Akshayk.tumblr.com Turned 10 Today!

Music Moment: ‘Learn To Fly’- Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters is an American rock band, formed in Seattle in 1994. It was founded by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl.

“Learn to Fly” is the first single from the Foo Fighters’ third album There Is Nothing Left to Lose, released in 1999.

This music video won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video.

Tradition never dies. How many traditional instruments do you play? 

We’re taking steps to protect against future interference in our political conversation by state-sponsored propaganda campaigns

Hi Tumblr,

We’re all grappling with the influence that state-sponsored disinformation campaigns can have on our political conversations—and how wide-spread that interference turned out to be. So please take a moment to read this, think about it, and talk about it.

Last fall, we uncovered 84 Tumblr accounts linked to the Russian government through the Internet Research Agency, or IRA. These accounts were being used as part of a disinformation campaign leading up to the 2016 U.S. election. After uncovering the activity, we notified law enforcement, terminated the accounts, and deleted their original posts. Behind the scenes, we worked with the Department of Justice, and the information we provided helped indict 13 people who worked for the IRA.

Now that the investigations are done, we want to let you know how we’re going to help protect Tumblr in the future and what you can do to help.

Here’s what we know about these accounts

The IRA employs more than 1,000 people who engage in electronic disinformation and propaganda campaigns around the world using phony social media accounts. Their goal is to sow division and discontent in the countries they target. What makes them so difficult to spot is that they’re not spambots. They’re real people who get trained and paid to spread propaganda.

As far as we can tell, the IRA-linked accounts were only focused on spreading disinformation in the U.S., and they only posted organic content. We didn’t find any indication that they ran ads.

Remember, the IRA and other state-sponsored disinformation campaigns play off our zero-sum politics. They want to drive a wedge between us so that we spend our time fighting with each other instead of building towards the future. We’ll be watching for signs of future activity, but the best defense is knowing how they operate and how to judge the content you see.

What we’re doing in response to the interference

First, we’ll be emailing anyone who liked, reblogged, replied to, or followed an IRA-linked account with the list of usernames they engaged with.

Second, we’re going to start keeping a public record of usernames we’ve linked to the IRA or other state-sponsored disinformation campaigns. We’re committed to transparency and want you to know everything that we know.

We’ve decided to leave up any reblog chains that might be on your Tumblrs—you can choose to leave them or delete them. We’re letting you decide because the reblog chains contain posts created by real Tumblr users, often challenging or debunking the false and incideniary claims in the IRA-linked original post. Removing those authentic posts without your consent would encroach on your free speech—and there have been enough disruptions to our conversations as it is.

What we’re doing to stop future disinformation campaigns

You’ve probably read that U.S. intelligence officials expect foreign agents to try similar propaganda campaigns in the future. We’ll be monitoring Tumblr for signs of state-sponsored disinformation campaigns, and if we see anything we will…

Terminate the accounts and remove their original posts.

Notify you if we determine that you’ve liked, reblogged, replied to, or followed a propaganda account.

Add the username to the public record.

Alert law enforcement.

There are also things you can do to help stop the spread of disinformation and propaganda.

Be aware that people want to manipulate the conversation. Knowing that disinformation and propaganda accounts are out there makes it harder for them to operate. The News Literacy Project has this handy checklist for spotting their tricks.

Be skeptical of things you read. Disinformation campaigns work because they know people don’t fact check. Look for reliable sources, and double-check that the source really says the same thing as the post. You can also check Snopes and Politifact. Both are award-winning resources and usually have the latest viral claim fact checked on the front page. 

Correct the record. When you see people spreading misinformation—even unintentionally—politely say something in a reblog or reply. If it’s your friend, send them a message to let them know.

One last note: Please vote.

Transparency won’t mean a thing if we don’t participate in the process. Whatever your political stance, voting ensures a government that represents your interests. For our U.S. users: You can register online or by mail, and many states are holding primaries right now.

Win free UWTC with DACC ecosystem. Survey With Lucky Draw! First Come First Served! Submit #form https://forms.gle/rQb4yKQ4zm44wQVh6 🌐 Must submit form & join the Telegram group mentioned in the form to be entered into lucky draw. Good luck and thank you. #up #wallet #token #erc20 #blockchain #cryptotrading #viral #pawnid #cdnid #investor #bitcoin #exchange #dwyor #crypto #cryptotrader #ethereum #binance #cryptocurrency #cryptogames https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxb9-Qmgfb6/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1quf2v4byhs1h

PC/MacBook Air giveaway, win.

Technology contests and games. Win free stuff.

Win a Google Pixel XL - tap here Test various browsers with html5 test, speed test, vaxign(vaccine design) and other realtime implementations plus your hands on some real cool giveaways at bit.ly/skrjifen

Check websites for virus and threat at safeweb.norton.com

OMG! Ice is Melting from Below

Oceans Melting Greenland (OMG) scientists are heading into the field this week to better understand how seawater is melting Greenland’s ice from below. (Yes, those black specks are people next to an iceberg.) While NASA is studying ocean properties (things like temperature, salinity and currents), other researchers are eager to incorporate our data into their work. In fact, University of Washington scientists are using OMG data to study narwhals – smallish whales with long tusks – otherwise known as the “unicorns of the sea.”

 Our researchers are also in the field right now studying how Alaska’s ice is changing. Operation IceBridge, our longest airborne campaign, is using science instruments on airplanes to study and measure the ice below.

What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic (or the Antarctic, really). In a warming world, the greatest changes are seen in the coldest places. Earth’s cryosphere – its ice sheets, sea ice, glaciers, permafrost and snow cover – acts as our planet’s thermostat and deep freeze, regulating temperatures and storing most of our freshwater. Next month, we’re launching ICESat-2, our latest satellite to study Earth’s ice!

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

First of all, I will be back to comics this week :) So hello!!

Second of all…it’s almost that time. Yes, the holidays. So here is your annual buy-my-stuff holiday post, especially early in case of international shipping needs! Here’s what I’ve got: MERCH BOOK 1 BOOK 2 PRINTS CALENDAR AND PLANNER

Please note that due to the fact that I’m restructuring my merch, this is my last year with the amazing Topatoco so if you are interested in our merch, this is the last time it will be available. Hope you are all staying sane as the holidays approach.

Happy Independence Day, US FlickrFam! 

examiner’s report by JD Urban

Reviving the Shriveled Lake Urmia

Once the second-largest saltwater lake in the Middle East, Lake Urmia attracted birds and bathers to bask in its turquoise waters in northwest Iran. Then beginning in the 1970s, nearly three decades of drought and high water demands on the lake shriveled the basin, shrinking it by 80 percent. Recent torrential rains have replenished the water levels of this aquatic gem once known as “the turquoise solitaire of Azerbaijan.”

The animation above shows Lake Urmia on April 9, 2018, and April 12, 2019. The images were acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on our Terra satellite. Officials report that the lake’s surface area reached roughly 3,000 square kilometers (1,200 square miles) in April 2019—expanding its volume nearly two-fold from a year ago.

Read more about Lake Urmia here.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.