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MikeCrang

@crangma.bsky.social
159 followers 138 following 96 posts

Geographer, mostly posting about work. @geogdurham.bsky.social

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Coach Finstock @coachfinstock.bsky.social · 22h
It's so funny that MapQuest was all but counted out on the mat after taking a beating from Google Maps and Apple Maps but they navigated (lol) this current fuckshit political climate like a fucking boss. Kudos to whomever decided they should position themselves as WokeMaps
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Oliver Bullough @oliverbullough.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Re the Sally Rooney news, I was looking up data on arrests under terrorism legislation the other day, and hadn't quite realised how utterly bonkers the effect of the Palestine Action prohibition had been. That big purple spike is basically all PA-related arrests.
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Dolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
PhD #envhum Course on "New Approaches to Waste" Online course organised by @greenhouseuis.net. Meeting dates: 30 November–2 December 2026 and 3–4 February 2027. Program of lectures, book talks, discussion sessions, student presentations, and digital fieldtrips. www.uis.no/en/research/...
Collage showing a crane lifting a glas jar with plants growing in it. Two birds flying. Other glass jars behind.
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The Times of Central Asia @timesca.com · 13/10/2026
Uzbekistan says the Amu Darya is not drying up, but lower downstream flows keep water pressure in focus ow.ly/V7lB50ZXhgI #AmuDarya #WaterSecurity #CentralAsia #Uzbekistan #WaterResources
ow.ly
Uzbekistan Rejects Claims That the Amu Darya Is Drying Up - The Times Of Central Asia
Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Water Resources has rejected claims circulating on social media that the Amu Darya River is drying up. The ministry said water
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Nils Gilman @nilsgilman.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
“When U.S. labs ingest the world’s writing without permission, it’s hailed as transformative innovation. When Chinese labs do the exact same thing to U.S. models, it’s a ‘malicious and targeted’ campaign ‘to extract proprietary functionality & reasoning capabilities.’” There is no defensible moat….
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MikeCrang @crangma.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
The Caspian Sea has been shrinking for decades. Now, a new island has emerged | Euronews share.google/gakCtYrPC9at...
share.google
New island emerges in Caspian Sea as water levels continue to fall
Scientists warn that parts of the northern Caspian could face an Aral Sea-like scenario, while climate change and human water use are adding pressure on the region.
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Davenant 📸 @marcdavenant.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
‘Fish and Ships in North East England’, a fascinating documentary of a lost world in North Shields and Cullercoats just before Thatcher took a sledgehammer to it all. youtu.be/2si49AFf_AU...
youtu.be
1979: Fish and Ships in North East England | A Diary of Britain | Classic Documentary | BBC Archive
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Feena van @feenavan2099.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
"Before Stonehenge was raised, before Egypts first pyramid broke ground,before the Nazca people drew their famous lines across the Peruvian desert,someone in what is now southern Arizona shaped a 272-foot fish into the earth On April 23,2026,"a border-wall contractor drove heavy equipment across it"
gadgetreview.com
Trump's Border Wall Construction Destroys 6,500-Year-Old Arizona Geoglyph – Older Than Stonehenge
Arizona's 6,500-year-old Las Playas Intaglio, the oldest dated geoglyph in the Americas, was irreparably damaged by border wall construction in April 2026.
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Cold War Steve @coldwarsteve.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
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Spooky Snigdha @snig.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The Conservative party's joke Bayeaux Tapestry, whilst having some funny moments, is basically cringe. What is unforgiveable is the racism. #ToryRacism [H/T @eberlmat.bsky.social @generalboles.bsky.social @seanjones.org]
Part of the border of a scene from the Conservative party's joke Bayeaux Tapestry
Migrants who are clearly not white in a small boat
Rats from the small boat chase cats
Tax payers lying on the ground dead
The implication being the migrants brought disease with themA scene from the Conservative party's joke Bayeaux Tapestry
Keir Starmer giving money and a key to some non white peopleA scene from the Conservative party's joke Bayeaux Tapestry
Kemi Badenoch giving a key to a white couple
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Iain Soutar @isoutar.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Summer in UK academia. A play in two acts.
A bbc article with the headline "University campus scraps geography admissions"A guardian article "UK universities rankedby subject area: earth and marine sciences". Exeter places third.
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Iain Soutar @isoutar.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Since the announcement of redundancies at the start of summer, we lost 10 staff from 20 from our Centre for Geography and Environmental Science. Let's hope things improve at Exeter...
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MikeCrang @crangma.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
WTAF
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Geography at Durham @geogdurham.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
We’re excited to be part of @beinghumanfest.bsky.social this year with @teessideuni.bsky.social and @nationaltrust.org.uk. Read about our hub programme, now live at: www.beinghumanfestival.org/being-human-.... Being Human is the UK’s national festival of the humanities.
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Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Measuringe the value of educacioun by returne on ynvestment onlye ys lyke measuringe the value of a garden by the weight of the floweres
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Tim Daw @timdaw.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Historic England vanishing archive - details of why it is broken : www.sarsen.org/2026/09/hist...
sarsen.org
Historic England’s Vanishing Archive
Not just the aerials. The lot. Historic England still holds the negatives, the prints and the scans. What the public lost, in early Sept...
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MikeCrang @crangma.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
👀👀👀
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MikeCrang @crangma.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Noticing Nature: Women’s ‘Walkshop’. This outdoor workshop will involve short walks, pauses and creative activities in and around the grounds of Ormesby Hall www.beinghumanfestival.org/events/notic...
beinghumanfestival.org
Noticing Nature: Women’s ‘Walkshop’
Join Tees Valley Wildlife Trust poet-in-residence Kirsten Luckins for a mindful creative ‘walkshop’ for women, exploring nature around Ormesby Hall, one of the key places along the Tees to Topping Gre...
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MikeCrang @crangma.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Tees to Topping community scrapbook: We are collecting residents' photos and memories of places from the River Tees to Roseberry Topping www.beinghumanfestival.org/events/tees-...
beinghumanfestival.org
Tees to Topping community scrapbook
Submit your photos and memories of places from the River Tees to Roseberry Topping. As part of Green Corridors North East, we are looking for local residents to share photos and memories of parks and ...
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MikeCrang @crangma.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Being Human, Sensing Nature: A Creative Walk in Durham's Green Corridor! Explore the natural and cultural heritage through creative methods, photos, and sound recording, from Crook Hall to Finchale Priory, Sun 8 Nov 10:00–14:00 & Sat 14 Nov 10:00–14:00 www.beinghumanfestival.org/events/being...
beinghumanfestival.org
Being Human, Sensing Nature: A Creative Walk in Durham's Green Corridor!
Join us for a creative walk in the Durham City Green Corridor (DCGC)! We’ll explore the natural and cultural heritage of Durham through creative methods: writing haikus, recording sounds and taking ph...
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MikeCrang @crangma.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
We will experiment with poetry and print-making leading up to a Green Zine Day at MIMA on Sunday 15th November with local artists Kirsten Luckins (Tees Valley Wildlife Trust poet-in-residence), Alyson Agar, and Tees Zine Works www.beinghumanfestival.org/events/green...
beinghumanfestival.org
Green Zine Day
Join Tees Zine Works for a ‘green’ zine making workshop, inspired by and using elements of poetry and photography collected during three community ‘walkshops’ along the Tees to Topping and Durham City...
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MikeCrang @crangma.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
We are pleased to share that our Green Corridors North East hub programme, part of Being Human Festival (5-14 November 2026), is now live! www.beinghumanfestival.org/being-human-...
beinghumanfestival.org
Being Human: Green Corridors North East
Led by Teesside University, Durham University and the National Trust
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Sixth Tone @sixthtone.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
After once leaving rural China behind, two filmmakers returned to document the farmers and workers whose stories are fading from view as the countryside changes. ow.ly/Tcjl50ZPoYa
ow.ly
Two Filmmakers, 1,100 Villages, and a Race to Record Rural China
After once leaving rural China behind, two filmmakers returned to document the farmers and workers whose stories are fading from view as the countryside changes.
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Here's a chart from the post.... quite a change in a single generation.
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eliko thalia @museinrevolt.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
just learned this today
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MikeCrang @crangma.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
wonkhe.com/wonk-corner/...
wonkhe.com
Students feel free to speak – unless they’re training to be doctors
Elsewhere on the site today I’ve been picking through the Office for Students’ (OfS) consultation on its two new free speech conditions of registration.
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Side @sidegallery.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
🎬 Starting tomorrow and running all weekend: “Voices From Here” brings six decades of Amber Films to Durham Folk Festival. 📍 Redhills Durham Miners Hall 📅 18 to 20 Sept 🕐 1 to 4pm daily 🎟️ Free More info: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
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Enough Of That Now @andygilder.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Trump becomes the first orange man to support a united Ireland
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Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
I'm glad folks keep noting the egregiously stark contrast in legal regard for GenAI companies vs Aaron Swartz
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A Demon Named Sam Kurd @samkurd.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Meanwhile, this was an arrest for planning to stop traffic in protest: www.theguardian.com/environment/... When the fash spread their propaganda about a two-tier justice system, the ironic thing is that they're right, it's just not set up in the way they say it is.
theguardian.com
Five Just Stop Oil activists receive record sentences for planning to block M25
Campaigners receive longest ever sentences for non-violent protest after being convicted of conspiracy to cause public nuisance
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Chris Addison @mrchrisaddison.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Somewhere in England, a tired man turns off Channel 4 news and wearily puts on a bin.
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Daniel Moser @dmoser.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.
Map showing Lower Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.
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Durham University @durham.ac.uk · 02/09/2026
@geogdurham.bsky.social researchers have used freely available satellite radar images to track emperor penguins in polar winter – giving a year-round view of their movements that could support conservation efforts 🐧 Discover more about this amazing work 👉 tinyurl.com/2zv9zdj9
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Stars and Stripes @starsandstripes.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
A civilian geography professor was fired from West Point for pushing back after department officials barred faculty from teaching that humans contribute to climate change.
stripes.com
West Point professor fired after pushing back on limitations to teaching climate change, lawsuit says
Adam Kalkstein pushed back after department officials barred faculty from teaching that humans contribute to climate change, the lawsuit says.
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Alex Prichard @profalexp.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
A thread on the dispute at Exeter Uni. #ucu #defendexeteruni @ucu.org.uk On 15 June HR called Exeter UCU into a confidential meeting and informed us they would be putting over 500 colleagues at risk of redundancy and expected to loose around 200 staff. The number of c.150 you’ll have seen is FTE.
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Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun @eaterofsun.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
According to official statistics, If you include the emissions associated with everything consumed in the UK, no matter where it is made, the total in 2023 (most recent year for which figures are available) is 699 Mt CO2e. That is a 24% reduction since 1990. www.ons.gov.uk/economy/envi...
ons.gov.uk
Measuring UK greenhouse gas emissions - Office for National Statistics
Outline of the three measures of UK greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: territorial, residence and footprint, used for policies, including domestic and international targets.
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Polly Pallister-Wilkins @pollypw.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
"Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye, Rosalita, Adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria; You won't have your names when you ride the big airplane, All they will call you will be "deportees" Goodbye Dolly. I hope you and Woody are having a jam session right now. youtu.be/CEPUxpR64YE?...
youtu.be
Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)
YouTube video by Dolly Parton - Topic
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Sixth Tone @sixthtone.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Thomas Sauvin’s archive of discarded family negatives captures an era when 36 photos could document years of birthdays, travel, and everyday life. www.sixthtone.com/news/1018921
sixthtone.com
China Before the Infinite Camera Roll
Thomas Sauvin’s archive of discarded family negatives captures an era when 36 photos could document years of birthdays, travel, and everyday life.
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Tony - Pod Guy - Groves @tonygroves.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
BBC invited Palestinian writer, researcher and analyst Muhammad Shehada on to talk about Israel’s decision to investigate the killing of Hind Rajab. Below is Muhammad’s account of what happened next. Full disclosure: I know him years and he’s a regular on the pod. So naturally I believe him 100%.
@muhammadshehad2
Disappointed the BBC cancelled my interview on
Israel's killing of Hind Rajab
2 producers eagerly reached out. They confirmed the time & one called to prepare a brief for the anchor
She asked me whether Israel's announcement is positive, I explained in detail it was a cover up.
The IDF is blaming the killing of Hind, her uncle, aunt & 4 cousins on the family itself for trying to flee by car & on the ambulance sent to rescue her for "failures in the co-ordination of the movement."
None of this is remotely true! The Red Cross immediately informed the IDF about 5-year-old Hind who was hiding in that motionless car, & they requested permission from Israel to allow an ambulance to rescue them.
After multiple long hours, Israel granted greenlight to the ambulance & provided them with a designated route on a GPS to drive on.soon as the ambulance reached Hind's car, the IDF ambushed & bombed them immediately with an American made anti-tank missile then opened fire on Hind's car. The car was hit with 355 bullets.
Israel then kept that area under lockdown for 12 days, & prevented anyone from approaching.
Hind's mom went daily to the Ahli baptist hospital hoping to find her daughter, until her lifeless body was brought in along with the charred remains of the ambulance men.
Israel then claimed after an "initial investigation" that its troops were NEVER in that area to begin with. They maintained that claim for 2 years despite ample recordings & satellite images debunking this lie.
The only reason Israel is now making this new announcement of a deeper investigation is to shield its soldiers & generals from the International Criminal Court by invoking the principle of "complementarity;" that the ICC cannot investigate a state that is already investigating itself in good faith.I told the BBC producer Israel today also quietly shut down the investigation into the triple tap killing of American, Canadian, British, Australian & Polish citizens in the WCK massacre. Israel blamed the massacre on the aid workers themselves for "deviating from the predesignated route" & for hiring an armed security guard "without informing the IDF" (both claims where debunked by WCK themselves, who had coordinates their every step with the IDF).
I told the producer the Israeli commander responsible for this massacre, Nochi Mendel, is a fanatical settler who had signed a petition calling for starving Gaza & that he was celebrated by settler leaders & supported by Israeli government leaders after what he did.
Mendel even received a box of chocolate from the settler council's leader & a letter of support for what he did.
Mendel was initially dismissed by the IDF & blamed for the massacre, but was quickly & quietly reinstated & promoted in the Defence Ministry as the head of the settlements and notionol infroctrunturo unitIt's abundantly clear Israel is NOT serious about prosecuting any of the atrocities committed in Gaza. Since the genocide began, only two soldiers were punished by the IDF; one for microwaving a living frog & another for cooking sausages in the army kitchen on Shabbat.
The producer asked me: What about the 150 cases the IDF said are pending review?
I answered: it's just a number designed to give the appearance of seriousness, but it's essentially meaningless.
If it took the IDF two whole years to admit the simplest of facts that the entire world had already known, which is that their troops were the ones who fired on Hind Rajab's car, how do you expect them to do with the remaining cases that are not as high profile?
Five minutes after the call, the producer wrote me that they decided to cancel the interview & will not even host anyone else to comment on the issue, & instead they'll play archival footage!
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MikeCrang @crangma.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
A Waginar surely?
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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
£6.3bn really is a huge gap for unis to fill on research each year It's sometimes said that's what QR is for, but QR is part of the calculation: without it the gap would be close to £9bn The biggest way that gap is filled is international student fees (yellow bar), but we all know how that's going
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Saganism @sagan.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
41 years ago, Carl Sagan gave a clear and elegant explanation of the science behind global warming.
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Benjamin Braun @benbraun.social · 12/08/2026
"FT has found evidence of controlled detonations and demolitions by Israeli forces and civilian contractors in dozens of border communities." Most of the destruction happened *after* the April ceasefire when territory was already under Israeli control (dark red dots). www.ft.com/content/25bc...
FT Visual investigation
How Israel is making southern Lebanon ‘unliveable’
Israeli forces have systematically destroyed homes, roads, farmland and forests despite ceasefire with Hizbollah
Patterns of destruction before and after the first ceasefire
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Internet Archive @archive.org · 03/08/2026
Libraries pay millions to rent ebooks they never own. So maybe it's no surprise Penguin Random House is sponsoring arguments against stronger library ebook rights. www.libraryjournal.com/story/news/m...
libraryjournal.com
Moving Beyond the Publisher Playbook: Why State-Level Contract Law is Essential to the Future of Digital Library Rights
The era of mere “firefighting” and polite, incremental negotiation is over. The library sector is asking for relief from ebook pricing schemes that consume tremendous amounts of public dollars while p...
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Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
"In 2022, Wiley removed over 1,300 ebooks from academic library collections; [they said] perpetual access is not an option for subscribed content. In 2025, Clarivate,... announced they would stop offering libraries perpetual access licenses for ebooks and primary-source digital collections."
arl.org
Consumers Are Worried About the Loss of Physical Media Ownership. Libraries Are Leading the Conversation. — Association of Research Libraries
Sally Sax is head, Collection Strategy and Partnerships, MacOdrum Library, Carleton University. In a recent Atlantic Monthly article about Sony’s plan to end physical sales of PlayStation console game...
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Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies @durhamchina.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Everyday Elegance: Daily Lives of Women in Late Qing China This exhibition at Durham University's Oriental Museum explores the daily lives of women who lived in urban communities in Late Qing China—what they wore, what they ate, what they did for work and for fun. www.durham.ac.uk/things-to-do...
Poster for Durham University's Oriental Museum exhibition, Everyday Elegance: Daily Lives of Women in Late Qing China (16 May–20 September 2026). The poster features four decorative objects on a dark wooden background: a gold pendant necklace, a round embroidered yellow pouch, a blue floral hairpin, and a purple embroidered fabric band with colorful flowers. The title appears in English and Chinese on the left.
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Clive Lewis MP @labourlewis.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
4/4 That's why I've signed @rachaelmaskell.bsky.social parliamentary motion, calling on the Office for Students to investigate institutions accused of undermining pension rights, and on the Government to take action to prevent pension cuts and a race to the bottom across higher education.
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Geography at Durham @geogdurham.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Durham Geography is devastated by the sad news of the death of our dear friend and enormously respected and much-loved colleague, Sarah Knuth, after an incredibly brave battle with cancer. Our thoughts go out to her family and close friends. We will miss her immensely.
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Patrick Bigger @pmbigger.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
The world is a little dimmer today. Writing this for my friend and colleague Sarah Knuth was agonizing and we miss her so much, but we also celebrate Sarah's memory and push forward on the struggles that she cared about so deeply. climateandcommunity.org/bio/sarah-kn...
climateandcommunity.org
Sarah Knuth (In Memoriam) - Climate and Community Institute
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⚸ Gingersnapped 🐺🌕🎃 @gingerspiced.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Pete Hegseth: "We need our warriors to embrace the Spartan mindset" U.S. Military: *suffers crushing defeat to the Persians*
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