Hello Yes This Is Dog

the flightless cormorant, sometimes known as the galápagos cormorant, is a unique cormorant species endemic to the galapágos - they are found along the rocky coastlines of the isabela and fernandina islands. they are the only example of a cormorant that has lost the ability to fly through evolution. this evolution initially occurred due to the birds being found on an island free of predators - however, human introduction of cats, dogs, and pigs has made survival more challenging without flight. they are classified in genus nannopterum, alongside the neotropic cormorant & double crested cormorant. they are the largest living member of their family at 2.5–5.0 kg (5.5–11.0 lb), though their wings are approximately one-third of the size that would be necessary for a bird of this weight to take off. the sexes are similar in appearance, with blackish upperparts and a brown underside; however, males are larger and heavier than females. the flightless cormorant’s keel (an extension of the breastbone, where muscles needed for flight attach) is also significantly reduced compared to other cormorants. however, flightless cormorants are still adept hunters whose webbed feet and powerful legs help propel them underwater in pursuit of their prey. these birds feed near the sea floor, with their diet consisting of fish, octopi, and other small marine mammals. surprisingly, despite being birds who feed by diving underwater, the flightless cormorant shares a trait found across cormorants - their feathers are not waterproof. they spend time after each dive drying off in the sunlight in preparation for their next hunt. their hair-like, dense body feathers trap air, which prevents the birds from becoming waterlogged. the flightless cormorant is currently listed as ‘vulnerable’ by the IUCN due to their limited range and population size.

I get that there are probably harmful stereotypes somewhere in there given the other things prokopetz posts sometimes, but this feels like calling out space games for having too much vacuum.

And a couple of Egypt:

And Saudi Arabia:

And Iran:

And Iraq:

And Türkiye/Turkey:

The whole “SAND SAND SAND” this is not only racist, but also incredibly incurious. (Which basically all racism tends to be, to be fair.) I just looked up the names of a few of the first Middle Eastern countries that came to mind, and I found all of these in less time than it took for me to add alt-text to any of them.

Did you know that Band-e Amir National Park in Afghanistan is home to over 170 species of birds, a lot of which have “snow” in their name? Or that the snow leopard is the national animal of Afghanistan? I basically tripped into that information rapidly scrolling Wikipedia without bothering to read anything at length.

Humans need water to live, and sand is terrible for growing crops in. Any non-nomadic population in arid areas is going to settle near rivers, lakes, deltas, oasis (typically much smaller in scale), or mountains.

Ancient Egypt formed around the Nile River and its delta system where it meets the Mediterranean Sea, with the surrounding sands being seen as representative of chaos separate from their civilization. Even the ancient ruins covered in sand are a result of the desertification of the region over the course of the last several centuries as the winds push more and more sand into the settled and formerly-settled areas.

Mesopotamia formed around land with a surprising number of rivers running through it, not to mention the system of wetlands around them (that have been rapidly declining in recent decades due to recent human development, which is why I didn’t include pictures of them). The presumed descendants of the Sumerian people of the region are even known as the Marsh Arabs (with the direct translation of their Arabic name being, “Arabs of the Marshlands”).

The Indus Valley Civilization formed around a river (the Indus) through mountains (hence “Valley”). That may seem a bit further east than what somebody would reflexively count as “Middle Eastern”, but it runs through modern Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Istanbul/Constantinople, the longest-serving capital of the Ottoman Empire, is built on a strait between two bodies of water and where it rains more than 1/3 of days in the year, almost a week more than the number of rainy days New York City gets.

Mexico amends its constitution to cut the maximum workweek from 48 to 40 hours by 2030 and gives 13.5 million workers the legal right to ignore their boss’s calls, messages, and emails after their shift ends, in the most significant overhaul of Mexican labor law in a generation.

STARTING OFF. BAD.

Why is that you might ask. Well you see. There are many Rules and Laws and Regulations about the use and exchange of personal healthcare data.

Which is why of course this guy, seeing a well-thought-out and tested technical position, decided "what if i get all of them at once and also the 2FA codes and stored them ALL in the same place with no encryption whatsoever"

So some fanartist drew a “sexy” (read: booby) version of a (cartoon) character who is traditionally very non-sexualised. Fans of the character got mad about it because it’s kind of groundbreaking how that character is written and portrayed and this art totally ignores the entire point of the character. They demanded the art be deleted. In response to that other people said, well what the fanartist did may be distateful but they have every right to draw what they’re into. The two sides fight for days and each starts a harassment campaign and even report their “opponents’” accounts.

So far so typical. But things eventually come to a head and they decide that this will be settled by votes - not through a poll. Through donations to a children’s education charity via each side’s portal. Whoever can get the highest amount of donation wins.