SlayGuevara

The influx of recent users from the reddit sub is quite a lot. I guess we're nearing more than 20 applications in half an hour, which for Lemmygrad is a lot.

Given the lack of active moderation on this sub, and given the probability that this sub will see increased activity, we need a mod or two. Feel free to send me a DM (or one of the other admins) to see what we can do.

So I was talking to my mother today and she started talking about my brother, who is neurodiverse (we all are to some degree lol) and has always had trouble learning in school.

But over the past few years he managed to go from what is basically the 'lowest' possible degree to nearly a college degree. She said that he went to ChatGPT a lot for help fir writing essays and stuff and that he managed to go from struggling to write a one page report to getting straight A's and B's, which really surprised me.

What also surprised me is that he suffers from anxiety like me but that he talks to ChatGPT like it is a friend and that it really manages to comfort him when he is having anxiety attacks, going against the anxious thoughts he has at these moments. It never occurred to me that it could be used as a low entry level therapy form.

For example, asbestos was found in his house and he became really anxious about it to the point he could not function properly anymore. And he went to chat with ChatGPT about it and it gave him information on asbestos, on how high the chance was of something happening, of the building materials in the houses build in the decade in my specific hometown, etc. And it helped him get through his anxiety attack.

ChatGPT gets a lot of shit and rightfully so I guess but this specific use really surprised me and made me wonder if it could greatly benefit stuff like mental healthcare or learning problems.

Live thread here

Given my ventures into seperatist areas in Europe, I was left with this question. Does a national liberation movement need to 'tick the left wing boxes' so to say for ML's to consider their support, or is support given regardless of political stances?

One movement in particular that caused this question to arise is the Flemish independence movement which is almost entirely filled with right wing nationalists. I do not support their movement. But why? If they wanted to be independent, should I be against that based on their politics? Is that a valid thing to do?

The same thing can be asked with regards to the Basque movement. Should I support them because of their wish to independence regardless of their more left leaning ideologies? Or should the politics be entirely irrelevant in this?

What do you think?

Every week the forecast says us that there will be rain for a few days only for nothing to happen. Today is no exception. The forecast says rain but it is sunny and warm outside. This is going on for months now. We had very little rain. There is a real drought right now. The ground just looks like dust.

Climate change is very real and it frustrates me to no end that virtually nothing is being done. This is not normal weather.

Authorities across Europe are on alert as the first heatwave of the summer pushes temperatures up to 42C (107.6F), as the fastest-warming continent continues to suffer the effects of the climate emergency.

Spain’s state meteorological office, Aemet, issued a special heat warning on Friday, saying temperatures could reach 42C in some southern areas of the country over the coming days.

“Very high and persistent temperatures are expected, both during the day and at night, which could pose a risk to exposed and/or vulnerable people,” Aemet said.

Madrid’s health ministry also warned people to take extra care in the heat, reminding them to stay out of the sun, keep hydrated and pay close attention to those who are older, pregnant or who have chronic health conditions.

Two-thirds of Portugal will be on high alert on Sunday for extreme heat and forest fires as temperatures of up to 42C are expected in Lisbon.

As temperatures in Marseille approach 40C, authorities in France’s second-largest city have ordered public swimming pools to be made free of charge to help residents beat the Mediterranean heat.

With peaks of 39C expected in Naples and Palermo, Sicily has ordered a ban on outdoor work in the hottest hours of the day, as has the Liguria region in northern Italy. The country’s trade unions are campaigning to extend the measure to other regions.

In Venice – which has played host to the lavish three-day wedding celebrations of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez, guests, visitors and protesters are feeling the heat.

“I try not to think about it, but I drink a lot of water and never stay still, because that’s when you get sunstroke,” Sriane Mina, an Italian student, told Agence France-Presse in the city.

As temperatures in Greece approached 40C, a large wildfire broke out south of Athens on Thursday, leading authorities to issue evacuation orders and shut down parts of the coastal road linking the Greek capital to Sounion, location of the ancient Temple of Poseidon, a major tourist attraction.

The heatwave follows a series of broken extreme-heat records, including Europe’s hottest March ever, according to the EU’s Copernicus climate monitor. As a result of the planet’s warming, extreme weather events, including hurricanes, droughts, floods and heatwaves, have become more frequent and intense, scientists warn.

Last year was the hottest in recorded history so far and led to worldwide disasters, costing more than $300bn (£219bn). A Lancet Public Health study published last year found that heat deaths in Europe could triple by the end of the century, with the numbers rising disproportionately in southern countries such as Italy, Greece and Spain.

Deaths from warm weather could kill 129,000 people a year if temperatures rise to 3C above preindustrial levels. Today, heat-related deaths in Europe stand at 44,000.

But the yearly death toll from cold and heat in Europe may rise from 407,000 people today to 450,000 in 2100, even if world leaders meet their global heating target of 1.5C, the study found.

Like, it is considered one of the AES but you virtually never hear anything about it. Last I checked they were busy industrialising the country but that was it.

It's always a boost to see so many people coming together to strike and fight for their rights. Makes me feel not all hope is lost. It's the 7th consecutive monthly strike now.

We will have a break this summer and resume striking on October 14th for which the unions have called up everyone across all working fields.