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From Offaly Live

The barn owl population in North Tipperary has seen an increase for the first time in 15 years, Cllr Michael O'Meara told a recent meeting of Nenagh Municipal District.

“The County Council deserves praise for this,” the Councillor said. “They have been very pro-active and have handed out barn owl boxes to communities throughout the county. In my area, in Lorrha/Rathcabbin, we have erected the boxes and it's been great to see barn owls using them. There are now seven breeding pairs in the Lower Ormond area. Very near where I live there's a breeding pair with three chicks.”

The Councillor appealed to members of the public to not use rodenticides “because they are a big killer of barn owls. Unfortunately, in winter rodenticides are used more.

“If people want to take part in the barn owl conservation project they can contact me. The Acres scheme is a tremendous scheme."

ACRES = Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme

This new €1.5 billion flagship agri-environment scheme is a farmer-friendly scheme to help address biodiversity decline while delivering an income support for up to 50,000 farm families in Ireland.

The owl part of the program seems fairly straightforward. Install up to 2 barn owl boxes meeting the requirements and receive €36.48/year per box. Here is a picture of the officially designed box:

The guides they provide look very helpful, and I love they took the important steps to try and reduce rodent poison exposure. I don't know how well that is actually enforced, but at least they're trying!

Here are the guidelines of the program

Barn Owl Nest Box

Objective

This action provides safe and secure artificial nesting sites for Barn Owls in suitable locations.

Background The Barn Owl is the most threatened species of owl in Ireland and is on the Red list of ‘Birds of Conservation Concern in Ireland’. Barn Owl populations have been affected by changes in land use, the loss of suitable prey-rich habitat and nest sites, and the increased use of rodenticides. There can be significant benefits for Barn Owl and other wildlife by providing safe and secure nesting sites in the form of nest boxes in suitable locations, creating and enhancing habitat and reducing the risk of secondary poisoning through best practice rodent control measures.

Site suitability

Although Barn Owl nest boxes can be provided on any farm which has a suitable location, nest boxes are of most value in areas where Barn Owls are more abundant and where there may be less nest sites available. These areas are shown on the Barn Owl suitability map inthe Barn Owl nest box guidance document available on https://www.gov.ie/ACRES. Outside of these areas, nest box/es for Kestrel can be provided as an alternative to Barn Owl nest box/es. A design template for a kestrel nest box is shown in Appendix 2.

Other actions that should be considered to complement this action are Grass margins – Grassland; Grass margins – Arable, Low input grassland, Winter bird food, Over winter stubble, and Unharvested cereal headlands. Actions that can be selected on the same LPIS or split of parcel are: Brassica fodder stubble, Catch crops, Coppicing of hedgerows, Environmental management of arable fallow, Extensively grazed pasture, Geese and swans, Grass margins – arable, Grass margins – grassland, Laying of hedgerows, Low input grassland, Low input peat grassland.

Management of intensive grassland next to a watercourse, Minimum tillage, Over winter stubble, Planting a new hedgerow, Planting a traditional orchard, Planting trees in riparian buffer zones, Protection and maintenance of archaeological monuments – arable, Protection and maintenance of archaeological monuments – grassland, Riparian buffer strip – arable, Riparian buffer strip – grassland, Riparian buffer zone – arable, Riparian buffer zone – grassland, Ryegrass seed set as winter food for birds, Tradititional dry stone wall maintenance, Tree belts for ammonia capture from farmyards, Tree planting, Unharvested cereal headlands, Winter bird food plot, Winter bird food strip.

Requirements

1. Install new Barn Owl/Kestrel nest box(es) by 31 July 2023.

2. A minimum of one nest box and a maximum of two may be applied for.

3. The location(s) of the nest box/es must be clearly marked on the map submitted. The box(es) must be maintained in the same position for the duration \of the contract.

4. Nest boxes must be placed at least 3 metres above ground level.

5. Barn Owl/Kestrel nest boxes can be placed indoors or outdoors and therefore must be of suitable design informed by the location/s selected. See Appendix 1/Appendix 2 and Barn Owl nest box guidance document.

6. If rodenticides are used, you must implement an Integrated Pest Management approach to rodent control on your farm. Their use must be justified and used in accordance with the product label and records maintained regarding their use.

7. While Barn Owl nest box/es must not be located within 500m of a motorway or dual carriageway and must be below 300m in altitude (altitude above sea level), this does not apply to Kestrel boxes.

8. Once in place, the nest box/es must not be approached. It is an offence to cause disturbance to a breeding pair or at the nest site. Essential maintenance is permitted during the month of December only.

Additional guidance

• The Barn Owl is very sensitive to disturbance - their presence may be discrete and visiting the nest box at any time of the year can cause detrimental disturbance. Although the main nesting period is March to August, they can nest at any time of the year.

• If essential maintenance of the nest box is required to ensure the nest box remains suitable for Barn Owl (e.g. removing sticks from the nest box or securing it in position), this should be carried out in the month of December only, unless the circumstances warrant immediate action. Please refer to the Barn Owl Nest Box Guidance document.

• In order to monitor populations, you can register your nest box/es with BirdWatch Ireland https://birdwatchireland.ie/ barn-owl-survey. This information will be kept confidential and will help to monitor the uptake of nest boxes and to understand the health of Barn Owl populations across the country.

• Two people should always be present when installing/maintaining a Barn Owl box (one person to hold the ladder).

Further information: The Barn Owl nest box guidance document prepared by BirdWatch Ireland contains all the information you need on nest boxes (including an instructional video, design plans and information on the construction, installation, placement and monitoring of nest boxes), how to identify if your farm is suitable for this action, information on rodent control measures and contact details for advice relating to this action.

There's also a more in depth document here. It has many pictures of building and install options for the house.

Donald Trump on Tuesday pushed NATO members to boost their defense spending to five percent of GDP, underlining his long-standing claims that they are underpaying for US protection.

"They can all afford it, but they should be at five percent not two percent," the incoming US president told reporters.

"Europe is in for a tiny fraction of the money that we're in," Trump said. "We have a thing called the ocean in between us, right? Why are we in for billions and billions of dollars more money than Europe?"

Trump has long been skeptical of NATO, the cornerstone of security in Europe since World War II, and last month reiterated a familiar threat to leave the alliance if its members did not step up spending.

The transatlantic alliance's 32 countries in 2023 set a minimum level for defense spending of two percent of gross domestic product, and Russia's war in Ukraine has jolted NATO to strengthen its eastern flank and ramp up spending.

Trump is not the only top official to call for an increase -- NATO chief Mark Rutte likewise said last month that "we are going to need a lot more than two percent." Rutte also warned that European nations were not prepared for the threat of future war with Russia, calling on them to "turbocharge" their defense spending.

In his remarks on Tuesday, Trump claimed that President Joe Biden decided Ukraine should be able to join NATO, suggesting that this helped lead to Russia's all-out invasion in February 2022. "Somewhere along the line, Biden said, no, they should be able to join NATO. Well, Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I could understand their feeling about that," Trump said.

NATO allies in reality agreed to Ukrainian membership in 2008 -- when Republican president George W. Bush was in office -- while the United States and Germany have more recently backed away from allowing Kyiv to join out of fear it could drag the alliance into a war with Russia.

The conflict "should have never been started," Trump said Tuesday, adding: "I guarantee you, if I were president, (the) war would have never happened."

“For all the African heads of states, who facing the public opinion didn’t have the courage” to acknowledge the role France played, “none of them would be a sovereign country today if the French army hadn’t deployed in the region,” Macron said in a speech to the country’s diplomatic corps on Monday. “I think someone forgot to say thank you.”

My youngest isn't old enough to be a scout but still wants to keep up with the older siblings. So we are including a siblings-only class at this year's Pinewood Derby, and this first-timer is getting a little extra help from dad.

Are there any other scout dads here on Lemmy? I don't imagine it's a large demographic here.

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17930532

This one is very shocking, there's lots of things it covers: Abuse in general, religious abuse, psychological abuse, self harm, fat{phobia/misia}, misogyny, power dynamics etc. We still recommend watching it if you can deal with those things and the content warnings in the video because it shows the truth of the companies behind your favourite games and the systems which demand inexpense which leads to abuse and other awful things.

I modelled and printed a custom mount for my portable monitor for my deck, it's surprisingly comfortable to hold

Urban farming is often heralded as a practical solution to food deserts, providing fresh produce to communities where unjust urban planning and policy have limited access to nutritious options. But urban farms can also sow seeds that grow far beyond the garden beds.

In Baltimore’s Curtis Bay neighborhood, Filbert Street Garden is showing the power of community-led transformation. Once an overgrown lot, it has evolved into a vibrant community hub, thanks to the dedication of Black farmers like Brittany Coverdale, whose passion for racial and environmental justice led her to the garden coordinator role at Filbert Street Garden.

Fifty years into the project of modeling Earth’s future climate, we still don’t really know what’s coming. Some places are warming with more ferocity than expected. Extreme events are taking scientists by surprise. Right now, as the bald reality of climate change bears down on human life, scientists are seeing more clearly the limits of our ability to predict the exact future we face. The coming decades may be far worse, and far weirder, than the best models anticipated.

The king who has never cried. A juggling court jester who lives to bring joy. It's a royal conundrum the likes of which this medieval fantasy realm may never see again. Is there any way for the man who has everything to finally experience sadness?

I federali indagano sulla "Actual Smart Summon" di Tesla dopo diversi incidenti

La National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ha avviato un'indagine su 2,56 milioni di veicoli Tesla dopo diversi incidenti che hanno coinvolto la funzione di parcheggio a distanza "Actual Smart Summon" della casa automobilistica

https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/07/feds-investigate-teslas-actual-smart-summon-after-several-crashes/

@informatica

Summary

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon temporarily blocked the release of special counsel Jack Smith's report on Donald Trump's criminal cases.

The injunction will last until three days after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rules on a related case involving Trump co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira.

Nauta and De Oliveira argue that releasing the report could jeopardize their right to a fair trial.

Cannon, who previously ruled Smith's appointment unconstitutional, issued the order to "preserve the status quo" pending appellate decisions.

DigitalCore is a general tracker with decent amount of torrents. It has 1,422,961 torrents with 203,212 active torrents.

It has a good flow of scene and p2p releases. This tracker offers 7 days of free leech upon signup, otherwise they do offer a 24h free leech for every torrent that is uploaded. They also have a nice leech bonus system. Share 1tb data (and keep sharing) and get sitewide free leech.

• Web IRC: https://irc.digitalcore.club:9000/
• Sign-up: https://digitalcore.club/signup/

Stats:

• Registered users 12,628
• Torrents 1,422,961
• Active Torrents 203,212
• New Torrents Today 919
• Peers 337,633
• Peers record 433,128
• Seeders 363,033
• Leechers 5,294
• Requests filled 2,255
• Total requests 2,318
• Active users in the past 15 min 132
• Active users in the past day 1376
• Online IRC Users 205
• Online IRC announce channel users 529

A few notes:

• This still needs to pass the Senate and be signed by the President to become law
• If it does become law, it allows deportation based on accusation, rather than conviction
• Current law requires allows for deportation if convicted of two different non-violent crimes

Based on the 2008 computer animated film from Pixar Animation Studios, the video game version of WALL-E involves playing as the lonely robot as he navigates a trash-tainted world and begins an unlikely trek across the cosmos. Gameplay consists of using WALL-E's distinct abilities to create "cubes" used to build platforms or to create distractions. In addition to solving puzzles throughout the solo adventure, up to four players can compete in mini-games ranging from timed races through space to competitive battles.

It’s interesting that the instructions want you to cup your hands around the nipple instead of just spraying yourself directly

Posty z hashtagami LGBTQ+ były ukrywane w ramach polityki „wrażliwych treści” Meta, która ogranicza „treści o charakterze seksualnym”.

Posty z hashtagami LGBTQ+, w tym #lesbian, #bisexual, #gay, #trans, #queer, #nonbinary, #pansexial, #transwomen, #Tgirl, #Tboy, #Tgirlsarebeautiful, #bisexualpride, #lesbianpride i dziesiątki innych zostały ukryte dla wszystkich użytkowników, którzy mieli włączony filtr treści wrażliwych. Filtr jest domyślnie włączony dla nastolatków.

Gdy nastoletni użytkownicy próbowali wyszukiwać terminy LGBTQ, wyświetlała im się pusta strona i monit od Meta, aby przejrzeć ograniczenia platformy dotyczące „wrażliwych treści”, które omawiają, dlaczego aplikacja ukrywa treści „o charakterze jednoznacznie seksualnym”.

Meta cofnęła ograniczenia dotyczące wyszukiwanych terminów LGBTQ po tym, jak User Mag skontaktował się z nimi w celu uzyskania komentarza, mówiąc, że był to błąd. „Te wyszukiwane hasła i hashtagi zostały omyłkowo ograniczone” - powiedział rzecznik Meta. „Ważne jest dla nas, aby wszystkie społeczności czuły się bezpiecznie i mile widziane w aplikacjach Meta i nie uważamy terminów LGBTQ + za wrażliwe w ramach naszych zasad”.