#parasitism — Public Fediverse posts

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/aug/16/it-is-not-only-a-future-certainty-the-disaster-is-already-here-why-we-need-climate-fiction. The problem is, we are faced not just with #climatecrisis, but with #Polycrisis, including, e.g., #resource #depletion, various forms of #pollution, #biodiversity #loss & #overpopulation, as well as the threat of #armed #conflicts. The grotesque #inequality of the #capitalist #system makes it completely #unsustainable, as does its #ecological #parasitism. Failing any successful efforts to change it, it will #collapse. How do you represent THAT in #fiction?

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/aug/16/it-is-not-only-a-future-certainty-the-disaster-is-already-here-why-we-need-climate-fiction. The problem is, we are faced not just with #climatecrisis, but with #Polycrisis, including, e.g., #resource #depletion, various forms of #pollution, #biodiversity #loss & #overpopulation, as well as the threat of #armed #conflicts. The grotesque #inequality of the #capitalist #system makes it completely #unsustainable, as does its #ecological #parasitism. Failing any successful efforts to change it, it will #collapse. How do you represent THAT in #fiction?

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/aug/16/it-is-not-only-a-future-certainty-the-disaster-is-already-here-why-we-need-climate-fiction. The problem is, we are faced not just with #climatecrisis, but with #Polycrisis, including, e.g., #resource #depletion, various forms of #pollution, #biodiversity #loss & #overpopulation, as well as the threat of #armed #conflicts. The grotesque #inequality of the #capitalist #system makes it completely #unsustainable, as does its #ecological #parasitism. Failing any successful efforts to change it, it will #collapse. How do you represent THAT in #fiction?

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/aug/16/it-is-not-only-a-future-certainty-the-disaster-is-already-here-why-we-need-climate-fiction. The problem is, we are faced not just with #climatecrisis, but with #Polycrisis, including, e.g., #resource #depletion, various forms of #pollution, #biodiversity #loss & #overpopulation, as well as the threat of #armed #conflicts. The grotesque #inequality of the #capitalist #system makes it completely #unsustainable, as does its #ecological #parasitism. Failing any successful efforts to change it, it will #collapse. How do you represent THAT in #fiction?

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/aug/16/it-is-not-only-a-future-certainty-the-disaster-is-already-here-why-we-need-climate-fiction. The problem is, we are faced not just with #climatecrisis, but with #Polycrisis, including, e.g., #resource #depletion, various forms of #pollution, #biodiversity #loss & #overpopulation, as well as the threat of #armed #conflicts. The grotesque #inequality of the #capitalist #system makes it completely #unsustainable, as does its #ecological #parasitism. Failing any successful efforts to change it, it will #collapse. How do you represent THAT in #fiction?

They tell you Flock cameras are there to fight crime — theleahfiles

So I pulled the actual police logs from my new favorite website (haveibeenflocked . com). 233 million searches that they have been able to get via FOIA requests and here’s what “fighting crime” actually looks like:

84% had no case number at all
The most common reason a cop typed in the box? Blank, nothing
Only about 9% were even tagged as a real crime.
“Test” and “training” show up as reasons, run on real people’s cars
The FBI and Homeland Security were wired into local camera networks your town never signed off on.

So what is Flock?

FLOCK: 100,000+ plate cameras bolted to poles across America. They read your plate everywhere you drive and never forget.

NOVA: Flock’s AI that turns your plate into you. Your name, address, family, everyone you know, in seconds, no warrant.

SIGNALTRACE: a competitor’s tool that tracks the Bluetooth off your phone, your AirPods, your watch. Doesn’t even need your plate.

Then I followed the money and the lead investor behind Flock also funds an Israeli company that can hack cameras and change the footage. Another lead investor backs a 911 app that flips on your phone’s camera and mic. Trace it all the way back and you hit a former Israeli prime minister and Jeffrey Epstein’s money.

Full article with photos and receipts is on my Substack now (link in bio). Enjoy!

link

They tell you Flock cameras are there to fight crime — theleahfiles

So I pulled the actual police logs from my new favorite website (haveibeenflocked . com). 233 million searches that they have been able to get via FOIA requests and here’s what “fighting crime” actually looks like:

84% had no case number at all
The most common reason a cop typed in the box? Blank, nothing
Only about 9% were even tagged as a real crime.
“Test” and “training” show up as reasons, run on real people’s cars
The FBI and Homeland Security were wired into local camera networks your town never signed off on.

So what is Flock?

FLOCK: 100,000+ plate cameras bolted to poles across America. They read your plate everywhere you drive and never forget.

NOVA: Flock’s AI that turns your plate into you. Your name, address, family, everyone you know, in seconds, no warrant.

SIGNALTRACE: a competitor’s tool that tracks the Bluetooth off your phone, your AirPods, your watch. Doesn’t even need your plate.

Then I followed the money and the lead investor behind Flock also funds an Israeli company that can hack cameras and change the footage. Another lead investor backs a 911 app that flips on your phone’s camera and mic. Trace it all the way back and you hit a former Israeli prime minister and Jeffrey Epstein’s money.

Full article with photos and receipts is on my Substack now (link in bio). Enjoy!

link

They tell you Flock cameras are there to fight crime — theleahfiles

So I pulled the actual police logs from my new favorite website (haveibeenflocked . com). 233 million searches that they have been able to get via FOIA requests and here’s what “fighting crime” actually looks like:

84% had no case number at all
The most common reason a cop typed in the box? Blank, nothing
Only about 9% were even tagged as a real crime.
“Test” and “training” show up as reasons, run on real people’s cars
The FBI and Homeland Security were wired into local camera networks your town never signed off on.

So what is Flock?

FLOCK: 100,000+ plate cameras bolted to poles across America. They read your plate everywhere you drive and never forget.

NOVA: Flock’s AI that turns your plate into you. Your name, address, family, everyone you know, in seconds, no warrant.

SIGNALTRACE: a competitor’s tool that tracks the Bluetooth off your phone, your AirPods, your watch. Doesn’t even need your plate.

Then I followed the money and the lead investor behind Flock also funds an Israeli company that can hack cameras and change the footage. Another lead investor backs a 911 app that flips on your phone’s camera and mic. Trace it all the way back and you hit a former Israeli prime minister and Jeffrey Epstein’s money.

Full article with photos and receipts is on my Substack now (link in bio). Enjoy!

link

They tell you Flock cameras are there to fight crime — theleahfiles

So I pulled the actual police logs from my new favorite website (haveibeenflocked . com). 233 million searches that they have been able to get via FOIA requests and here’s what “fighting crime” actually looks like:

84% had no case number at all
The most common reason a cop typed in the box? Blank, nothing
Only about 9% were even tagged as a real crime.
“Test” and “training” show up as reasons, run on real people’s cars
The FBI and Homeland Security were wired into local camera networks your town never signed off on.

So what is Flock?

FLOCK: 100,000+ plate cameras bolted to poles across America. They read your plate everywhere you drive and never forget.

NOVA: Flock’s AI that turns your plate into you. Your name, address, family, everyone you know, in seconds, no warrant.

SIGNALTRACE: a competitor’s tool that tracks the Bluetooth off your phone, your AirPods, your watch. Doesn’t even need your plate.

Then I followed the money and the lead investor behind Flock also funds an Israeli company that can hack cameras and change the footage. Another lead investor backs a 911 app that flips on your phone’s camera and mic. Trace it all the way back and you hit a former Israeli prime minister and Jeffrey Epstein’s money.

Full article with photos and receipts is on my Substack now (link in bio). Enjoy!

link

They tell you Flock cameras are there to fight crime — theleahfiles

So I pulled the actual police logs from my new favorite website (haveibeenflocked . com). 233 million searches that they have been able to get via FOIA requests and here’s what “fighting crime” actually looks like:

84% had no case number at all
The most common reason a cop typed in the box? Blank, nothing
Only about 9% were even tagged as a real crime.
“Test” and “training” show up as reasons, run on real people’s cars
The FBI and Homeland Security were wired into local camera networks your town never signed off on.

So what is Flock?

FLOCK: 100,000+ plate cameras bolted to poles across America. They read your plate everywhere you drive and never forget.

NOVA: Flock’s AI that turns your plate into you. Your name, address, family, everyone you know, in seconds, no warrant.

SIGNALTRACE: a competitor’s tool that tracks the Bluetooth off your phone, your AirPods, your watch. Doesn’t even need your plate.

Then I followed the money and the lead investor behind Flock also funds an Israeli company that can hack cameras and change the footage. Another lead investor backs a 911 app that flips on your phone’s camera and mic. Trace it all the way back and you hit a former Israeli prime minister and Jeffrey Epstein’s money.

Full article with photos and receipts is on my Substack now (link in bio). Enjoy!

link

The Israeli Spy Behind PragerU’s Plan to Rewrite American Education to Indoctrinate Children

PragerU is trying to take over American schools. The right-wing, pseudo-educational group is now an official educational partner in at least ten states, and blitzes children with highly questionable messaging on race, history, and politics. Even more concerning, PragerU is led by former Israeli spy, Marissa Streit, who has stated she uses the tactics and techniques honed by IDF military intelligence on the American people.

Streit’s company is involved in a big-money operation targeting children with neoconservative, pro-war, pro-business, pro-Israel messaging, attempting to indoctrinate them at their youngest and most impressionable age.

Leave Our Kids Alone

You have probably seen a PragerU video. An estimated one-in-three Americans have. The billionaire-funded media machine is a powerful force on the American right, providing highly-produced conservative content attempting to push U.S. politics and society rightwards.

Recently, however, PragerU has set its sights on children, and is seeking to hijack the American education system. Since 2023, it has signed deals with ten states – Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah – to become an official education provider, supplying books, videos, and other content to schools across the United States. Students in New Hampshire, meanwhile, can earn credits by completing online PragerU courses. And with PragerU Español, it has plans to expand into Latin America as well.

link

The Israeli Spy Behind PragerU’s Plan to Rewrite American Education to Indoctrinate Children

PragerU is trying to take over American schools. The right-wing, pseudo-educational group is now an official educational partner in at least ten states, and blitzes children with highly questionable messaging on race, history, and politics. Even more concerning, PragerU is led by former Israeli spy, Marissa Streit, who has stated she uses the tactics and techniques honed by IDF military intelligence on the American people.

Streit’s company is involved in a big-money operation targeting children with neoconservative, pro-war, pro-business, pro-Israel messaging, attempting to indoctrinate them at their youngest and most impressionable age.

Leave Our Kids Alone

You have probably seen a PragerU video. An estimated one-in-three Americans have. The billionaire-funded media machine is a powerful force on the American right, providing highly-produced conservative content attempting to push U.S. politics and society rightwards.

Recently, however, PragerU has set its sights on children, and is seeking to hijack the American education system. Since 2023, it has signed deals with ten states – Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah – to become an official education provider, supplying books, videos, and other content to schools across the United States. Students in New Hampshire, meanwhile, can earn credits by completing online PragerU courses. And with PragerU Español, it has plans to expand into Latin America as well.

link

Down by the lake the other day, my favourite willow was positively covered with large purple aphids making their way up the trunk—and the air was alive with swarms of tiny parasitoid wasps (family Braconidae) preying on them! Here is one injecting an egg into an aphid. The aphids become swollen husks as the wasp hatches, feeds, and pupates, eventually cutting a neat hole and emerging as an adult, ready to continue the cycle. I have never seen the wasps emerging but hope to one day.

#bugstodon #insects #wasps #aphids #parasitism • #Hymenoptera #Braconidae #Aphidiinae

Study shows sexual #parasitism helped #anglerfish invade the #DeepSea during a time of global warming
https://phys.org/news/2024-05-sexual-parasitism-anglerfish-invade-deep.html

Synergistic innovations enabled the radiation of #anglerfishes in the deep open ocean https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(24)00576-1

"males of anglerfishes temporarily attach or permanently fuse with females to mate... Now, researchers show that sexual parasitism arose during a time of major #GlobalWarming and rapid transition for anglerfish from the ocean floor to the deep, open sea."

a story, taken over the span of a few weeks

#DailySpiderPic #spiders #insects #Araneae #Theridiidae #Hymenoptera #Braconidae? #parasitism #parasites