Month: January 2025

For Science! 🐜

Biologists antagonised ants and found out they can hold grudges

January 12, 2025 Imma Perfetto

A closeup photo of a common black ant standing on the sharpened point of a stick of wood.
Black garden ant (Lasius niger). Credit: Aditya Vistarakula/Getty Images

Previous research has shown that ant colonies are more likely to behave aggressively towards neighbouring colonies, but less likely to do so against unfamiliar ones.

It’s known as the “nasty neighbour effect” and, until now, researchers weren’t sure why it exists.

A new Current Biology study has discovered that ants remember the smell of their enemies.

“We often have the idea that insects function like pre-programmed robots,” says Volker Nehring from the University of Freiburg, Germany.

“Our study provides new evidence that, on the contrary, ants also learn from their experiences and can hold a grudge.” 

The researchers pitted colonies of the black garden ant, Lasius niger, against each other. In the first phase of the experiment, they were exposed either exposed to nestmates or to ants from a different colony.

Each meeting lasted for one minute and was repeated once per day for 5 consecutive days. Ants’ aggression when encountering non-nestmates increased significantly during this training phase.

On day 6, the team found that ants acted most aggressively when encountering the non-nestmate colony they had previously fought but were less aggressive towards ants from a non-nestmate colony they hadn’t yet encountered. Unsurprisingly, they weren’t aggressive towards their own nestmates.

In the second phase of the experiment, encounters were repeated with either aggressive or passive ants from a different colony. They found the ants that had previously only encountered passive competitors behaved significantly less aggressively.

Because ants use odours to distinguish between members of their own nest and those from other nests, the study suggests that ants learned to associate aggression with the non-nestmate colony’s specific scent.

Nehring and his team now plan to investigate whether and to what extent ants adapt their olfactory receptors to their experiences.

Originally published by Cosmos as Biologists antagonised ants and found out they can hold grudges

Peace & Justice History for 1/15

January 15, 1929
 

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. The son of a Baptist pastor, he followed in his father’s footsteps, then went on to lead the American civil rights movement in the 1950s and ’60s, and to speak out against the Vietnam war.
In 1955 Dr. King organized the first major protest of the civil rights movement: the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott. Influenced by Mohandas Gandhi, he advocated nonviolent civil disobedience to end racial segregation. The peaceful protests he led throughout the American South were often met with violence and arrest, but King and his followers persisted.
His inspiration, leadership and eloquence helped tens of millions claim the fundamental rights of citizenship, and changed the face of a nation.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. biographical sketch
Since 1986, the third Monday in January has been designated a federal holiday honoring the greatness and sacrifice of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

A chronology:
April 4, 1968 Dr. King was assassinated. Shortly thereafter, U.S. Representative John Conyers (D-Michigan) introduced legislation to create a federal holiday to commemorate Dr. King’s life and work.
January, 1973 Illinois became the first state to adopt MLK Day as a state holiday.
January, 1983 Rep. Conyers’s law was passed after 15 years
January, 1986 The United States first officially observed the federal King Day holiday.
January, 1987 Arizona Governor Evan Mecham rescinded state recognition of MLK Day as his first act in office, setting off a national boycott of the state.
January, 1993 Martin Luther King Day holiday was observed in all 50 states for the first time.
Brief biography of Dr. King  
The greatest MLK speeches you may have never heard 
January 15, 1968
The Jeanette Rankin Brigade marched on Washington to protest the war in Vietnam.It was led by 87-year-old Rankin herself, the first U.S. Congresswoman (R-Montana), and the only member of Congress to vote against U.S. entry to both world wars. After the march’s arrival in Washington, D.C. the New York Radical Women staged a “Burial of Traditional Womanhood.”

Jeanette Rankin
More on Jeanette Rankin 
Documents from the New York Radical Women including Funeral Oration for the Burial of Traditional Womanhood by Kathy Amatniek (who coined “Sisterhood is Powerful”) (a .pdf)
January 15, 1969

Janet McCloud
Janet McCloud, her husband Don and four others from the Tulalip Indian tribe were tried for one of their “fish-ins” on the Nisqually River in Washington state. The Nisqually empties into Puget sound on the Tulalip reservation. Despite century-old treaties granting them half the salmon catch in their ancestral waters, state game officials harassed and arrested Indian fishermen. However, all were found not guilty.
In a decision not reached for five years, U.S. District Judge George Boldt ruled in favor of 14 treaty tribes, including the Tulalip, upholding the language
of their treaties.

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryjanuary.htm#january15

‘Want To Take It Outside!’ House Devolves Into Chaos After Nancy Mace Challenges Democrat To a Fight

‘Want To Take It Outside!’ House Devolves Into Chaos After Nancy Mace Challenges Democrat To a Fight

The attention seeking lady screams out during a hearing at a member of the other party getting lots of attention from everyone in the room and also now from the media.  And of course Comer who is a total republican tool who is lacking in the ability to think and reason but always pushes the maga talking points and wishes of the cult leader found that Mace threatening a fellow member was not in any way against the rules that say members can’t do that.  Just as before he forgave the actions of Marge Greene.    No matter what republicans can do no wrong regardless of what they do, however democrats are wrong even when they are following the rules 100%.  Hugs.

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The House Oversight Committee went off the rails on Tuesday as Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) fumed at Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) for using the term “child” in reference to her, resulting in Mace asking the Texas Democrat if “she wants to take it outside.”

“Somebody’s campaign coffers really are struggling right now. So she can’t keep saying trans, trans, trans, so that people will feel threatened. And child, listen,” Crockett said in a clip that quickly went viral, hitting Mace for her constant attacks and numerous social media posts about the trans community in recent months.

Mace jumped in and said, “I am no child! Do not call me a child. I am no child. Don’t even start, I am a grown woman, 47 years old.”

“I want to find out which of those emails,” Crockett tried to continue as Mace spoke over her.

“I have broken more glass ceilings,” Mace continued as Crockett also spoke.

“I am not a child, I am a grown woman. If you want to take it outside,” Mace added as Chairman James Comer (R-KY) gaveled her down.

“Mr. Chairman, the committee is not in order. Order or point of order! Point of order! Order! Order! Order!” other members could be heard saying.

Democrat Maxwell Frost (D-FL) took to social media to explain what happened next, writing, “Nancy Mace asked Jasmine Crockett to “go outside”. Chair Comer ruled that threatening violence against another member is okay, as long as it’s in the form of a question! Wild.”

The spat between Mace and Crockett came as the House voted to ban trans athletes from women’s sports at federally funded institutions. Crockett spoke again later during the committee meeting and slammed the GOP for attacking “the most vulnerable” members of society instead of trying to help the American public and govern.

https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1879285772622123062
https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1879273012685635810

Wednesday meme collection. Got a good mix this time

 

 

 

Peace & Justice History for 1/14

January 14, 1601
Roman Catholic church authorities burned sacred Hebrew books in Rome during the papacy of Clement VIII. He had forbidden Jews from reading the Talmud (a collection of centuries of interpretation of Jewish law). He had confirmed Pope Paul III’s relegation of Jews to a Roman ghetto (a walled-in portion of the city), and their banning from residence in papal-controlled states by Pope Pius V.
Other papal enemies of Jewish books included Innocent IV (1243-1254), Clement IV (1256-1268), John XXII (1316-1334), Paul IV (1555-1559), and Pius V (1566-1572).
January 14, 1784
The Confederation Congress, meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, ratified the Treaty of Paris with England, ending the Revolutionary War
.
Signing the Treaty of Paris
By its terms, “His Britannic Majesty” was bound to withdraw his armies without “carrying away any Negroes or other property of American inhabitants.”
The treaty was negotiated by John Adams, John Jay and Benjamin Franklin for the colonies, and David Hartley representing the King of England, George III.
January 14, 1918
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the selective service law, affirming all criminal charges arising from non-compliance with the draft during World War I. In Arver v. United States, the Court found that a draft does not violate the 13th Amendment’s prohibition of involuntary servitude.
January 14, 1941
A. Philip Randolph, president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union, and widely considered de facto chief spokesperson for the African-American working class, called for a march on Washington, demanding racial integration of the military and equal access to defense-industry jobs.

Detail from painting by Betsy G. Reyneau, Asa Philip Randolph
“On to Washington, ten thousand black Americans!” Randolph urged. He said in the fight to “stop discrimination in National Defense . . . While conferences have merit, they won’t get desired results by themselves.”
January 14, 1942
President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Presidential Proclamation No. 2537, which required aliens from World War II enemy countries – Italy, Germany and Japan – to register with the United States Department of Justice.
Registered persons received a “Certificate of Identification for Aliens of Enemy Nationality.” This proclamation facilitated the beginning of large-scale internment of Japanese Americans the following month.
January 14, 1963
George Wallace was sworn in as Governor of Alabama. In his inaugural address he called for “segregation now; segregation tomorrow; segregation forever!”
“The true brotherhood of America, of respecting the separateness of others — and uniting in effort — has been so twisted and distorted from its original concept that there is a small wonder that communism is winning the world.
We invite the negro citizens of Alabama to work with us from his separate racial station — as we will work with him — to develop, to grow in individual freedom and enrichment. We want jobs and a good future for BOTH races — the tubercular and the infirm. This is the basic heritage of my religion, of which I make full practice — for we are all the handiwork of God.”
The entire speech: 
January 14, 1966

A march in Atlanta was held to protest the ouster of Julian Bond, an African American, from the Georgia House of Representatives. Members of the General Assembly considered him unfit to serve after he endorsed a statement critical of U.S. involvement in Vietnam issued by the Student Non-Violent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
January 14, 1994
An agreement was signed for Russia and the U.S. to assist newly independent Ukraine in ridding itself of nuclear weapons.Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, Ukraine’s leader Leonid Kravchuk found his country with the world’s third largest nuclear arsenal, including multiple-warhead long-range missiles and bombers, and 3000 tactical (battlefield or short-range) nuclear weapons.

former Ukranian missile silo

Leonid Kravchuk
Kravchuk and his government had decided to eliminate all nuclear weapons from Ukrainian territory. Ukraine was the first country to go non-nuclear.
January 14, 1996
Sixteen protesters were arrested in a winter blockade of the rural Wisconsin site (in the Chequamegon National Forest) of the U.S. Navy’s ELF (Extremely Low Frequency) transmitter, which communicated (one-way) with deeply submerged U.S. submarines. Nearly 400 were arrested in 24 actions opposing ELF between 1991 and 1996.

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryjanuary.htm#january14

Breakfast Dance

Also Charlie Kirk, Ben Shapiro, and any other RWNJ who have trouble with ASL interpreters at this late date, follow this interpreter’s suggestion.

(I love this song!)

Items of Interest to Those of Us Who Read Here, and Who Blog:

There’s a lot; some of it we’ve seen discussed 8 ways to Sunday, but some I’ve not yet seen, that involve WordPress, Mastodon, and others. Not all is bad news, much is good. This came from my Werd.i/o newsletter, but there’s not a newsletter link. So, snippets below, with links:

https://werd.io/2025/the-people-should-own-the-town-square

Mastodon is growing up:

“Simply, we are going to transfer ownership of key Mastodon ecosystem and platform components (including name and copyrights, among other assets) to a new non-profit organization, affirming the intent that Mastodon should not be owned or controlled by a single individual.

[…] We are in the process of a phased transition. First we are establishing a new legal home for Mastodon and transferring ownership and stewardship. We are taking the time to select the appropriate jurisdiction and structure in Europe. Then we will determine which other (subsidiary) legal structures are needed to support operations and sustainability.”

Eugen, Mastodon’s CEO, will not be the leader of this new entity, although it’s not yet clear who will be. He’s going to focus on product instead. (snip)

https://werd.io/2025/content-policy-on-the-social-web (snip)

 Content Policy on the Social Web

[Social Web Foundation]

The Social Web Foundation‘s statement about Meta’s moderation changes is important:

“Ideas matter, and history shows that online misinformation and harassment can lead to violence in the real world.

[…] Meta is one of many ActivityPub implementers and a supporter of the Social Web Foundation. We strongly encourage Meta’s executive and content teams to come back in line with best practices of a zero harm social media ecosystem. Reconsidering this policy change would preserve the crucial distinction between political differences of opinion and dehumanizing harassment. The SWF is available to discuss Meta’s content moderation policies and processes to make them more humane and responsible.”

This feels right to me. By implication: the current policies are inhumane and irresponsible. And as such, worth calling out.

#Fediverse

[Link] (snip)

https://werd.io/2025/doj-releases-its-tulsa-race-massacre-report-over-100-years

 DoJ releases its Tulsa race massacre report over 100 years after initial review

[Adria R Walker at The Guardian]

A full century after the Bureau of Investigation blamed the Tulsa race massacre on Black men and claimed that the perpetrators didn’t break the law, the DoJ has issued an update:

““The Tulsa race massacre stands out as a civil rights crime unique in its magnitude, barbarity, racist hostility and its utter annihilation of a thriving Black community,” Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general of the DoJ’s civil rights division, said in a statement. “In 1921, white Tulsans murdered hundreds of residents of Greenwood, burned their homes and churches, looted their belongings, and locked the survivors in internment camps.””

Every one of the perpetrators is dead and can no longer be prosecuted. But this statement seeks to correct the record and ensure that the official history records what actually happened. There’s value in that, even if it comes a hundred years too late. (snip-MORE; this is history which should be recalled/learned)

https://werd.io/2025/mullenweg-shuts-down-wordpress-sustainability-team-igniting-backlash

 Mullenweg Shuts Down WordPress Sustainability Team, Igniting Backlash

[Rae Morey at The Repository]

The bananas activity continues over at Automattic / Matt Mullenweg’s house:

“Members of the fledgling WordPress Sustainability Team have been left reeling after WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg abruptly dissolved the team this week.

[…] The disbandment happened after team rep Thijs Buijs announced in Making WordPress Slack on Wednesday that he was stepping down from his role, citing a Reddit thread Mullenweg created on Christmas Eve asking for suggestions to create WordPress drama in 2025.” (snip)

https://werd.io/2025/is-ignorance-bliss

 Is Ignorance Bliss?

[Jared White]

I’ve been thinking about this paragraph since I read it:

“In times past, we would worry about singular governmental officials such Joseph Goebbels becoming a master of propaganda for their cause. Today’s problem is massively scaled out in ways Goebbels could only dream of: now everyone can be their own Goebbels. Can someone please tell me what the difference is between an “influencer” holding a smartphone and…a propagandist? Because I simply can’t see the distinction anymore.”

This brings me back to Renee DiResta’s Invisible Rulers: whoever controls the memes controls the universe.

#Democracy

[Link]

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As I said, there is more. From the werd.i/o links, you can navigate to read to your heart’s content. I didn’t want to make too long a post here, so I put the most pertinent ones here, but this week’s newsletter is full of important stuff. -A

Boy republicans and wealthy simply don’t stop do they

SD GOP Bill Requires Teaching Ten Commandments
Mel Gibson Suggests Dems “Commissioned” Wildfires

“But I don’t know. I can make all kinds of horrible theories up in my head, conspiracy theories and everything else, but it just seemed a little convenient that there was no water and that the wind conditions were right and that there are people ready and willing and able to start fires.

“And are they commissioned to do so or just acting on their own volition?” – Mel “Horse Paste Cures Cancer” Gibson, last night on Laura Ingraham’s show.

The QAnon nutbags are applauding.

Axios: “Meta Has Transformed Into Full-On MAGA Hive”
GOP Mulls $5T In Cuts To Medicaid, Welfare, And ACA
GOP Rep: Withhold Disaster Aid For California [VIDEO]
Watters Calls For “Federal Takeover” Of California
Cultist Sets DC Bus Rider On Fire: “White Equality”
Barrasso: CA Aid Will Come With “Strings Attached”
MTG Demands “Cloud Seeding” To Stop Wildfires

Fox Rips Jobs Report: “Trump Will Need Poop-Scooper”
Comer Accused Of Fake Quotes In His Coming Book
Texas Gov Orders Flags Raised For Glorious Leader
Pastor: Founding Fathers Would Execute LA’s Mayor
Tuberville: California Doesn’t “Deserve Anything” Until They Stop Voting For “Inner City Woke Policies” [Video]
Tony Perkins: The Answer To Wildfires Is More Jesus
House GOP Bill Authorizes Trump To Buy Greenland

Ogles last appeared here in August 2024 when the FBI raided his home over allegedly fraudulent campaign finance reports.

Weeks earlier, he appeared here when he filed articles of impeachment against Kamala Harris hours after she formally announced her bid for president.

Also last year, he introduced a bill that would ban gag orders for all federal defendants.

Shortly after he was elected, Ogles was found to have lied about his education and background, drawing comparisons to George Santos.

DeSantis Calls Special Session To Speed Deportations
Johnson: California Aid Will Come With “Conditions”

Recent federal disaster aid to Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Georgia contained no conditions or “strings attached.”

Florida Man Who Destroyed Rainbow Crosswalk Takes Plea Deal: Probation, Community Service, Loses License

Lucky the above guy who destroyed expensive public property did not get caught buying weed or being a doctor saving a woman’s life by giving them a needed abortion.   Hugs 

Felon-Elect Celebrates California Wildfires With Meme
Musk Has Already Influenced Policy To Benefit Himself
https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1869877910519058489
Meta Deletes Trans Themes From Messenger App

New: Meta has deleted trans and nonbinary Messenger themes, as well as the blog posts announcing them. Happens the same week that it has changed its rules to allow users to say LGBTQ+ people are "mentally ill"www.404media.co/meta-deletes…

— Jason Koebler (@jasonkoebler.bsky.social) 2025-01-10T17:09:50.416Z
Amazon Deletes Commitments To LGBTQ Rights
Cultists Attack CA Insurance Chief For Being Gay

Despite the action noted above, the cult – led by Libs Of TikTok – is now attacking Lara for being gay. 

Trump Team Begins Loyalty Purge Of Civil Servants
Waltz: Invading Greenland Is “Always On The Table”

Amazon cuts mentions of DEI and LGBTQ rights from public policies

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/01/10/amazon-removes-black-trans-rights/

Another large company has fallen to right wing pressure and the fear of being on tRump’s bad side.  This right wing media pressure campaign we had better find a way to stop and combat.  Hugs.  

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A commitment to helping Black people live “free from fear,” and all occurrences of the term “transgender” disappeared from a page listing the online retailer’s policies late last month.

 
An Amazon logo hangs on a wall at Amazon’s HQ2 in Crystal City, Virginia in 2023. (Eric Lee for the Washington Post)
 
By 
 

As Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, Amazon has cut commitments to protecting the rights of Black and LGBTQ+ people from a public listing of its corporate policies.

Statements that said Amazon supported the rights of transgender people and would protect the safety of Black employees and customers disappeared from a webpage stating the company’s positions late in December, archived versions show.

Sections titled “Equity for Black people” and “LGBTQ+ rights” were removed from the page, along with all mentions of the term transgender. The “Diversity, equity, and inclusion” section was updated to say that “inequitable treatment of anyone — including Black people, LGBTQ+ people, Asians, women, and others — is unacceptable.”
 

The changes come as other corporations have also adjusted their policies in ways apparently calculated to fit the change of political weather in Washington.

 

McDonald’s this month scaled back its diversity goals and Meta confirmed Friday that it would dismantle its employee diversity and equity, or DEI, programs. A growing number of Fortune 500 companies have abandoned or reduced DEI initiatives in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn affirmative action in college admissions in 2023.

Some Amazon employees who noticed the changes to its policy page this week were dismayed by the apparent changes in the company’s positions, screenshots of internal conversations seen by The Washington Post showed. The Information earlier reported the changes.
 

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in an email statement, “We update this page from time to time to ensure that it reflects updates we’ve made to various programs and positions.” The company also pointed to an internal memo from December in which vice president Candi Castleberry said it was rolling back some DEI initiatives. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.

 

Before late December, Amazon’s webpage listing its policy positions said the company stood “in solidarity” with Black employees and customers, and supported “legislation to combat misconduct and racial bias in policing, efforts to protect and expand voting rights, and initiatives that provide better health and educational outcomes for Black people.”

The paragraph containing those statements is no longer on the webpage.

 

Amazon also previously said on that page it was “working at the U.S. federal and state level on legislation” on protections for transgender people. It said that the company provided “gender transition benefits based on the Standards of Care published by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).” The section with those claims has also been deleted.

Hayes: The trans population is far smaller than the right would have you believe

“Here is what is true: There are far, far fewer transgender Americans than the far right wants you to think there are,” says Chris Hayes