Ig Nobels to move awards to Europe due to concern over US travel visas
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/mar/09/ig-nobel-prize-europe

> The annual Ig Nobels, a satirical award for scientific achievement, are shifting for the first time from the US to Europe due to concerns about attendees getting visas, organizers announced on Monday.

That story again:

Even parody Nobel committee recognizes how dangerous it is to travel to the USA these days. If your conference doesn't, your conference is less serious than parody Nobels. 🤡

#USpol

Die CDU Berlin will Transparenz abschaffen.
Mit dem Informationsfreiheitsgesetz deckten wir das Ausmaß der Antisemitismus-Fördergeldaffäre der Partei auf. Nun will sie gemeinsam mit der Berliner SPD die Informationsfreiheit einschränken und schiebt den Katastrophenschutz vor. Dabei will sie nur eines: Sich der politischen Verantwortung und öffentlichen Kontrolle entziehen.

https://fragdenstaat.de/artikel/exklusiv/2026/03/berliner-cdu-will-auskunftsanspruche-einschranken/?pk_campaign=mastodon

Mastodon server admins, important news!

The Mastodon developers are going to stop suggesting mastodon.social as a "default server".

Instead, the "default" server suggestions are going to be ones for a user's language and/or geographical location.

If your server matches these:

- General public server
- Running vanilla Mastodon
- Mastodon Covenant compliant
- Have existed for 1+ year
- Have shut-down & disaster plans

...then see this post for details: https://mastodon.social/@Mastodon/115989802617165343

#MastoAdmin

I think that's a no-brainer right now that Europe should pursue digital sovereignty aggressively.

It's not about MS Office vs Libre Office, it's about banking apps, cloud services, your phone, your daily life. Which is a way bigger leverage #Trump has about your daily life. #FOSS is security.

#linux

The EU is working on what is in essence a new Open Source strategy for Europe, and the call for evidence is now open. This is our cue to provide feedback and input to the strategy!

If you are involved in the Open Source community in any way, if you benefit (or could benefit) in any way from Open Source, or if you're simply interested in questions about digital sovereignty, please visit https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/16213-European-Open-Digital-Ecosystems_en for details on how to contribute.

#FOSS #opensource

Code is a liability (not an asset). Tech bosses don't understand this. They think AI is great because it produces 10,000 times more code but that means it's producing 10,000 more liabilities. AI is the asbestos we're shoveling into the walls of our high-tech society:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/27/econopocalypse/#subprime-intelligence

--

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/06/1000x-liability/#graceful-failure-modes

1/

To EU leaders: Stop the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago.

Appeasement fails when the counterpart views compromise as weakness. The US made its choice. Now Europe must make ours.

We demand:
1. Reciprocity: Meet pressure with leverage.

2. Dignity: Build power, not validation.

3. Autonomy: Secure our own defense.

We are 450 million citizens. Act like a superpower.

📢 Agree? Boost to sign. Reply 🇪🇺 to support.

#EU #Geopolitics #StrategicAutonomy #Europe #EUPol #Politics #EuropeanUnion #TeamEurope

Sometime around the 2020 era, we lost the right to be mediocre at things we love.

No longer can you just bake bread...you must start a sourdough side hustle lol. Wanna stay fit and go jogging or running? Nah, you gotta optimize your biometrics for a marathon. What my point is that every hobby has been enshittified and gentrified into a brand opportunity.

This strange infatuation with optimization culture is killing the human spirit.

So this new year, starting tomorrow, one of my resolutions is to do something bad but fun. Maybe I write a terrible poem. I like to draw and paint, so perhaps I will draw a horse that looks like a table or sing off-key in the showers or in front of my loved ones. The algorithm driving the mainstream social media wants me to be a polished product, but my humanity lives in these messy, unoptimized, cringe-inducing joyful failures.

I will try to reclaim the right to be an amateur. Will you join me?

#creativity #hobbies #art #depression #socialmedia #newyear #resolution #happynewyear #MentalHealth #Culture #enshittification #creative #design #writing #reading #books #drawing #music #gardening #nature #running #fitness