Suspect Accused of Hacking Climate Activists Appears in Court

Private investigator accused of running a global hacking-for-hire operation that targeted environmental activists makes his first appearance before a U.S. federal judge

Gift article

Extreme Weather Is Sending Home Insurance Rates Through the Roof; Big Oil Should Pay | Common Dreams ​We and a growing number of lawmakers are proposing legislation to ensure that the companies that helped drive the climate crisis help pay their fair share of the ensuing damage.

"The average American homeowner isn’t responsible for this climate chaos; why are they the ones picking up the tab for the billions of dollars of damage it leaves in its wake?" @commondreams.org www.commondreams.org/opinion/big-...

Excellent, important reporting illuminating the origins & coordinated nature of state legislation aiming to shield the fossil fuel industry from liability for climate damages

Headline at The Guardian illustrated with an ominous looking photo of a roiling stormy seascape: "Critical Atlantic current significantly more likely to collapse than thought" Subheadline reads: "Scientists say finding is ‘very concerning’ as collapse would be catastrophic for Europe, Africa and the Americas"

Turns out, we *really* needed that last decade of lost climate action that Trump has wasted.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Critical Atlantic current significantly more likely to collapse than thought Scientists say finding is ‘very concerning’ as collapse would be catastrophic for Europe, Africa and the Americas

Critical Atlantic current significantly more likely to collapse than thought

- Scientists say finding is ‘very concerning’ as collapse would be catastrophic for Europe, Africa and the Americas

#AMOC #climatecrisis
Story by me

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Shoplifting rife, police overwhelmed, an angry public … the trail leads back to one person: Theresa May | Dal Babu I have seen up-close the fallout of the disastrous policing decisions May made as home secretary. We need to urgently restore the force to what it once was, says former chief superintendent Dal Babu

Between 2010 and 2016 austerity reduced "police numbers by almost 22,000 officers and more than 20,000 police staff – which included police community support officers"

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Sharing again for visibility: those shoeless hippies at the, uh, European Central Bank have urged states to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels, highlighting their volatility.

something strange and horrible and somehow fitting that we should have a very real threat of madman civilizational destruction at the very moment when we also have humans on the dark side of the moon taking pictures that show how small, precious, and beautiful our world and existence is

A necessary deep dive into the long dystopian history of a world in which a succession of old guys of varying mental stability have easy access to the means to destroy the planet in minutes, by @rebeccajohn.bsky.social

Trump threats cause dilemma for US officers: disobey orders or commit war crimes Legal experts say attacking Iran’s infrastructure would constitute a war crime – but would military officers be held responsible?

A must-read from @julianborger.bsky.social

Trump threats cause dilemma for US officers: disobey orders or commit war crimes

This will be exhibit A in future war crimes trials if he carries out his threats. Tragically, it's those following the manifestly unlawful orders that are the ones most likely to be held to account.

When you have Madge calling for the 25th Amendment….

As an 18-yr-old army engineer, former Sec Def William Perry, now 98, saw firsthand the aftermath of the firebombing of Tokyo. “When I saw the devastation, I lost all illusion of what a wonderful thing war was.”

@airmail.news

What If a President Goes Nuclear? Inside the United States' nuclear codes protocol.

“Having a ‘madman’ in the WHouse is a wake-up call to the frightening reality that when it comes to nuclear weapons, presidents have almost complete autonomy with essentially no institutional checks and balances” says @tomcollina.bsky.social author of The Button w frmr Sec Def William Perry

This is my favorite climate change chart. Japanese monks, aristocrats, and emperors kept meticulous records of cherry blossom festivals for 1,200 years and accidentally built the world's longest climate dataset.

Singapore's Minister For Foriegn Affairs tells Reuters "the entire global economy has been taken hostage" by US war on Iran.

"Basically, [the US] the underwriter of this world order has now become a revisionist power, and some people would even say a disruptor."

A top climate scientist just resigned from NASA. Here's why Climate scientist Kate Marvel talked to Scientific American about her decision to leave NASA amid federal government turmoil and funding challenges

"Science[is] under attack, simply because it is a way of seeking the truth", says climate scientist @drkatemarvel.bsky.social, who has resigned from NASA

#climatecrisis
HT @carbonbrief.org
www.scientificamerican.com/article/top-...

Remembering Aretha Franklin on her birthday.
💜 🙏🏼 🎵 🎹🎤

The West’s heatwave ‘virtually impossible without climate change’ - High Country News Climate researchers found the region’s extreme weather is caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels.

Extreme heat continues to grip the West, and Big Oil is to blame.

"The climate crisis, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels, has made this kind of heatwave four times more likely to occur over the last decade," according to a new analysis by scientists at @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social.

E.P.A. Chief to Headline Event by Group That Says There’s No Climate Crisis

E.P.A. Chief to Headline Event by Group That Says There’s No Climate Crisis 😡😡 www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/c...

Right‑wing populists like Farage & Trump take huge donations🤑 from the fossil fuels industry & work for their paymasters. Truth is transition to green energy is a cost‑of‑living policy:
✅️cheaper renewables
✅️better home insulation
✅️energy security due to less exposure to volatile oil & gas prices

Attacks on synagogues and Jewish shops in the UK, Europe and the US don’t hurt Netanyahu. They just hurt ordinary Jews | Jonathan Freedland Too many want to cast acts of violence and antisemitism as blows against Israel’s government. But the fear and terror land on real people, thousands of miles away, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Fre...

"Jews," "Muslims," "races," or other groups are not somehow mind-linked, sharing plots in secret. This nonsense has to stop.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

My latest tracking the long and drawn out case of alleged Exxon hacker-for-hire Amit Forlit. Arrested under an Interpol Red Notice in 2024, Forlit's request to appeal against extradition was denied today making it more likely he will face trial in the US.

@desmog.com

As alleged Exxon hacker-for-hire loses appeal bid against extradition read the long history of corporate spying here @airmail.news

Breaking: UK Court Paves Way for Alleged Exxon Hacker-for-Hire’s Extradition to U.S. Israeli private eye Amit Forlit denied appeal in decision that could lead to his facing a maximum of 45 years in prison if found guilty.

📍BREAKING📍 UK High Court denies an appeal for alleged Exxon “hack-for-hire” operator. Prosecutors say the Israeli private investigator targeted critics of Big Oil.
He denies it. Now he'll face trial and possibly 45 years in prison. Read the full story:

London, San Francisco and Beijing achieve ‘remarkable reductions’ in air pollution Cycle lanes, electric cars and other interventions have helped 19 global cities slash levels of pollutants by more than 20%

London, San Francisco and Beijing achieve ‘remarkable reductions’ in #airpollution

- Cycle lanes, electric cars and other interventions have helped 19 global cities slash levels of pollutants by more than 20%

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

From the archives: Jimmy Carter's "Moral Equivalent of War" speech YouTube video by CBS News

1973 OPEC cut oil production triggering inflation. 1979 Iran revolution boosts oil prices.

Jimmy Carter began moving away from oil to renewables. (Solar panels on WH roof). Oil money helps start the Conservative Movement propaganda. Reagan took those panels down.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHi9...

CCC: Fossil fuel price shocks cost the UK more than delivering net zero emails.businessgreen.com/businessgree...

Reaching net zero by 2050 ‘cheaper for UK than one fossil fuel crisis’ Climate change committee finds move to renewable energy would also bring health, economic and security benefits

"Achieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050 will cost less than a single oil shock and bring health and economic benefits while insulating the country against future costs, the government’s climate advisers have forecast."

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

The Many Lives of James Lovelock by Jonathan Watts

This just arrived by @jonathan-watts.bsky.social 100 pages in and it’s excellent!