, calling the approach “futile” and “cynical”.

Research-integrity analysts are warning that ‘journal snatchers’ — companies that acquire scholarly journals from reputable publishers — are turning legitimate titles into predatory, low-quality publications with questionable practices. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

What a loss. Rest in peace, Fatima Hassouna. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Former French president calls for a ‘scientific refugee’ status www.theguardian.com/education/20...

The mantra going forward should be “whatever it takes” to fully replace fossil fuels with renewables – designed in Europe, built in Europe – so that it never spends $350bn to import gas from the US, Russia, or anywhere else. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

This so reminds me of the recent Romanian election where a far-right candidate landed a surprise win in the first round, only to be disqualified because of election interference by Russia. Did anyone do any social media analysis to establish what role US election interference might have played here?

This will not end well for the United States of America. Shame really. It used to be such a nice country…

I think my last post needs following up with a very different kind of speech. If you have listened to J.D. Vance's, do yourself a favor and listen to this one too. PS: Europe welcomes you! substack.com/@stuarth2o/n...

"Unacceptable”, which is how Germany’s defence minister described it, doesn't even begin to describe what this attack on European values and democracy amounts to. Historians will look back at this speech as the point when the transatlantic partnership between Europe and the US ended.

Someone on Substack just made an interesting point. As a convicted FELON, Donald Trump cannot own a firearm, yet he does have access to the nuclear codes!

Trump proposes that Palestinians leave the Gaza Strip so that "the territory" can be "cleaned out." If Israel were to follow Trump’s advice, how would a Merz-led German government react? Would it go along with, or even support, this under the guise of "Staatsräson"?

Mit dieser Vorlage setzt Merz größtenteils die Asylpolitik der AfD direkt um – und legitimiert so ihre Politik weiter. Dass nicht einmal der “bürgerliche” Tagesspiegel dies thematisiert, zeigt, wie gesellschaftsfähig solche rechtsextremen Positionen inzwischen sind. So viel zum Thema “Nie wieder”.

Soon those who've been able, fortunate/privileged enough to integrate AI into their lives productively will have a huge advantage over those who haven't. Digital literacy takes on a new quality with the emergence of AI. We need to ensure that no one is left behind. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/23/t...

Given how many Palestinian activists and humanitarian groups used Facebook and/or Instagram to maintain a link to the outside world during the war, and raise awareness about its cost, this really stings. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

I missed this. Do watch it, if you haven’t seen it. I hope many people in leadership positions across the world will follow this extraordunary example. www.linkedin.com/posts/katjad...

Brilliant must-read article from Carole Cadwalladr, a Pulitzer-nominated investigative journalist. open.substack.com/pub/broligar...

About time… www.linkedin.com/pulse/18-for...

In the last speech of his presidency, Joe Biden described the United States the way he usually only describes the nation’s adversaries: as an oligarchy. - - - It is too bad neither he nor his party did enough to fight it when they had their years in power. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Not much in this article is really surprising. The reason I share it is because of the people who contributed to it - all highly reputable scholars from some of the UK’s most respected unis. The language they are using is also telling. It’s good to see that. www.opendemocracy.net/en/bbc-impar...

Only in America (and now also apparently in Greenland)! You couldnt make this up… www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Das ist zwar potenziell ein Anfang, aber in dieser Form – ohne eine Alternative anzubieten (Bluesky und/oder Mastodon zum Beispiel) – und zu diesem Zeitpunkt (kurz vor der Wahl) geht es dem Verteidigungsminister hier wohl mehr darum, kurzfristig Wähler einzufangen, als langfristig etwas zu bewirken.

Like many others on here, I’ve long distanced myself from Meta and X, moving my active accounts to Bluesky and Mastodon. Unfortunately, until the mainstream media and our political leaders follow suit and boycott them too, our democracies will continue to unravel. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

"2,400 Pieces of Evidence of Unconstitutionality": The Center for Political Beauty Continues to Push for a Ban on the AfD. — In their latest campaign, the activists are taking a repurposed prison transport vehicle on tour, with planned stops at Friedrich Merz and the AfD. — Translate with Google…

Nice one.

Given that this appears to be another move aligning Meta with Trump's MAGA agenda, I wonder how women and people of color who voted for him, hoping for a better future, view this development. Is this the America and future they envisioned?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Brutal cuts to culture subsidies are about to make Berlin a welcoming place only for the lazy work of rich kid artists www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Biden’s justification: “Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong,” that probably is true, but it does not excuse his crimes. On that basis Biden would probably have to pardon half the black prison population in the US. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

Is anyone still taking this process seriously? - - - COP29 chief exec filmed promoting fossil fuel deals - - - www.bbc.com/news/article...

‘Strong likelihood’ of imminent famine in northern Gaza, food experts warn, as Israel continues siege. - - - ‘Looming catastrophe’ will ‘dwarf anything we have seen so far’ in Gaza since 7 October 2023, famine review committee says. - - - www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...

Clearly, there should be legislation prohibiting this kind of practice. I wonder how wide-spread this is in other counties (outside the UK). Does anyone have any data on Germany? www.theguardian.com/money/2024/o...

‘No one is coming to save them’: blackouts hide horrors of siege of north Gaza. - - - Journalists unable to report and rescue workers unable to save victims of Israeli offensive hindering all movement and communication. - - - www.theguardian.com/world/2024/o...

Biodiversity declining even faster in ‘protected’ areas, scientists warn Cop16. - - - Just designating key areas will not meet 30x30 target on nature loss, study says, pointing to oil drilling in parks. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

The entire population of North Gaza is at risk of dying.

‘We have emotions too’: Climate scientists respond to attacks on objectivity. Researchers criticised and gaslighted after sharing fears with Guardian say acknowledging feelings is critical to their work. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Crunch time for real’: UN says time for climate delays has run out. Means to stop catastrophic global heating exist, says UN chief, but political courage is needed to end world’s fossil fuel addiction. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Earth’s ‘vital signs’ show humanity’s future in balance, say climate experts. - - - Record emissions, temperatures and population mean more scientists are looking into possibility of societal collapse, report says. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Irregular migration into UK and large European countries is same as 2008, research shows. - - - Despite hostile political discourse about migrants, the numbers are steady, at less than 1% of total population. www.theguardian.com/world/2024/o...

Exported gas produces far worse emissions than coal, major study finds. - - - Research challenges idea that sending liquefied natural gas around the world is cleaner alternative to burning coal. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

Just Stop Oil activists jailed for throwing soup over Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. Phoebe Plummer, 23, receives two-year prison term while Anna Holland, 22, given 20-month sentence over incident. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Why corn ethanol is worse for the climate than petrol: Ethanol made from maize has been touted as a green fuel, but a closer look at its production puts paid to this claim www.theguardian.com/news/2024/se...

Amazon, Tesla and Meta among world’s top companies undermining democracy Corporations such as ExxonMobil and Blackstone also big funders of climate crisis, new trade union report finds www.theguardian.com/business/202...

More than 80% of EU marine protected areas are ineffective, study shows. Activities such as mining, dredging and bottom trawling in most MPAs mean conservation targets will be missed, say researchers. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Out of 1,500 global climate policies, only 63 have really worked. That’s where green spin has got us - George Monbiot www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Thanks again to Yoshua Bengio (CA) for a great chat. In case you missed it, listen to the podcast now on reboot2030.substack.com or watch it on video at youtu.be/kGQPpUp8R1Y. #AI #AIrisk #AIregulartion

COMING UP | Join Nico Heller and Yoshua Bengio today, Tuesday, 06 August at 4:00 PM CET on youtube.com/@reboot2030 for this Reboot Dialogue on AI, catastrophic risk and what to do about it – see reboot2030.substack.com. #AI #AIrisk #AIregulartion