Good Things Friday (275) and Link Love
May 31, 2024
1. Scarleteen is fundraising through Give Out Day. I wasn’t totally clear on the platform they’re using for the fundraising but I know they’re a valuable resource so I donated to get them to their unique donors goal. This explains a little more about it.
Challenges this week:
Am I the only one thinking about what toys to give the orcas?: Killer whales keep ramming and sinking boats. Scientists now may know why, report says.
An international group of orca experts met to determine why orcas are ramming boats. The leading theory: They’re bored and playful.
Alaska’s Rivers Are Turning Orange as Thawing Permafrost Releases Metals Into Waterways
This was an interesting read that confirms my decidedly uneducated surmising that the local coyotes are generally harmless as long as you let them alone. We have the odd coyote coming out on the neighborhood streets looking lost and other coyotes very purposefully heading for hunting grounds. We don’t interact with each other and everything is generally fine: New study reveals what urban coyotes are really eating in San Francisco
This doesn’t really do Kathryn Tewson justice, you have to see her in action to really appreciate her brain, but it’s a nice writeup: How a Profane Joke on Twitter Spawned a Legal Army
Idaho drag performer awarded $1.1 million in defamation case against far-right blogger
“Before returning the verdict, jurors asked the court if they could direct Bushnell to take down her posts about Posey and publicly apologize to him. First District Judge Ross Pittman, who presided over the trial, indicated they could not do so.” I’d like to know why not! (Posed this question on Bluesky and a very rough simplistic answer that cannot cover all the nuances is basically that the jury can only decide if the defamation occurred and monetary damages.)
