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Mission 2024: Rishi Sunak’s ‘laborious’ challenge to repeat 1992
The situations in 2024 and 1992 are almost identical. A struggling economy, over a decade of Conservative rule and a widespread prediction of a Labour victory in the 2024 election.
In 1992, Major played the captain of the ship and steered the Tories through a less than stellar campaign, which had Labour ahead in the polls throughout. It was only in the last moments Major upped the ante and warned a recession-hit society of the further gloom they might face under a Labour government. These attacks landed well, and Labour lost so badly they might well have sunk into a political Mariana trench.Aavish Kant @YorkshireBylines
@BylineTimes
#ukpolitics #generalelection #JohnMajor #RishiSunak #Labour #KeirStarmer #recession #inflation #GeneralElectionNOW #gtto -
The real enemy of a Realist isn’t Big Tech… It’s Indifference https://therealists.org/?p=7755I recently had a powerful epiphany: all the research and the work I had been doing for The Realists had the framing all wrong.
For years, I had been thinking that my “enemy”, my nemesis, adversary – however you want to call it – was Big Tech… the companies that have built systems of surveillance capitalism and are profiting from it. The platforms promoting unattainable beauty and life ideals. The popular apps that are addictive by design.
But no, I now realize I had it all wrong.
The real “enemy” is indifference – people’s indifference to the monumental changes brought on by Big Tech. What they are doing to our humanity. How they are changing what we value. How we see ourselves. Our dreams and aspirations. How we socialize. How we raise our kids.
Big Tech will continue to keep a powerful hold on our lives if we think that “the toothpaste is already out of the tube”, that the changes are inevitable, and that it’s a good thing to jump on all the latest trends, use the most popular apps, under the belief that they will make our lives better.
Media Consumption
I find it astonishing that nowadays people worldwide spend an average of 455 minutes per day consuming media – that’s 7.58 hours a day. And yet, most people have a vague understanding of the effects of media on their lives, self-esteem and worldview.
My interest in the subject? I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication and I still vividly remember concepts from my college classes about “Persuasion and Public Opinion” and “Media Effects.”
For example, are you familiar with any of these media theories? “Agenda setting” and “Gatekeeping”? “Cultivation Theory”? The “Magic Bullet Theory”?
I learned about these theories many years ago and today the media landscape is completely different. There are now powerful communication devices in everyone’s pocket… and they are being used extensively, for most of people’s waking lives, without much thought about it.
I notice indifference… and I also notice – and experience – resistance to tech resistance. What do I mean by that? I have the perfect example from my personal life.
Resistance to (Tech) Resistance
I’m the mom of a two-year-old daughter.
I have been called a “Taliban” “Putin” and an “extremist” for wanting to raise her screen-free, without any visual media except for interactive FaceTime videos with her grandparents who live far away. (Incidentally, that’s what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends, but to some people, it appears to be extreme).
It’s ironic that I’m a filmmaker – but my child has never watched a video in her life. To her, a phone is something that stays in the back pocket; an iPad is a magical portal for video calls with her grandparents. I don’t own a TV and aside from iPad video calls her screen time is exactly 0 minutes a day. She’s 26 months old. And I wouldn’t do things any other way.
Thankfully the colorful nicknames/insults came from one person and they have been toned down since that person watched a documentary on the effects of screen time on young children’s brain development.
These nicknames may sound a bit harsh, but in several situations, with other adults around me and my child, I have noticed similar attitudes. Resistance to my resistance.
I’ve been told that it would be impossible to handle my child on the plane without a tablet or smartphone… and yet she aced her first flights, entertained by her parents, her favorite books and a teddy bear.
I’ve been called “excessive” for voicing my concerns about screen time and reading “too many books” to my child. I was warned I would ruin her eyes with books.
I’ve been advised not to talk about how I raise my child screen-free lest I offend other parents and grandparents who do things differently.
But I think it’s important to share my experiences, to show that there is another way.
Thankfully my husband is on the same page as me, wanting to raise her like we were raised. Think: a childhood like we had in the 1980s – minus television, plus an iPad only for FaceTime calls.
Who’s Raising the Kids?
I have been closely following the work of Dr. Susan Linn for years – a psychologist who founded the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. I have interviewed her for my documentary The Illusionists and I recently read her powerful new book Who’s Raising the Kids? Big Tech, Big Media, and the Lives of Children.
Dr. Linn writes:
You’re dealing with a culture dominated by multinational corporations spending billions of dollars and using seductive technologies to bypass parents and target children directly with messages designed — sometimes ingeniously — to capture their hearts and minds. And their primary purpose is not to help kids lead healthy lives or to promote positive values or even to make their lives better. It’s to generate profit.
Later in the book, she adds:
Traditionally, for kids having what Winnicott might call “good enough” childhoods, the adults with whom they mostly interacted, and who had the most influence over them, were parents, other caregivers, and teachers. They were all familiar family or community members who were at least supposed to have children’s interests at heart. For better or worse, it’s common to raise children to be wary of strangers. Yet in a digitized, commercialized culture, we blithely turn vast portions of a child’s day over to strangers. We don’t see these people. Our kids never meet them. But these strangers know an enormous amount about our children. They know how to capture their attention, to exploit their vulnerabilities, and to trigger their longings. These are the strangers who own, manufacture, and advertise the apps, toys, and games that occupy children’s time and whose jobs demand that they develop and market products that generate big bucks regardless of their impact on the kids who use them.
Instant Gratification and Continuous Distraction
What worries me the most about the shifts brought on by this brave new technological world is this: the internet, smartphones and apps have created a frictionless world of instant gratification and constant distraction.
Are you bored? Fish your phone out of your pocket and you can scroll social media, listen to any song you may think of courtesy of Spotify or watch a video on YouTube.
Do you feel lonely? A couple of taps on the phone and you could communicate with a friend or see what they have posted on social media. Turn on the TV, keep it on in the background, and feel like you are not home alone.
Hungry? A meal can be delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less, courtesy of an app.
Everyday activities that take actual effort are starting to be frowned upon.
Silence and time away from a screen may make certain people uncomfortable.
Technology sweeps in, allowing people to never feel bored and giving them the illusion of connection… and handing them any object they may desire, delivered straight to their doors.
When it comes to spending time with a small child, many adults default to entertaining children with screens… not really thinking about the consequences of screen time and the content they will consume. These devices take away all the effort – but they also take away human connection and the opportunity for a child to develop their curiosity.
I can understand why people do this. Smartphones and tablets have been around for less than 20 years and to hundreds of millions of people they still have a magical aura around them. That’s why it’s so hard for adults to see them in a critical light. Dissenting voices are a minority. Tech giants spend a fortune in marketing their shiny devices and platforms. And – this is key – most people equate technology with progress and modernity – positive things. But media consumption and screen time carry consequences.
Dr. Linn writes in her book:
Today, children’s opportunities for silence — to experience wonder but also to play, dream, and explore — are rare. […] It was a long – ago conversation with Fred Rogers that first got me thinking about the importance of silence in children’s lives. Silence was so important to him that he once used an egg timer to tick off a whole minute of it on his television show. And after listening to cellist Yo-Yo Ma play his cello, Fred commented, “After you’ve heard someone play beautiful music, sometimes you just like to have a quiet time to remember it. Let’s just sit and think about what we’ve heard.”
The Universal Need for Media and Digital Literacy
I think media literacy AND digital literacy classes should be mandatory… not just for young people but also for all educators, parents, grandparents and caretakers. For all humans, really.
Because if you are a parent or grandparent and you read this sentence by Dr. Linn, wouldn’t you start to care?
It became clear to me that the problem with the tech-driven, omnipresent marketing that kids experience today isn’t just that they’re being sold stuff. It’s that the values, conventions, and behaviors embraced and engendered by gargantuan, minimally regulated, for-profit conglomerates permeate all aspects of society, including the lives of children.
I think they would. And they may think twice before handing their toddler a tablet or putting them in front of a TV.
The Lumineers’ song “Stubborn Love” goes: “The opposite of love’s indifference. So pay attention now…”
The ways in which technology has invaded the lives of small children – with most people accepting this uncritically – is just an example of indifference to Big Tech. I think it’s a particularly salient example because it powerfully affects a new generation.
How do we counteract indifference to Big Tech?
Through education. Media literacy AND digital literacy.
If you haven’t already, I would highly encourage you to read the late Neil Postman’s book Technopoly and Dr. Linn’s Who’s Raising the Kids? Listen to podcasts such as The Ezra Klein Show or Offline with Jon Favreau. And don’t be afraid to be different. To resist.
At the end of Technopoly Neil Postman writes:
A resistance fighter understands that technology must never be accepted as part of the natural order of things, that every technology—from an IQ test to an automobile to a television set to a computer—is a product of a particular economic and political context and carries with it a program, an agenda, and a philosophy that may or may not be life-enhancing and that therefore require scrutiny, criticism, and control. In short, a technological resistance fighter maintains an epistemological and psychic distance from any technology, so that it always appears somewhat strange, never inevitable, never natural.
I encourage you to re-read Postman’s powerful words slowly, carefully.
And then spend a minute thinking about them – à la Fred Rogers.
“Let’s just sit and think about what we’ve heard.”
#BigTech #children #digitalLiteracy #DrSusanLinn #FredRogers #indifference #mediaConsumption #mediaLiteracy #mediaTheory #NeilPostman #parenting #screenTime #Technopoly #WhoSRaisingTheKids
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5 stories about Big Tech to improve your digital literacy skills
https://therealists.org/?p=8077
If you were to ask me what is my favorite book on the subject of technology and digital mindfulness, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second: it is, without doubt, Neil Postman’s Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology – published in 1993 but still extremely relevant today.
Acclaimed cultural critic Neil Postman wrote:
Technopoly is a state of culture. It is also a state of mind. It consists in the deification of technology, which means that the culture seeks its authorization in technology, finds its satisfactions in technology, and takes its orders from technology.
To the late Postman (he passed away in 2003), education is the best remedy to counteract the negative effects of this “technopoly.” Postmas wrote: “education as an excellent corrective to the antihistorical, information-saturated, technology-loving character of Technopoly.“
As a Realist, if I had one wish, it would be for everyone to be more media savvy, to be better versed in media literacy – and especially digital literacy. I notice how we often take new announcements by Big Tech at face value, never questioning the agenda behind innovations and new product launches. The current AI hype is a perfect representation of what Postman warned about.
Here are five stories about Big Tech to increase your digital literacy skills.
1: Amazon’s AI Lies
Have you ever heard of Amazon’s Mechanical Turks? According to Wikipedia:
Amazon Mechanical Turk is a crowdsourcing website with which businesses can hire remotely located “crowdworkers” to perform discrete on-demand tasks that computers are currently unable to do as economically. It is operated under Amazon Web Services, and is owned by Amazon.
Well, as it turns out, the service takes its name from an elaborate hoax from the late 1770s: a chess playing machine that was touted to play a game of chess against a human opponent. It wowed royals and crowds in Austria and then in tours across Europe and the United States. After 8 decades of public demonstrations, it was ultimately revealed to be a fraud: a human operator hid inside of it to play against an opponent.
It’s supremely ironic that the term “Mechanical Turk” has been made widely known by Amazon. Because this week the company was embroiled in a mechanical turk-like scandal that made headline news around the world. From MSN: “Amazon’s ‘Just Walk Out’ tech relied on low-paid Indian workers, not AI“. In case you are not familiar with Amazon Fresh stores, they are modern grocery stores that allow people to walk around, add items to their carts and leave without passing by a checkout line or paying a cashier – thanks to a technology called “Just Walk Out” which was supposedly powered by cameras and artificial intelligence.
The MSN article explains:
The Information reported that even though Amazon claimed that it used a host of cameras and sensors around the store to track what customers grabbed, hundreds of Indian workers were used by the company to track customers instead of relying completely on AI and technology.
Yes, you read that correctly. An awe-inducing technology heavily promoted by Amazon turned out to be 1,000 low-paid workers in India, watching and labeling videos of customers shopping in Amazon Fresh stores.
2: Google and its Fake AI Demo
On the subject of AI hype and faking the capabilities of an “artificial intelligence” system, there is this December 2023 story about Google. The company was caught red-handed, faking a demo of its new AI system. From TechCrunch: “Google’s best Gemini demo was faked”.
Google’s new Gemini AI model is getting a mixed reception after its big debut yesterday, but users may have less confidence in the company’s tech or integrity after finding out that the most impressive demo of Gemini was pretty much faked.
If you are curious, you can watch the faked demo on YouTube – which included heavy editing to create the illusion of a brilliant AI system.
3: Microsoft’s New Data Collection Service
If you use Microsoft Outlook as an email client, it’s time to reconsider your options. This detailed report by Proton Mail is a must read: “Outlook is Microsoft’s new data collection service”.
Proton’s Edward Komenda writes:
Everyone talks about the privacy-washing campaigns of Google and Apple as they mine your online data to generate advertising revenue. But now it looks like Outlook is no longer simply an email service; it’s a data collection mechanism for Microsoft’s 801 external partners and an ad delivery system for Microsoft itself.
The company is also now storing email passwords from external clients, granting unprecedented access:
When you sync third-party email accounts from services like Yahoo or Gmail with the new Outlook, you risk granting Microsoft access to the IMAP and SMTP credentials, emails, contacts, and events associated with those accounts, according to the German IT blog Heise Online.
Komenda explains:
A deeper dive into Microsoft’s privacy policy shows what personal data it may extract:
Name and contact data
Passwords
Demographic data
Payment data
Subscription and licensing data
Search queries
Device and usage data
Error reports and performance data
Voice data
Text, inking, and typing data
Images
Location data
Content
Feedback and ratings
Traffic dataBonus digital literacy points: it’s worth pointing out that this exposé about Microsoft comes from ProtonMail – a Swiss end-to-end encrypted email service that is one of its competitors. While the evidence Proton shared is accurate, it’s important to remember it’s in their vested interest to get Microsoft users interested in ProtonMail services.
4: Facebook snoops on Snap users with “Project Ghostbusters”
From TechCrunch reporter Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai:
Meta tried to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors, including Snapchat and later Amazon and YouTube, by analyzing the network traffic of how its users were interacting with Meta’s competitors. Given these apps’ use of encryption, Facebook needed to develop special technology to get around it. […] Facebook’s engineers solution was to use Onavo, a VPN-like service that Facebook acquired in 2013. In 2019, Facebook shut down Onavo after a TechCrunch investigation revealed that Facebook had been secretly paying teenagers to use Onavo so the company could access all of their web activity.
This story is a routine reminder to check the trustworthiness of your VPN service – if you are using one. If you are using a free VPN, there is a high likelihood that the service is tracking, profiling (and possibly reselling) your traffic data. This story from The Next Web may be 6 years old but is as relevant as ever: “Be cautious, free VPNs are selling your data to 3rd parties.”
5: Apple’s Gatekeeping
The Daily Show host Jon Stewart invited Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan to appear on his show. He revealed to her how, when he was hosting his (now cancelled) Apple TV talk show The Problem with Jon Stewart he had expressed an interest in interviewing FTC chair Khan – but Apple TV turned down his request, openly asking him to refrain from interviewing her.
From Variety:
Considering Khan’s work at the FTC targets tech giants’ monopolistic practices, Apple allegedly did not want Stewart bringing her on the program to presumably talk about such topics. […] Stewart went one step further and said Apple didn’t even want him talking about the perils of AI on his podcast. He said “they wouldn’t let us do even that dumb thing we just did in the first act on AI,” referring to a near 15-minute segment Stewart did earlier in the show in which he criticized the rise of AI and spoke about how it’s making human workers obsolete.
Stewart said to Khan on his Daily Show: “Like, what is that sensitivity? Why are they so afraid to even have these conversations out in the public sphere?” And Khan responded: “I think it just shows the danger of what happens when you concentrate so much power and so much decision making in a small number of companies.”
It should not be surprising that Apple didn’t want an episode about the perils of AI on Apple TV – considering that Apple is now trying to catch up with OpenAI, Google Gemini and Anthropic. The company is expected to reveal its AI plans at his developer conference in June 2024.
Is there any story that surprised you about the state of tech or the hype surrounding AI? Share your thoughts in the comments.
As always, thanks for being here.
Elena
#AI #AIHype #Amazon #Apple #BigTech #digitalLiteracy #Facebook #Google #hoax #mechanicalTurk #mediaLiteracy #Microsoft #NeilPostman #privacy #Technopoly
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Wakeham, David @wakehamAMRMore extensive lists on Mastodon can be found exploring the following
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#539 2000AD Prog 489. IPC Magazines, 27 September 1986. John Wagner, Alan Grant, Pat Mills, Kevin O'Neill, Neil Gaiman, Carlos Ezquerra, Peter Milligan, Brendan McCarthy, Massimo Belardinelli, Cliff Robinson, David Wyatt. #2000AD #JudgeDredd #ThargsFutureShocks #StrontiumDog #AceTruckingCo #Metalzoic #SoonerOrLater #BookOfTheDay
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#522 2000AD Prog 488. IPC Magazines, 20 September 1986. John Wagner, Alan Grant, Pat Mills, Kevin O'Neill, Neil Gaiman, Carlos Ezquerra, Peter Milligan, Brendan McCarthy, Massimo Belardinelli, John Hincklenton. #2000AD #JudgeDredd #ThargsFutureShocks #StrontiumDog #AceTruckingCo #Metalzoic #SoonerOrLater #BookOfTheDay
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Gilmore Place Public School: the thread about the Rise, Fall and Renaissance of Darroch
Preamble. The schools of the “School Board” era of public education (those built 1872-1918) hold a particular fascination for me, one most profound where they have been “deconsecrated” and are either no longer in use as schools or have disappeared entirely. This thread began as a couple of lines for my own notes about the “Lost Board Schools of Edinburgh” but soon snowballed into an alphabetical deep-dive into each.
Instalment seven of the series looking at “Lost Board Schools of Edinburgh” takes us to Gilmore Place Public School; a name likely to draw blank looks from most. That’s not unsurprising as it’s a building well hidden from passing view and a moniker that lasted but twenty years. But mention Darroch School and – despite the passage of over half a century since it last closed its doors as a standalone educational institution – you will get a flicker of recognition from a certain generation of Edinburgher. Darroch’s story is not a simple one, indeed it was never just a single school and in its time has housed more than ten different schools and any number of other council functions. But if we take the time to understand its travails it offers us a neatly encapsulated case study of the ebb and flow of secondary education in the city. It is also a happy story as it has bucked the trend of “Lost Board Schools of Edinburgh” and despite repeatedly being deemed surplus to requirements it has avoided the fate of many of its contemporaries – conversion into private flats – and is now enjoying an educational and cultural renaissance.
The former Gilmore Place Public School in its new guise as Ath-Thaigh Darroch – Darroch Annexe – after a refurbishment completed in 2022 to become the GME annexe of James Gillespie’s High School. Photo via Prime Joinery Solutions.Our subject came to be as the solution to two urgent problems facing the Edinburgh School Board at the dawn of the 20th century. Firstly in 1903 West Fountainbridge Public School had been condemned as unfit by the Scotch Education Department for the third year running and it had been found impossible to bring it up to standard. Secondly all other schools in the locality, especially Bruntsfield, were over their capacities and there were 246 children in the district on a waiting list for places. The Board decided they could kill these two birds with a single stone and set upon building a large new school for the area.
Bruntsfield Public School in 1895, the year of its opening. Note that the styling is slightly less restrained than Gilmore Place, with more use of mouldings and carved details. Photograph by Bedford Lemere. Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries.It was settled on to purchase a one acre site at the end of Gillespie Street off Gilmore Place then occupied by an engineering works whose lease was approaching expiry. The owners however demanded “an extravagant price” due to complex servitudes1 upon the land. Undeterred, the Board petitioned for a compulsory purchase order in November 1903. This was the first occasion they had taken this drastic step to acquire a site but it would take over two years of legal wrangling and two rulings at the Court of Session to conclude it. The plot ended up costing £9,000, the majority of which was compensation and legal fees for neighbours, with a further £20,000 spent on the building, fittings and furnishings.
- In Scots property law, a Servitude is a right befitting adjacent properties over their neighbour, e.g. a use of a path, a prohibition on building a certain distance from a boundary etc. ↩︎
The plans for a large, three-storey, T-plan building in a “simple adaptation of the English Renaissance style” were completed by the the Board’s architect, John A. Carfrae. The designed capacity was 1,500 pupils but it was planned that the two-storey side wings could easily be raised to three if an increase was required. There were twenty-six classrooms with an average capacity of 56 pupils. The infant department occupied the ground floor with juveniles on the first, each being arranged around a large central hall of 49 by 40 feet in size. There were mezzanine-level galleries around the halls so that children moving between classrooms did not disturb those in the hall (a common problem in earlier schools). The second floor contained practical teaching spaces for cookery and laundry and a workshop for manual crafts.
Artists impression of the “New Edinburgh Board School in Gillespie Street”. The ventilation cupola in the centre of the roof was lost at some point after the 1970s. Evening News, 22nd March 1905The school opened for business on Tuesday 3rd September 1907 with the staff and roll of the closed West Fountainbridge transferring here. The formal ceremony did not take place until Saturday 30th November with the Chairman of the School Board, W. H. Mill, presiding and the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Right Hon. John Sinclair MP, as guest of honour. After various self-congratulatory speeches the assembled dignitaries retreated to the Caledonian Hotel for a celebratory and well-oiled luncheon with numerous toasts.
The roundel of the Edinburgh School Board on the facade of Gilmore Place Public School. “The female figure of education” dispensing knowledge to the young, surrounded by books and a globe. © Public Monuments and Sculpture Association, via Trove.Scot SC 1229693From the very beginning, Gilmore Place was not one but actually two different schools. During the day the Public School provided elementary education for children up to the leaving age of fourteen. But the Board was keen to maximise the return on the “large amount of educational plant” that they had built at great expense and thought it wasteful to have buildings sitting idle after pupils emptied out their gates at three o’clock. Therefore by night it became Gilmore Place Continuation School, providing evening classes for adults. Evening classes were not new, but this was the first time the Board had opted to run a large, centralised school offering a full curriculum. For the first session, 1907-08, expectations were greatly surpassed with 750 students enrolling. Such was the demand – “so great as almost to be embarrassing” in the words of the Chairman of the Board – that additional courses had to be put on over the summer. Two of the courses, millinery and cookery, were reserved for those already working in those trades and accounted for almost half the intake. These were the first explicitly vocational further education courses run by the Board in Edinburgh and the Evening News reported the confectionery course “will be of an advanced nature, and it is expected that in a year or two it will be possible for Scotsmen to do high-class work now almost exclusively done by Frenchmen“.
An additional roundel on the façade of Gilmore Place Public School, representing Industry. A bearded master teaches his young apprentice, surrounded by symbols of industry; an anvil, workbench, tools and gear wheel. © Public Monuments and Sculpture Association, via Trove.Scot SC 1229692Life as an elementary school was short and just two decades after opening it closed in 1928 in preparation for a metamorphosis into the city’s fourth Intermediate School. Such institutions were defined by the Scotch Education Department as providing “at least a three years’ course of instruction in languages, mathematics, science and such other subjects as may from time to time be deemed suitable for pupils who, on entering, have reached the stage of attainment in elementary subjects.” The purpose of this new class of school was to centralise teaching of post-elementary age pupils (from twelve to fifteen) in dedicated schools with a higher quality of staff and teaching. These were the children who had not passed the Qually – the qualification exam sat at the age of eleven which streamed their educational future – and would otherwise have remained in elementary schools in the Advanced Divisions, working towards a fairly generic leaving certificate. As well as the general curriculum the Intermediate schools would also offer dedicated Commercial or Technical courses aimed at improving the vocational skills of children fully expected to enter the blue-collar workforce as soon as they hit leaving age.
Class photo of the short-lived Gilmore Place Public School, 1919-20 session. Picture via Darroch FPAEdinburgh opened the first of this new class of school in 1912 at Tynecastle Technical School. The First World War delayed proceedings and so the next – the James Clark School – did not follow until 1918 at which juncture the School Board was merged with that of Leith and other surrounding parishes to create the Edinburgh Education Authority. Bellevue Intermediate (now Drummond Community High School) followed in 1926 but demand far outstripped supply and another was soon needed. The school at Gilmore Place was a perfect candidate; it was large, fairly central, relatively new and at that time relatively under-subscribed. It was altered at a cost of £6,000 with the number of classrooms reduced to eighteen and the capacity reduced to 720 children. A range of new facilities were provided, including dedicated classrooms for the specialist teaching of cookery, laundry, dressmaking, science, art and manual crafts. The nucleus of the new school was made by transferring the entire Advanced Division of Bruntsfield School as well as sending children coming of age from South Morningside, Tollcross, North Merchiston and Torphicen Street schools.
Boys at work in the machine shop, 1952. Picture via Darroch FPAWhile the Evening News wanted the new school to be called Merchiston Intermediate the Authority instead renamed it the Darroch Intermediate and Technical School in honour of their late chair Professor Alexander Darroch (1862-1924). Darroch had held the Bell Chair of Education at the University for over twenty years and as chair of the Edinburgh Provincial Committee for the Training of Teachers he reorganised and modernised the training of educators. He believed his contemporaries “placed too much stress in examinations and on the acquisition of knowledge for its own sake” and was a champion of offering children instead the sort of practical skills that would prepare them for their working lives and taking their place in society.
Professor Alexander Darroch (1862-1924), 1908 by Robert Helnry Alison Ross. University of Edinburgh EU0318 via ArtUKIn 1939 under a further reorganisation of education in Scotland a new name was given; Darroch Junior Secondary. This was in preparation for the leaving age being raised to fifteen and the “sentence” of students being extended as a result from three to four years. At this time a flat at 5 Leamington Terrace was purchased by the Education Committee for practical use of the girls taking the Domestic Studies courses which became known as the School Flat. This remained the exclusive domain of the girls until 1969 when – in a bold experiment which was a sign of changing times – groups of six boys at a time were sent for a fortnight course in bed-making, housekeeping, shopping, cooking and sewing.
The “School Flat”, where girls were taught housewifery. Picture via Darroch FPABack in 1928 when the Intermediate School was formed, the Continuation School was reconstituted into the Darroch Institute for Adults to benefit from the new facilities on offer. This had 1,300 students aged from twenty to eighty-two on its roll and as well as a full curriculum of courses offered novel subjects such as lip reading for the deaf, speech therapy for stammerers and “Everyday Law and the Home” which taught the students the legal basics of topics such as marriage, parenting, pet-owning, pensions and renting. The Evening News praised the Institute as ranking “second to none among the modern schools devoted to adult education.” In 1967 there was a major reorganisation in further education in the city in preparation for the new colleges of Napier, Stevenson and Telford opening and it was rebranded as the Darroch Adult Education Centre with its courses pivoted to being largely recreational.
One course offered by the Institute was unique in the city; the Gaelic language. It was a subject that had been taught at the Supplementary School since way back in 1908 with Gilmore Place being home to the first public tuition in the language in the city. This class had its roots in 1901 when the Celtic Union had begun offering tuition on a private basis. In 1906 they had gotten permission from the Board to use a classroom at Lothian Road Public School with a tacit agreement that should they prove successful they would become part of the Evening School offering in the city.
Lothian Road Public School in 1910, immediately prior to demolition to make way for the Usher Hall. Picture by the Edinburgh Photographic Society, Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries.The tutors were the Rev. G. R. Maclennan of St Oran’s Gaelic Church, Peter Thomson and J. White Maclean, secretary of the Gaelic Union in Edinburgh. In addition, specific classes in Gaelic singing and the theory of Gaelic music were given by Neil Orr, conductor of the Edinburgh Gaelic Choir. The Oban Times would write:
“It is to be hoped… that as many pupils will enrol as possible to ensure a continuation of Gaelic being recognised as worthy of a place in the curriculum of the Edinburgh evenings schools.”
Oban Times and Argyllshire Advertiser, 2nd October 1909These classes were intended for the “interest of the Lowland Gaels in their mother tongue” and would later come under the tutilage of Calum Johnston. Johnston had come to Edinburgh aged 16 to train as a draughtsman with the firm of Bruce Peebles & Co. and for twenty-seven years would also teach his native language to the city. A lauded singer and piper he retired to his native Barra in 1956, the Stornoway Gazette writing that they were “sure that if any mortal is privileged in this Atomic Age to see the fabled isle of Roca Barraidh towards the setting sun, then Calum will be that one.” (In Gaelic mythology, Roca Barraidh is an island that will be visible to the west of the Hebrides only three times, the third and final heralding the end of the world.) In 1972, then aged eighty-two, Calum stood on the beach in his kilt in the December wind and rain to pipe ashore the body of Compton Mackenzie, author of Whisky Galore, which was being brought to the island where he lived for a decade for burial. He piped the procession up the 200 yard hill to the burial ground, stood to attention during the short ceremony before collapsing at the graveside and dying minutes afterwards.
Calum Johnston piping on the beach on Barra in 1967. Photo via Calum Maclean Project, University of EdinburghOn leaving Edinburgh, Johnston was replaced by Bh-uas Murdag Nic Choinnich (Miss Murdina Mackenzie) who became the only Gaelic teacher on the payroll of the city. The classes were in peril however and were withdrawn in 1958 following dwindling attendance; indeed they were suspended each session after Johnston retired due to a lack of students, thus ending a half-century association between the school at Gillespie Street and the Gaelic Language. (For now…)
Darroch remained open throughout World War two and a noted pupil at this time was one Thomas (Sean) Connery, who completed his time in education there between 1942-44. A reluctant pupil, his teachers branded him “very average – not at all brilliant” and he was apparently voted by his classmates as the boy “most unlikely to succeed“. Post-war it continued as a Junior Secondary with an average roll in 1945 of 550. Despite a long-term decline in Edinburgh’s urban population at this time its roll actually climbed beyond 600 due to the leaving age being raised to fifteen in 1947.
The School Captains are cheered on by their fellow pupils after their election. Edinburgh Evening News, October 3rd 1947In 1960 it became one of the pilot schools ahead of the introduction of the new Modern Studies subject to Scottish secondary education in 1962. This gave pupils the opportunity to learn about TV, advertising, the press, citizenship and politics to equip them with “some knowledge of the complexities of the ever-changing contemporary world“. On Monday 22nd June 1970, the boys of Darroch set a world record for non-stop five-a-side football at the ground of North Merchiston Boy’s Club: they had passed the previous record of 13 hours and 7 minutes and at the time the story went to print were still playing.
But, new courses and football achievements aside, all was not well at Darroch. A letter to the Evening News in 1968 outlined the situation:
This conglomeration of old buildings is a disgrace to the town; and, to all appearance, a death-trap should an outbreak of fire take place on the ground floor.
The teachers are to be admired for their tolerance and consideration in taking a post in such a place because the pupils are not and cannot be expected to be proud of such a school
J.M. Morningside. A letter to the Evening News, 4th July 1968In 1969 the school was publicly criticised by Councillor Robert Knox, chairman of the Education Committee, who acknowledged that its facilities were outdated and inadequate and that it required replacement. Knox, a Progressive, was criticised by his Labour Party opposite number for having presided over new schools for the fee paying all-boys Royal High School and James Gillespie’s School for Girls despite “in neither case was the need as great as Darroch“. The Scotsman printed a large investigative spread on the subject under the banner headline “The trouble with Darroch“.
The Trouble with Darroch, Scotsman, 8th March 1969Adjectives spring to mind – all derogatory. Bleak, barrack-like, looming. Inside, the school is no better: the corridors are furnished like a public lavatory, all white tiles and nasty green paint; the classrooms are unappealing, dingy and dark, with windows placed high up on the walls so that no pupil can be distracted by what is going on outside… Darroch Secondary School was built in the early 19000s and still has to suffer the educational norms of that time.
“The Trouble with Darroch”. Lindsay Mackie, investigation for the Scotsman, 8th march 1969A teacher at this time at the school was the former Green MSP Robin Harper, who recalls his spell there from 1970 to 1972 in his autobiography “Dear Mr Harper: Britain’s First Green Parliamentarian.”
On my first day at Darroch a spokesman for a group of young teachers warned me: ‘Robin, this place is sheer hell. The kids never stop fighting. Any of them who show any academic ability are creamed off to Boroughmuir. Those who remain are an aggressive mix of children rejected by the system.
One school parent was the lawyer and author of contemporary history John G. Gray (seen alongside the headline of the Scotsman article). On learning his daughter was to be sent to Darroch due to a lack of capacity at nearby Boroughmuir, he was so taken aback by the state of the place that he wrote a pamphlet denouncing the condition of the place and the socially segregated state of secondary education in the capital in general.
As Edinburgh Citizens, we have allowed ourselves to become subject to a particularly vicious type of blackmail. Either our children secure a place at a top state school like Boroughmuir or we are offered a secondary course in such appalling conditions that sensitive parents prefer to educate their children privately at fees which many of them can ill afford.
John G. Gray, Focus on DarrochRather than simply pull his child out of the school and join his social peers in privately educating her, Gray instead took the Corporation to task; they did not care or “to put it vulgarly but accurately, give a damn“. He contended that they were happy with this state of affairs in the city whereby 45 percent of children went to a fee-paying secondary school. He noted that the conditions at school’s like Darroch were largely ignored by the authorities and the press until middle-class parents like himself began to complain. He publicly challenged the city’s Director of Education to produce a signed statement that the facilities at such Junior Secondaries were adequate: a call that did not elicit a response.
“Focus on Darroch”, the pamphlet issued by John G. Gray outlining the problems facing the school, and secondary education in the city in generalThe list of charges against the school went on. Despite being built for 1,500 and having a declining roll of only around a third of that, it was cramped by modern standards, with numerous “temporary” wooden huts in the playground to provide additional teaching spaces. Its toilets were outside and “so revolting that children refuse to use them“, the gymnasium was tiny and had no changing or showering facilities, the playground was “minute” and it had no playing fields; children had to travel half an hour to Meggetland for games and sports. Its students tolerate a lot, but for them the straw that broke the camel’s back was the state of their school dinners. Matters came to a head in 1971 when the Head Boy, Andrew Ewing, wrote an angry letter to the editor of the Scotsman complaining about the state of affairs. As the school had no cooking facilities of its own, its meals had to be brought in by a lorry and were cold by the time they were served. It also had no dining facilities, instead students had to collect their lunch trays from a corridor floor and eat the unpalatable, cabbagey contents in classrooms. One such space was a science laboratory where the would pushed around escaped droplets of liquid mercury on the worktops with their cutlery in-between mouthfuls of cold custard.
With the increase in dining charges I hoped that the standard of dinners would improve. But the custard is cold. It is also watery, lumpy, lukewarm or inedible
Andrew Ewing, Letter to the Scotsman, May 1971But rather than reprimand him for stepping out of line, Darroch’s headmaster – Dr William Gray – praised his student for putting into practice what he had learned in the new subject of Modern Studies. He confirmed to the Scotsman that the school had been serving dinner in this manner since 1946 but that a temporary dining hall would finally be opened later in the year to put an end to the practice. As John G. Gray put it, Darroch had “an excellent headmaster” in William Gray (no relation), one that did not believe that it was just the buildings that made a school “good” or “bad”. Writing in defence of his students, he cited a first year boy who when asked to write an essay on what he thought of his school wrote: “Darroch may be a slum, but when you are inside it is not half bad; I admit it is not fur-lined, but it is the teachers that count… Maybe it is a bit ragged, but it is the best school in Scotland“.
Headmaster Gray knew that the facilities at his school were badly lacking and that the authorities imagined his job was largely one of babysitting reluctant teenagers before they could enter “humdrum jobs” in the workforce as soon as they hit aged fifteen. But he was not content to accept this and made strenuous and praiseworthy efforts to provide better outcomes for his students. After taking up his position in 1964 he pushed for an early introduction of the new Ordinary Grade qualification into Darroch – something not all Junior Secondaries were afforded. He made sure the most successful students were allowed to stay on for a fifth year beyond the leaving age to sit the Higher Certificate – a privilege usually reserved for those streamed into the High Schools, which in Edinburgh charged fees. This gave students the chance to escape their planned futures in the rapidly disappearing “humdrum jobs” by opening up a wide range of employment and educational opportunities to them and also meant that students showing academic potential were not simply “creamed off” to other schools. His faith in his charges was well placed and by 1971 three-quarters of students of the age wanted to sit the O-Grade and there were 101 staying on beyond the age of fourteen, up 246% since Gray took charge.
Given the height of the building and its restricted site down a narrow street, it can be hard to fit Darroch into a single picture frame and not make it look oppressive! Photo by Kim Traynor via BritishListedBuildings.co.ukDespite all these efforts, after 1970 the school’s roll began to sharply decline; dropping by almost 100 in a year. The Corporation saw an opportunity to dispose of the troublesome school on the cheap and made a proposal to merge Darroch with the James Clark School in St Leonard’s, which faced a similar issue of demographic pressures, a poor reputation and ageing facilities. But rather than spend any money on new facilities, they intended to simply move the combined school into an even older building, that of “Old” James Gillespie’s School, which had first been built in 1904. This rightly provoked anger amongst parents; if old Gillespie’s had superior facilities to Darroch then why had they prioritised a new building for the fee-paying, selective Gillespie’s High School for Girls to allow them to leave it. They knew their question was rhetorical.
“Old James Gillespie’s”, was built in 1904 as Boroughmuir Higher Grade School, which left after just six years on account of the building being inadequate to secondary teaching needs.These merger plans were put on hold until the outcome of the General Election that year was known and instead on December 14th 1970, the Education Committee voted to re-organise secondary education in Edinburgh to a fully comprehensive system “to end the unhappy segregation of children at the age of 12 into two distinct ability classes” and in preparation for the school leaving age being raised to sixteen in 1972. The end came swiftly for most of the old Junior Secondaries, dubbed as “dull, dingy, semi-slum schools” by the editor of the Scotsman, and in 1972 it was not just Darroch and James Clark but also Norton Park and David Kilpatrick in Leith that were unceremoniously closed. Darroch’s pupils merged into the newly co-educational, comprehensive James Gillespie’s High School at Marchmont in its brand new campus. Both the newly vacant Darroch building and – ironically Old Gillespie’s – became overspill annexes for Boroughmuir High which had rapidly expanded beyond the capacity of its building with the comprehensive move.
“New” James Gillespie’s in 1974, which incorporates the 17th century Bruntsfield House (left of image) within its campus. Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries.Concurrent with this the school’s adult education role was rapidly run down and by 1973 it was offering only ballroom dancing, dressmaking, embroidery and flower arranging. The deckchairs of secondary schooling in central Edinburgh continued to be shuffled around over the next few years as the comprehensive schools established themselves and the population continued to decline. By 1976 things had changed again and Darroch now become an annexe for James Gillespie’s, the school to which its former pupils had been moved to just 4 years previously!
Aerial photo showing three of the schools frequently referred to in this post. Darroch is in the middle left, with the gleaming roof. Boroughmuir is the large building middle right with a tower at each end. “Old” James Gillespie’s is middle top, again its roof shining brightly, the building which was built as the original Boroughmuir Higher School. “New Gillespies” was built in the top right of the image, where the old building of Bruntsfield House can be seen.Darroch remained occupied by Gillespie’s until 1989 after which a building programme at the main campus allowed it to be consolidated there and close its annexes. Once again it became a school without a purpose but this situation did not last long. In 1990 Lothain Regional Council sold the Dean Education Centre (previously the Dean Orphanage and later Dean College) and former St Bernard’s School in Stockbridge which made their Advisory Service – training for in-service teachers – homeless. They were therefore transferred to Darroch but couldn’t hope to fill such a large building and so it would become something of a dumping ground for various council departments including a base for teaching English as a second language, administrative offices for the city’s adult and vocational education programmes, storing excess classroom furniture and serving as a mail-order warehouse for souvenir merchandise for the centennial celebrations of the Forth Bridge!
Darroch School in Lothian Regional Council days when it served any number of educational functions beyond being a school. Note how the tall central block dominates the narrow approach street and the inadequate pavements and entranceway. One of the multitude of “temporary” hut units can be seen jammed hard up against the gate on the left. Photo via Darroch Secondary School Pupils Group on Facebook.The Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 saw Lothian Region replaced by a new unitary authority – the City of Edinburgh Council – in 1996 and with the transfer of education functions from the old authority to its new successors, once again a big question mark was placed over Darroch’s purpose and future. Perhaps it too may have ended up being converted to expensive flats had a pressing need for its services not arisen just a few years later. In 1998 the collapse of a staircase at nearby St Thomas of Aquin’s R. C. High School at Lauriston highlighted the perilous state of repair of that school. It was quickly condemned and hurriedly decanted to Darroch until 2002 while it was demolished and completely rebuilt. Once again Darroch was the right building in the right place at the right time and once again its corridors resounded to the sound of children’s feet and its classrooms to the refrains of teaching. After another spell of vacancy, between 2013 and 2016 it was James Gillespie’s turn to decant back to Darroch while the “New Gillespie’s” school on Lauderdale Street in Marchmont was itself demolished and rebuilt.
Once again quiet and vacant, in an effort to save money the council then turned the heating off, leading to a rapid decline in the fabric of the building but typical of the short-sighted, disjointed thinking of local authorities they had also left the place partially furnished and so were paying over £40,000 per annum in Non-Domestic Rates! Fortunately positive plans were afoot for Darroch’s future as a second dedicated Gaelic Medium Education (GME) school for the city. This would follow on from the success of Bun-sgoil Taobh na Pàirce which had opened at the former Bonnington Road Public School in Leith in 2013 and which had quickly grown to capacity. Fittingly, in the early 1990s the office of the small team who brought the city’s first GME unit at Tollcross Primary to fruition had been based in Darroch. These plans would both return primary education to the school after a break of almost a century and also the teaching of the Gaelic language after a break of sixty years.
Bun-sgoil Taobh na Pàirce, Edinburgh and Leith’s first (and so far, only) dedicated GME school, housed in the former Bonnington Road Public School. Photo via Edinburgh ReporterThese plans fell through due to a combination of factors including the difficulty in recruiting and retaining sufficient Gaelic-fluent teachers to meet demand and the complete inability of the council to provide a satisfactory solution for GME secondary education – which was being delivered from Àrd-sgoil Sheumais Ghilleasbuig; James Gillespie’s. This setback however was perhaps a blessing in disguise as it allowed a quiet reset of the council’s GME secondary plans which were at the time being driven by a lack of capacity at Gillespie’s, the new showpiece school that completed in 2016 having been built too small. A ten million pound investment brought the schools facilities and accessibility into the 21st century – many of these changes directly addressed the shortcoming first highlighted back in the late 1960s, such as an accessible new entrance, bright and modern interiors and a dedicated dining hall.
Ath-Thaigh Darroch. 21st century facilities in what is fundamentally a 19th century school. This shows one of the two “central halls” of the original design and the mezzanine-level corridors that provided access through it without disturbing those learning in it. Photo via Future Schools EdinburghThe school re-opened in 2022 as Ath-Thaigh Darroch – Darroch Annexe – housing much of Gillespie’s GME teaching as well as providing dedicated study spaces for older students preparing for exams. The building also houses a number of Gaelic language cultural institutions in the city and has “has quickly become the heart of the Gaelic-speaking community in the city.”
TimeOccupant1908-1928Gilmore Place Public School / Continuation School1928-1939Darroch Intermediate School1928-1967Darroch Institute for Adults1939-1972Darroch Junior Secondary School1967-1998Darroch Education Centre1973-1976Darroch Annexe, Boroughmuir High School1976-1989Darroch Annexe, James Gillespie’s High School1998-2002St Thomas of Aquin’s R.C. High School (decant)2013-2016James Gillespie’s High School (decant)2022-presentAth-Thaigh Darroch, James Gillespie’s High SchoolTimeline of educational occupants of Gilmore Place / Darroch SchoolNote to readers: unfortunately in April 2026, a third-party plug-in more than exceeded its authority and broke many of the image links on this site. No images were lost but I will have to restore them page-by-page, which may take some time. In the meantime please bear with me while I go about rectifying this issue.
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Some daily shots, it’s slowly getting warmer in london and I’m really enjoying having a break in the freezing cold rain!
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Our infinite appetite for distractions: yesterday, today and tomorrow
Dear Realists,
Today I’d like to share with you words from brilliant writers and thinkers whose books – published decades ago – were incredibly prophetic in predicting our current cultural climate… and our fragmented attention.
George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four” (1949) is quoted extensively as a premonition of surveillance capitalism and the stripping of privacy by Big Tech. And yet, Neil Postman, in the foreword of his brilliant book “Amusing Ourselves to Death” (published in 1985), astutely remarked that another book turned out to be a more accurate prophecy for the state of things in the late 20th century: Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” (1932).
Amusing Ourselves to Death: what we love will ruin us
Postman writes:
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture […]. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny “failed to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions.” In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.
“Amusing Ourselves to Death” is a sharp critique of show business and how television and its codes altered public discourse:
Today, we must look to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, as a metaphor of our national character and aspiration, its symbol a thirty-foot-high cardboard picture of a slot machine and a chorus girl. For Las Vegas is a city entirely devoted to the idea of entertainment, and as such proclaims the spirit of a culture in which all public discourse increasingly takes the form of entertainment. Our politics, religion, news, athletics, education and commerce have been transformed into congenial adjuncts of show business, largely without protest or even much popular notice. The result is that we are a people on the verge of amusing ourselves to death.
This argument perfectly applies to the internet and especially to the most popular social media app of the 2020s: TikTok. Short clips, lasting a handful of seconds, are commanding the attention of over a billion people worldwide.
NYU business professor Scott Galloway recently wrote on his blog a post titled “TikTok: Trojan Stallion” remarking about TikTok’s wide – and free – talent pool:
Fifty-five percent of its users are also creators, meaning there are approximately 700 times as many creators working for TikTok than there are professionals producing content in film and TV across the globe. Most aren’t as talented, but many are.
TikTok revenues are dwarfing those by Netflix. Yes, you read that right. And while the latter is spending 17 billion dollars in content creation this year, TikTok’s users are creating content for the company for free.
Rapid-fire media is destroying our attention
Galloway writes in another post:
Compare the TikTok doomscroll to the Netflix experience, where you skim infinite thumbnails trying to figure out what to watch. Then you have to focus for 40 minutes. A big commitment these days. Parents report their kids can’t sit through feature-length films because they’re too slow. I notice with my 10 year-old, when he’s exposed to uninterrupted, quick-hit media, he has a difficult time afterward doing anything that requires focus … including being civil to his parents. Expect an emerging field of academic research looking at the effects on behavior, and the developing brain, of rapid-fire media.
Decades before the arrival of smartphone and social media, Neil Postman had written in “Amusing Ourselves to Death“:
Tyrants of all varieties have always known about the value of providing the masses with amusements as a means of pacifying discontent. But most of them could not have even hoped for a situation in which the masses would ignore that which does not amuse.
Doesn’t this apply perfectly to our current social media landscape? TikTok especially?
It’s fascinating how the app’s success has inspired rivals YouTube, Instagram and Facebook to radically change their products, imitating it, in an effort to recapture their users’ attention. (If you’re interested in learning more about this, just yesterday the New York Times published the article: “Meta tweaks Facebook app to act more like TikTok”).
4000 Weeks
In 1985, Postman warned:
When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; culture-death is a clear possibility. In America, Orwell’s prophecies are of small relevance, but Huxley’s are well under way toward being realized. For America is engaged in the world’s most ambitious experiment to accommodate itself to the technological distractions made possible by the electric plug.
It’s worth repeating that Postman wrote this in 1985 about television. Decades before the arrival of smartphones, social media, and addictive, AI-driven recommendation platforms like TikTok. And this phenomenon is not limited to America. One could say the same about any other country.
Apologies for the doom and gloom of this post. Where may one look for causes and solutions? I have been reading Oliver Burkeman’s “Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals.” The title of the book refers to the average life span: 4,000 weeks or 76.7 years.
Burkeman addresses head-on our “infinite appetite for distraction”:
[…] whenever we succumb to distraction, we’re attempting to flee a painful encounter with our finitude – with the human predicament of having limited time, and more especially, in the case of distraction, limited control over that time, which makes it impossible to feel certain about how things will turn out.
He continues:
No wonder we seek out distractions online, where it feels as though no limits apply – where you can update yourself instantaneously on events taking place a continent away, present yourself however you like, and keep scrolling forever through infinite newsfeeds, drifting through ‘a realm in which space doesn’t matter and time spreads out into an endless present’, to quote the critic James Duesterberg. It’s true that killing time on the internet often doesn’t feel especially fun, these days. But it doesn’t need to feel fun. In order to dull the pain of finitude, it just needs to make you feel unconstrained.
I can’t stop thinking about what Galloway said about the behavior of his 10 year old son. This has been on my mind a lot lately, as a filmmaker.
I’ll share this again:
I notice with my 10 year-old, when he’s exposed to uninterrupted, quick-hit media, he has a difficult time afterward doing anything that requires focus … including being civil to his parents. Expect an emerging field of academic research looking at the effects on behavior, and the developing brain, of rapid-fire media.
It feels like hundreds of millions of people are being conditioned every day to be as distracted as possible. To amuse themselves to death, in the words of Postman. Entire creative professions are being made irrelevant by the rise of certain tools and social media platforms.
And there is a stark difference between the media we have discussed so far. Television programming is the same for every viewer. Smartphone content is personalized and tweaked to each user. Burkeman recalled the words of Center for Humane Technology founder Tristan Harris:
[…] Each time you open a social media app, there are ‘a thousand people on the other side of the screen’ paid to keep you there – and so it’s unrealistic to expect users to resist the assault on their time and attention by willpower alone.
I think – I hope – the tide will turn at some point. That we will experience a global reckoning. That these conversations will become mainstream and that people will start actively resisting – and steering away from products that destroy their attention.
When I was researching and writing my documentary The Illusionists back in the day, very few people were talking about the influence of media and advertising on body image. There was one single body standard – white, thin women with big breasts, airbrushed to perfection – in billboard ads the world over. There has been incredible change in this field – now global brands are constantly striving for diversity and inclusion, of even older women, who used to be invisible in advertising. It took about a decade for change to happen. There are obviously still unattainable beauty ideals on display everywhere, but there is real consciousness, on the part of consumers, about what is happening and what to look out for.
I hope, with The Realists, to see something similar happen regarding our relationship to technology. Maybe Realists are pioneers of a new age of consciousness, of a more mindful approach to technology.
Our future generations deserve a better world – and more control over their attention, away from distractions. It may be easy to blame technological devices and platforms, but real change happens at home – and in schools, for younger kids. We need to start modeling a different behavior. Parents and grandparents have a big responsibility in this – digital literacy should be a topic they address head-on. And for adults with no kids, there are many burgeoning resources, books, and tools to reclaim focus and attention. I will include links to organizations at the bottom of the post.
We got this.
Resources for parents and kids:
- 5Rights Foundation: building the digital world that young people deserve
- Common Sense Media: global nonprofit helping families navigate media, tech and digital parenting.
- Fairplay: “creating a world where kids can be kids, free from false promises of marketers + Big Tech.”
- Screens and kids: research and advocacy for classroom digital device health & safety policies.
Resources for adults:
If this post speaks to you, please share it with friends and loved ones. And let me know in the comments how I can improve this newsletter or if you have requests for future issues.
Thank you!
– Elena
#4000Weeks #AldousHuxley #Books #digitalLiteracy #GeorgeOrwell #NeilPostman #OliverBurkeman #resources #ScottGalloway
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Wales at “critical tipping point” as new report warns nature crisis is already here
Neil Sachdev issued the stark message as NRW launched its latest State of Natural Resources Report (SoNaRR 2025) – a major assessment published under the Environment Act and designed to inform political debate ahead of the Senedd elections.
The report paints a bleak picture of Wales’ natural environment, warning that the country is “one of the most nature‑depleted in the world”, with almost one in five species now at risk of extinction. Only 40% of water bodies meet good status, and ecosystems across Wales are struggling under the combined weight of climate change, pollution, habitat loss and unsustainable land use.
NRW says the pressures are now “systemic”, built into everyday life – from how homes are heated to how food is produced, how people travel and how land is developed. While progress has been made in areas such as peatland restoration, air quality legislation and the Sustainable Farming Scheme, the report warns Wales is still consuming and degrading natural resources faster than they can be replenished.
Launching the report at Cardiff University’s Spark Innovation Campus, Neil Sachdev said Wales must now embrace major systems change.
Neil Sachdev, Chair of Natural Resources Wales, said:
“SoNaRR has shown us that the most damaging pressures on nature are not confined to environmental policy. They are built into how we heat our homes, how we travel, how we grow and consume food, how we use land, and how we invest in places. If Wales is to remain a place where people and nature thrive, we must change the systems themselves – not just manage their impacts.”
He said SoNaRR was “the diagnosis”, while a new chapter titled Bridges to the Future sets out a shared response, offering a roadmap for transforming Wales’ food, energy, transport and land systems.
The launch brought together senior figures including Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca‑Davies, Future Generations Commissioner Derek Walker and Elspeth Jones, Nature Guardian for the National Infrastructure Commission Wales.
Derek Walker, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, said:
“Nature is one of our most powerful allies in creating better lives for all of us. Without urgent, coordinated action across the public sector to halt and reverse the dangerous decline laid out in SoNaRR 2025, we are quite literally putting lives at risk unnecessarily.”
He warned that the consequences of failing to act would fall hardest on the most disadvantaged communities.
Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca‑Davies said:
“Protecting and enhancing nature is essential for people today, and for future generations. The people of Wales have made real progress – but we need to go further again. This report sets out how we can work together to respond, strengthening action to restore nature, tackle pollution and build resilience to climate change.”
The SoNaRR 2025 assessment concludes that Wales is still not meeting any of the four long‑term aims of sustainable natural resource management. Ecosystem resilience remains low, environmental risks are unevenly distributed across communities, and Wales’ consumption levels far exceed sustainable limits.
Neil Sachdev said the findings must act as a turning point.
Neil Sachdev added:
“This is not just a warning about our future; it is a reckoning with our present. If we act now, with urgency and shared ownership, Wales can lead – not just in ambition – but by delivering the scale of transformation the nation needs. If we don’t, the next SoNaRR will simply document deeper loss, higher costs and narrower choices.”
NRW says the decisions made in the coming months will shape Wales for decades, urging leaders across all sectors to use the evidence to drive bold, long‑term action.
More Environment News
Michael Sheen fronts new BBC series on South Wales contamination claims
Actor investigates decades‑old chemical pollution allegations in explosive new documentary.Pupils and artist hit back at fly‑tippers with bold Neath Port Talbot mural
Schoolchildren team up with a celebrity artist to call out illegal dumping.Millions of plastic bags to be scrapped in Swansea recycling shake‑up
Major overhaul aims to cut waste and boost recycling rates across the city.Pembrokeshire wins big as Erebus offshore wind project secures UK backing
#BridgesToTheFuture #climateChange #DerekWalker #Environment #FutureGenerationsCommissioner #HuwIrrancaDaviesMS #NaturalResourcesWales #NeilSachdev
Record auction result paves the way for a major Celtic Sea renewable energy boost. -
Wednesday Reads: Everything is Awful and Stupid.
Good Day!!
I’ve been getting more sleep than usual lately, but my chronic insomnia kicked in last night. I got almost no sleep. I’m really not ready to face another day with Trump and his antics, but I’ll do the best I can.
This news just broke from the Supreme Court:
The Washington Post (gift link): Supreme Court limits key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday sharply weakened a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act, a ruling that limits the consideration of race in drawing voting maps and could usher in Republican gains in the House.
The decision could touch off a scramble by Republicans to redraw minority-majority districts, especially in the South. New districts could shiftthe balance of power in Congress by imperiling the reelection prospects of some Black Democrats, possibly as soon as November’s midterms in some instances.
Samuel Alito (with Neil Gorsuch in the background on the left.)
The ruling also carries significant symbolic weight, effectively scaling backthe last major pillar of a 60-year-old law long considered one of the marquee achievements of the civil rights era. The Voting Rights Act bans discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests and poll taxes, and has helped greatly increase minority representation in state and federal offices.
The ruling also carries significant symbolic weight, effectively scaling backthe last major pillar of a 60-year-old law long considered one of the marquee achievements of the civil rights era. The Voting Rights Act bans discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests and poll taxes, and has helped greatly increase minority representation in state and federal offices.
In an ideologically divided 6-3 ruling, the conservative justices created a higher bar for the law’s powerful provision that allows states to use race to draw maps that help minority communities elect candidates of their choice. Section 2, as it is known, is aimed at combating discriminatory gerrymandering that weakens the power of Black, Latino, Native American and Asian voters.
States must walk a careful line when drawing maps for voting districts. The Voting Rights Act directsstates to consider race to some degreewhen redistricting to ensure that racial minority groups have an opportunity to elect representatives who reflect their priorities. Maps explicitly drawn along racial lines, however, violate the equal-protection clause of the 14th Amendment and the 15th Amendment’s ban on racial discrimination in voting practices.
Specifically:
The court’s conservative majority found Louisiana unlawfully discriminated by race when it created a second majority-Black congressional district to comply with the VRA. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote the opinion for the majority.
“Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act … was designed to enforce the Constitution — not collide with it,” Alito wrote. “Unfortunately, lower courts have sometimes applied this Court’s [Section] 2 precedents in a way that forces States to engage in the very race-based discrimination that the Constitution forbids.”
The decision came over the sharp objections of the court’s three liberals. Justice Elena Kagan delivered the dissent from the bench, signaling strong disagreement.
“Under the Court’s new view of Section 2, a State can, without legal consequence, systematically dilute minority citizens’ voting power,” Kagan wrote in the dissent.
Kate Riga at Talking Points Memo: Alito Pens Decision That ‘Eviscerates’ The Voting Rights Act.
The Roberts Court finally achieved its years-long goal of killing the Voting Rights Act Wednesday, publishing a ruling that, the liberal justices say, will make proving racial discrimination in redistricting virtually impossible.
“Under the Court’s new view of Section 2, a State can, without legal consequence, systematically dilute minority citizens’ voting power,” wrote Justice Elena Kagan in her dissent.
“Of course, the majority does not announce today’s holding that way. Its opinion is understated, even antiseptic,” she continued. “The majority claims only to be “updat[ing]” our Section 2 law, as though through a few technical tweaks. But in fact, those ‘updates’ eviscerate the law…”
Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion, joined by all five other justices inthe bench’s right wing. Kagan was joined in her dissent by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justice Clarence Thomas also wrote a concurrence joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Alito defangs the law by unilaterally cancelling out congressional fixes to it — primarily, that plaintiffs bringing claims of racial vote dilution no longer have to prove that the legislators drawing the maps did so to purposefully discriminate. This bar had proved so difficult to overcome, especially as legislators became more adept at using facially neutral language, that Congress adopted amendments to the VRA asserting that if the maps have a discriminatory effect, that’s enough. Chief Justice John Roberts, then working in the Reagan administration, spearheaded the unsuccessful effort to doom the passage of those amendments.
Alito hand waves this history away, in part, by echoing Roberts’ reasoning in an earlier decision that eviscerated the VRA’s preclearance requirement, which required jurisdictions with histories of racial discrimination in voting to submit changes in election laws to the federal government for clearance before they could take effect. Roberts, in Shelby County v. Holder, said that the country had made such great strides in racial equality that the preventative measure was no longer necessary — ushering in a flood of new voter restrictions, particularly in the states that comprised the old Confederacy.
Read the rest at TPM.
Trump has insomnia too, it seems. He posted an idiotic message to Iran at an ungodly hour:
Trump posted this insanity at 4 in the morning
He is such an embarrassment! Of course the corporate media report this as if it’s perfectly normal. Here’s the latest on the Iran situation:
NBC News: Trump warns Iran ‘better get smart soon’ as he weighs military options over Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump warned Iran “better get smart soon” Wednesday, as he weighed military options for the Strait of Hormuz with peace talks at an impasse.
Members of Trump’s national security team presented him with multiple options this week for how to handle the continuing bottleneck in the strait after negotiations failed to reopen the critical waterway, a U.S. official and a person familiar with the meeting told NBC News.
The standoff between Washington and Tehran, including the continued U.S. naval blockade, means the key trade route has been effectively blocked for two months.
The threat of prolonged disruption to the global economy has sent energy prices soaring — gas price averages in the U.S. reached $4.23 a gallon,the highest level in nearly four years, while the international benchmark price for oil, Brent crude, surged to $115 a barrel early Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Iran’s national rial currency hit a record low against the dollar, as Tehran’s economy also showed growing signs of strain.
The options discussed during Monday’s meeting in the Situation Room included whether the U.S. military presence in the strait should change — either increase or decrease — and whether the military should become more aggressive in conducting operations there, the U.S. official said.
Trump has not made any decisions about the way forward, the sources said, and it’s not clear when he might make a decision.
They don’t even note that the warning from Trump came in an idiotic Truth Social post until paragraph 11!
Trump and other top administration officials met with a group of energy industry executives on Tuesday, discussing possible next steps in continuing the blockade of Iran’s ports “for months if needed” and how to minimize impacts on American consumers, a White House official told NBC News.
The meeting was hosted by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent included executives from Chevron, Trafi, Vitol and Mecuria, among other companies.
The U.S. showed little immediate enthusiasm for a new Iranian proposal that would end the war and reopen the strait without resolving the impasse over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program — a key stumbling block in the stalled peace talks.
There’s quite a bit more information at the link.
Raw Story: Trump quietly telling insiders to prepare for ‘extended’ blockade of Iran: report.
President Donald Trump is quietly telling administration insiders to prepare for an “extended” blockade of Iran as negotiations to end the war with the regime drag on.
On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing “U.S. officials,” that Trump has told his aides that the blockade of Iran will continue, as the two sides remain far apart on Trump’s stated goal of getting the regime to give up its nuclear arms capabilities altogether. The report followed a meeting in the Situation Room on Monday, where Trump administration officials reviewed an offer to end the war from the Iranian regime that included reopening the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for delaying talks about nuclear weapons.
The report also suggests that Trump appears to be digging in and trying to tighten the screws on Iran’s economy.
“In recent meetings, including a Monday discussion in the Situation Room, Trump opted to continue squeezing Iran’s economy and oil exports by preventing shipping to and from its ports,” according to the report. “He assessed that his other options—resume bombing or walk away from the conflict—carried more risk than maintaining the blockade, officials said.”
“Yet continuing the blockade also prolongs a conflict that has driven up gas prices, hurt Trump’s poll numbers and further darkened Republicans’ prospects in the midterm elections,” it continued. “It has also caused the lowest number of transits through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began.”
In other Middle East news, the UAE is leaving OPEC. AP: The UAE’s departure from OPEC shakes up the alliance that influences oil prices worldwide.
The decision by the United Arab Emirates to leave the OPEC oil cartel shook up the 65-year-old alliance that produces some 40% of the world’s crude oil and exerts major influence over the price of energy around the globe.
OPEC countries
The UAE said in the announcement Tuesday that when it leaves OPEC this Friday, it plans to carry on with its long-held goal of increasing crude production “in a gradual and measured manner, aligned with demand and market conditions.”
Right now, that’s academic as far as oil prices go, since Iran is still blocking the Strait of Hormuz, which means much of the oil from Persian Gulf producers such as the UAE cannot be exported. But the departure could have long-term effects on oil prices….
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was formed in Baghdad in September 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. It has 12 members — counting the UAE — that hold more than 80% of the world’s proven oil reserves. Other members are Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria and the Republic of the Congo….
The group, headquartered in Vienna, aims to regulate oil prices by coordinating increases or decreases in production.
The goal has been to keep prices high enough so member governments can balance their budgets and reap the benefits of their natural resources — but not so high as to cause a recession in consuming countries or to halt energy-consuming activity, a phenomenon known as demand destruction.
Trump has really screwed us and the rest of the world with his illegal Iran war. Analysis by Andrew Roth at The Guardian: Trump in tough spot as he tries to avoid deal that highlights US failures in Iran.
Donald Trump is learning first-hand about the perils of mission creep.
The US-Israel war in Iran has just passed its eighth week – twice as long as the president predicted it would take when US warplanes launched their joint attack with Israeli forces to decapitate the Iranian leadership and paralyse its military. The military attacks were successful. The predictions about the political cause-and-effect to follow were not.
Iran has survived the initial strikes and remains defiant, closing the strait of Hormuz in a move that has blocked off a fifth of the global oil trade. The US has responded with its own blockade to lock in Iranian oil, inflicting losses of an estimated $500m daily on Tehran and threatening the country’s long-term energy production – but negotiations have stalled and it is not clear if the White House is willing to withstand the pain of a sustained economic war or the risk of a military operation to open the strait.
“This has gone from being a war of choice to a war of necessity,” said Aaron David Miller, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment and a former US diplomat and Middle East negotiator.
The war had transformed from a conflict involving Iran, the US and Israel to a “global economic crisis which shows no signs of abating”. Just this week, petrol prices in the US approached a four-year high, and they are expected to continue to rise before a crucial midterm election that could allow the Democrats to retake congress.
“The status quo is not tolerable … there has to be a fix to it,” Miller said. “It strikes me that the administration is in a very tough spot.”
But the solution remains elusive. One option would be to negotiate a temporary reopening of the strait of Hormuz but to delay nuclear talks on the fate of the more than 400kg of highly enriched uranium (HEU) – as well as the country’s right to enrich uranium in the future.
Read the rest at The Guardian.
Yesterday the “Justice” Department indicted James Comey for the second time. The indictment is unbelievably stupid. He is accused of threatening to assassinate Trump because he posted on social media a photo of some seashells spelling “86 47.”
This Comey indictment should be in Comic Sans
— Tim Dickinson (@timdickinson.bsky.social) 2026-04-28T21:09:18.050Z
Attorney Ken White AKA Popehat wrote about it at The Popehat Report: The Comey Threat Indictment Is A Grave Embarrassment To The United States Department of Justice And The Rule of Law.
I wrote up the Comey indictment.https://www.popehat.com/p/the-comey-…
On April 28, 2026, the United States Department of Justice indicted former FBI Director James Comey over a mildly sassy arrangement of seashells. The charge is preposterous and no competent or honest prosecutor would bring it. It represents a betrayal of the professional and ethical obligations of every U.S. Department of Justice attorney involved, and reflects the complete collapse of the Department’s credibility and independence in favor of a cultish and cretinous devotion to Donald Trump.
The indictment concerns James Comey’s May 25, 2025 post to his Instagram account remarking “Cool shell formation on my beach walk” and showing shells arranged to spell out “86 47.” [….]
47 is Donald Trump, the 47th President of the United States, and “86” is slang for ditch, get rid of, or discard.
Based on this, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina — the venue of the sassy beach stroll — secured an indictment against Comey for two federal felonies: threatening the President of the United States in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 871 and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce in violation of Title 18, United States Code, 875(c). In both counts, the government asserts that “a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of intent to do harm.” That is, of course, a preposterous lie….
Let’s look at what the government would have to prove to convict Comey of these offenses, using cases from the Fourth Circuit, which governs this district. To prove a threat against the President in violation of Section 871, the prosecution must offer “(1) the proof of “a true threat” and (2) that the threat is made “knowingly and willfully.”“ United States v. Lockhart, 382 F.3d 447, 449-450 (4th Cir. 2004). To prove a threat in interstate commerce in violation of Section 875(c), the government must prove that “(1) that the defendant knowingly transmitted a communication in interstate or foreign commerce; (2) that the defendant subjectively intended the communication as a threat; and (3) that the content of the communication contained a “true threat” to kidnap or injure.” United States v. White, 810 F.3d 212, 220-21 (4th Cir. 2016). For purposes of both statutes, a “true threat” is a statement which an “ordinary, reasonable recipient who is familiar with the context in which the statement is made would interpret it as a serious expression of an intent to do harm.” White, 810 F.3d at 221.
Prosecutions for threats against the President played a substantial role in developing the First Amendment doctrine of “true threats,” which separates bluster and rhetoric from actual threats to do harm. In Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705 (1969), the United States Supreme Court took up the conviction of an 18-year-old man who said this during an anti-draft protest during Vietnam: “They always holler at us to get an education. And now I have already received my draft classification as 1-A and I have got to report for my physical this Monday coming. I am not going. If they ever make me carry a rifle the first man I want to get in my sights is L. B. J. . . . . They are not going to make me kill my black brothers.” The Court articulated the core of the “true threat” doctrine, noting that political rhetoric, hyperbole, and robust debate that does not convey an intent to do harm is protected by the First Amendment:
“But whatever the “willfullness” requirement implies, the statute initially requires the Government to prove a true threat. We do not believe that the kind of political hyperbole indulged in by petitioner fits within that statutory term. For we must interpret the language Congress chose “against the background of a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.” New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 270 (1964). The language [**1402] of the political arena, like the language used in labor disputes, see Linn v. United Plant Guard Workers of America, 383 U.S. 53, 58 (1966), is often vituperative, abusive, and inexact. We agree with petitioner that his only offense here was “a kind of very crude offensive method of stating a political opposition to the President.” Taken in context, and regarding the expressly conditional nature of the statement and the reaction of the listeners, we do not see how it could be interpreted otherwise. Watts, 394 U.S. at 708.”
No minimally rationally person could possibly conclude, seeing James Comey’s beachside dad joke, that he was expressing a sincere intent to harm the President. Nobody could look at it and conclude that Comey intended to convey that message. In evaluating whether a threat is “true,” the trier of fact must consider the context. Here the context is seashells. The context is the former Director of the FBI, a lifetime member of law enforcement, who is a well-known critic of the President and a target of the President’s wrath, using a campy mechanism to express opposition to the President, using slang for “ditch” or “eject” or “get rid of.” No rational person could see that and say “the former director of the FBI is saying he’s going to kill the President”!”
I could now cite to you a legion of cases for that proposition, finding rhetoric far more concerning than this protected by the First Amendment, analyzing language and context to show this is protected. But it wouldn’t matter, would it? If you are a minimally rational person, you don’t need to see the precedent, and if you’re a cultist, no amount of precedent matters to you.
He does go on; read the rest at the link above.
From Blanche’s press conference yesterday:
Q: Should we expect more indictments of this sort? For example, in 2020 Gretchen Whitmer did a TV hit with "8645" in the background." Would you pursue that?BLANCHE: As far as other instances of threats against the president — those will be investigated
I hope Blanche doesn’t have plans to continue legal work in the future. I don’t think he’s going to have a license. The same goes for the lawyers who prosecute this case.
One more from The Washington Post: Prosecutions of Trump’s foes add to GOP’s headaches in midterms.
Republicans hoping their party’s standard-bearer will stay focused on voters’ priorities heading into the November midterms caught no relief on Tuesday as the Trump administration announced charges against former FBI director James B. Comey and an aide to former chief medical adviser Anthony S. Fauci, as well as a review of Disney’s broadcast licenses.
The latest instances of turning government power against President Donald Trump’s critics and pursuing years-old grievances added to frustrations felt by Republicans who say the president isn’t doing enough to address the signature issues that won him a second term.
Two-thirds of Americans said Trump hasn’t paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems in a CNN survey conducted late last month, up from 52 percent in February 2025 and higher than at any point in his first term.
“No Republican wants to run on ‘I stand with Donald Trump’s retribution tour’” while gas prices are so high, said Barrett Marson, a GOP strategist in Arizona. “There is no doubt that the vast majority of non-MAGA voters want Trump to focus on anything but his personal animus toward a wide variety of people.”
The White House said the Comey prosecution has no bearing on Trump’s efforts to bring down costs — moves that include signing a tax-cut bill, adding discounted drugs to a government-run portal, expanding domestic beef production, releasing oil reserves and easing restrictions on tankers moving fuel between U.S. ports.
“The idea that President Trump and his Cabinet agencies cannot execute multiple actions simultaneously is so laughably false,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. “The insinuation that a grand jury returning an indictment is mutually exclusive with the administration’s strong efforts on the economy is objectively false.”
Other Republicans, however, asked about the administration’s priorities. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned whether the Comey case was the best use of time and resources for the acting U.S. attorney from his state who brought the charges, W. Ellis Boyle. Trump renominated Boyle to the position in January after the Senate took no action on his nomination last year.
This is just who Trump is. We can only hope the Democrats will win the House and Senate and impeach him.
That’s it for me today. What’s on your mind?
#8647 #DonaldTrump #IranWar #JamesComeyIndictedAgain #JusticeDepartment #KenWhite #OPEC #Popehat #RobertsCourt #SamuelAlito #SCOTUS #ToddBlanche #UAE #VotingRightsAct -
Wednesday Reads: Everything is Awful and Stupid.
Good Day!!
I’ve been getting more sleep than usual lately, but my chronic insomnia kicked in last night. I got almost no sleep. I’m really not ready to face another day with Trump and his antics, but I’ll do the best I can.
This news just broke from the Supreme Court:
The Washington Post (gift link): Supreme Court limits key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday sharply weakened a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act, a ruling that limits the consideration of race in drawing voting maps and could usher in Republican gains in the House.
The decision could touch off a scramble by Republicans to redraw minority-majority districts, especially in the South. New districts could shiftthe balance of power in Congress by imperiling the reelection prospects of some Black Democrats, possibly as soon as November’s midterms in some instances.
Samuel Alito (with Neil Gorsuch in the background on the left.)
The ruling also carries significant symbolic weight, effectively scaling backthe last major pillar of a 60-year-old law long considered one of the marquee achievements of the civil rights era. The Voting Rights Act bans discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests and poll taxes, and has helped greatly increase minority representation in state and federal offices.
The ruling also carries significant symbolic weight, effectively scaling backthe last major pillar of a 60-year-old law long considered one of the marquee achievements of the civil rights era. The Voting Rights Act bans discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests and poll taxes, and has helped greatly increase minority representation in state and federal offices.
In an ideologically divided 6-3 ruling, the conservative justices created a higher bar for the law’s powerful provision that allows states to use race to draw maps that help minority communities elect candidates of their choice. Section 2, as it is known, is aimed at combating discriminatory gerrymandering that weakens the power of Black, Latino, Native American and Asian voters.
States must walk a careful line when drawing maps for voting districts. The Voting Rights Act directsstates to consider race to some degreewhen redistricting to ensure that racial minority groups have an opportunity to elect representatives who reflect their priorities. Maps explicitly drawn along racial lines, however, violate the equal-protection clause of the 14th Amendment and the 15th Amendment’s ban on racial discrimination in voting practices.
Specifically:
The court’s conservative majority found Louisiana unlawfully discriminated by race when it created a second majority-Black congressional district to comply with the VRA. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote the opinion for the majority.
“Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act … was designed to enforce the Constitution — not collide with it,” Alito wrote. “Unfortunately, lower courts have sometimes applied this Court’s [Section] 2 precedents in a way that forces States to engage in the very race-based discrimination that the Constitution forbids.”
The decision came over the sharp objections of the court’s three liberals. Justice Elena Kagan delivered the dissent from the bench, signaling strong disagreement.
“Under the Court’s new view of Section 2, a State can, without legal consequence, systematically dilute minority citizens’ voting power,” Kagan wrote in the dissent.
Kate Riga at Talking Points Memo: Alito Pens Decision That ‘Eviscerates’ The Voting Rights Act.
The Roberts Court finally achieved its years-long goal of killing the Voting Rights Act Wednesday, publishing a ruling that, the liberal justices say, will make proving racial discrimination in redistricting virtually impossible.
“Under the Court’s new view of Section 2, a State can, without legal consequence, systematically dilute minority citizens’ voting power,” wrote Justice Elena Kagan in her dissent.
“Of course, the majority does not announce today’s holding that way. Its opinion is understated, even antiseptic,” she continued. “The majority claims only to be “updat[ing]” our Section 2 law, as though through a few technical tweaks. But in fact, those ‘updates’ eviscerate the law…”
Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion, joined by all five other justices inthe bench’s right wing. Kagan was joined in her dissent by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justice Clarence Thomas also wrote a concurrence joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Alito defangs the law by unilaterally cancelling out congressional fixes to it — primarily, that plaintiffs bringing claims of racial vote dilution no longer have to prove that the legislators drawing the maps did so to purposefully discriminate. This bar had proved so difficult to overcome, especially as legislators became more adept at using facially neutral language, that Congress adopted amendments to the VRA asserting that if the maps have a discriminatory effect, that’s enough. Chief Justice John Roberts, then working in the Reagan administration, spearheaded the unsuccessful effort to doom the passage of those amendments.
Alito hand waves this history away, in part, by echoing Roberts’ reasoning in an earlier decision that eviscerated the VRA’s preclearance requirement, which required jurisdictions with histories of racial discrimination in voting to submit changes in election laws to the federal government for clearance before they could take effect. Roberts, in Shelby County v. Holder, said that the country had made such great strides in racial equality that the preventative measure was no longer necessary — ushering in a flood of new voter restrictions, particularly in the states that comprised the old Confederacy.
Read the rest at TPM.
Trump has insomnia too, it seems. He posted an idiotic message to Iran at an ungodly hour:
Trump posted this insanity at 4 in the morning
He is such an embarrassment! Of course the corporate media report this as if it’s perfectly normal. Here’s the latest on the Iran situation:
NBC News: Trump warns Iran ‘better get smart soon’ as he weighs military options over Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump warned Iran “better get smart soon” Wednesday, as he weighed military options for the Strait of Hormuz with peace talks at an impasse.
Members of Trump’s national security team presented him with multiple options this week for how to handle the continuing bottleneck in the strait after negotiations failed to reopen the critical waterway, a U.S. official and a person familiar with the meeting told NBC News.
The standoff between Washington and Tehran, including the continued U.S. naval blockade, means the key trade route has been effectively blocked for two months.
The threat of prolonged disruption to the global economy has sent energy prices soaring — gas price averages in the U.S. reached $4.23 a gallon,the highest level in nearly four years, while the international benchmark price for oil, Brent crude, surged to $115 a barrel early Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Iran’s national rial currency hit a record low against the dollar, as Tehran’s economy also showed growing signs of strain.
The options discussed during Monday’s meeting in the Situation Room included whether the U.S. military presence in the strait should change — either increase or decrease — and whether the military should become more aggressive in conducting operations there, the U.S. official said.
Trump has not made any decisions about the way forward, the sources said, and it’s not clear when he might make a decision.
They don’t even note that the warning from Trump came in an idiotic Truth Social post until paragraph 11!
Trump and other top administration officials met with a group of energy industry executives on Tuesday, discussing possible next steps in continuing the blockade of Iran’s ports “for months if needed” and how to minimize impacts on American consumers, a White House official told NBC News.
The meeting was hosted by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent included executives from Chevron, Trafi, Vitol and Mecuria, among other companies.
The U.S. showed little immediate enthusiasm for a new Iranian proposal that would end the war and reopen the strait without resolving the impasse over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program — a key stumbling block in the stalled peace talks.
There’s quite a bit more information at the link.
Raw Story: Trump quietly telling insiders to prepare for ‘extended’ blockade of Iran: report.
President Donald Trump is quietly telling administration insiders to prepare for an “extended” blockade of Iran as negotiations to end the war with the regime drag on.
On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing “U.S. officials,” that Trump has told his aides that the blockade of Iran will continue, as the two sides remain far apart on Trump’s stated goal of getting the regime to give up its nuclear arms capabilities altogether. The report followed a meeting in the Situation Room on Monday, where Trump administration officials reviewed an offer to end the war from the Iranian regime that included reopening the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for delaying talks about nuclear weapons.
The report also suggests that Trump appears to be digging in and trying to tighten the screws on Iran’s economy.
“In recent meetings, including a Monday discussion in the Situation Room, Trump opted to continue squeezing Iran’s economy and oil exports by preventing shipping to and from its ports,” according to the report. “He assessed that his other options—resume bombing or walk away from the conflict—carried more risk than maintaining the blockade, officials said.”
“Yet continuing the blockade also prolongs a conflict that has driven up gas prices, hurt Trump’s poll numbers and further darkened Republicans’ prospects in the midterm elections,” it continued. “It has also caused the lowest number of transits through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began.”
In other Middle East news, the UAE is leaving OPEC. AP: The UAE’s departure from OPEC shakes up the alliance that influences oil prices worldwide.
The decision by the United Arab Emirates to leave the OPEC oil cartel shook up the 65-year-old alliance that produces some 40% of the world’s crude oil and exerts major influence over the price of energy around the globe.
OPEC countries
The UAE said in the announcement Tuesday that when it leaves OPEC this Friday, it plans to carry on with its long-held goal of increasing crude production “in a gradual and measured manner, aligned with demand and market conditions.”
Right now, that’s academic as far as oil prices go, since Iran is still blocking the Strait of Hormuz, which means much of the oil from Persian Gulf producers such as the UAE cannot be exported. But the departure could have long-term effects on oil prices….
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was formed in Baghdad in September 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. It has 12 members — counting the UAE — that hold more than 80% of the world’s proven oil reserves. Other members are Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria and the Republic of the Congo….
The group, headquartered in Vienna, aims to regulate oil prices by coordinating increases or decreases in production.
The goal has been to keep prices high enough so member governments can balance their budgets and reap the benefits of their natural resources — but not so high as to cause a recession in consuming countries or to halt energy-consuming activity, a phenomenon known as demand destruction.
Trump has really screwed us and the rest of the world with his illegal Iran war. Analysis by Andrew Roth at The Guardian: Trump in tough spot as he tries to avoid deal that highlights US failures in Iran.
Donald Trump is learning first-hand about the perils of mission creep.
The US-Israel war in Iran has just passed its eighth week – twice as long as the president predicted it would take when US warplanes launched their joint attack with Israeli forces to decapitate the Iranian leadership and paralyse its military. The military attacks were successful. The predictions about the political cause-and-effect to follow were not.
Iran has survived the initial strikes and remains defiant, closing the strait of Hormuz in a move that has blocked off a fifth of the global oil trade. The US has responded with its own blockade to lock in Iranian oil, inflicting losses of an estimated $500m daily on Tehran and threatening the country’s long-term energy production – but negotiations have stalled and it is not clear if the White House is willing to withstand the pain of a sustained economic war or the risk of a military operation to open the strait.
“This has gone from being a war of choice to a war of necessity,” said Aaron David Miller, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment and a former US diplomat and Middle East negotiator.
The war had transformed from a conflict involving Iran, the US and Israel to a “global economic crisis which shows no signs of abating”. Just this week, petrol prices in the US approached a four-year high, and they are expected to continue to rise before a crucial midterm election that could allow the Democrats to retake congress.
“The status quo is not tolerable … there has to be a fix to it,” Miller said. “It strikes me that the administration is in a very tough spot.”
But the solution remains elusive. One option would be to negotiate a temporary reopening of the strait of Hormuz but to delay nuclear talks on the fate of the more than 400kg of highly enriched uranium (HEU) – as well as the country’s right to enrich uranium in the future.
Read the rest at The Guardian.
Yesterday the “Justice” Department indicted James Comey for the second time. The indictment is unbelievably stupid. He is accused of threatening to assassinate Trump because he posted on social media a photo of some seashells spelling “86 47.”
This Comey indictment should be in Comic Sans
— Tim Dickinson (@timdickinson.bsky.social) 2026-04-28T21:09:18.050Z
Attorney Ken White AKA Popehat wrote about it at The Popehat Report: The Comey Threat Indictment Is A Grave Embarrassment To The United States Department of Justice And The Rule of Law.
I wrote up the Comey indictment.https://www.popehat.com/p/the-comey-…
On April 28, 2026, the United States Department of Justice indicted former FBI Director James Comey over a mildly sassy arrangement of seashells. The charge is preposterous and no competent or honest prosecutor would bring it. It represents a betrayal of the professional and ethical obligations of every U.S. Department of Justice attorney involved, and reflects the complete collapse of the Department’s credibility and independence in favor of a cultish and cretinous devotion to Donald Trump.
The indictment concerns James Comey’s May 25, 2025 post to his Instagram account remarking “Cool shell formation on my beach walk” and showing shells arranged to spell out “86 47.” [….]
47 is Donald Trump, the 47th President of the United States, and “86” is slang for ditch, get rid of, or discard.
Based on this, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina — the venue of the sassy beach stroll — secured an indictment against Comey for two federal felonies: threatening the President of the United States in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 871 and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce in violation of Title 18, United States Code, 875(c). In both counts, the government asserts that “a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of intent to do harm.” That is, of course, a preposterous lie….
Let’s look at what the government would have to prove to convict Comey of these offenses, using cases from the Fourth Circuit, which governs this district. To prove a threat against the President in violation of Section 871, the prosecution must offer “(1) the proof of “a true threat” and (2) that the threat is made “knowingly and willfully.”“ United States v. Lockhart, 382 F.3d 447, 449-450 (4th Cir. 2004). To prove a threat in interstate commerce in violation of Section 875(c), the government must prove that “(1) that the defendant knowingly transmitted a communication in interstate or foreign commerce; (2) that the defendant subjectively intended the communication as a threat; and (3) that the content of the communication contained a “true threat” to kidnap or injure.” United States v. White, 810 F.3d 212, 220-21 (4th Cir. 2016). For purposes of both statutes, a “true threat” is a statement which an “ordinary, reasonable recipient who is familiar with the context in which the statement is made would interpret it as a serious expression of an intent to do harm.” White, 810 F.3d at 221.
Prosecutions for threats against the President played a substantial role in developing the First Amendment doctrine of “true threats,” which separates bluster and rhetoric from actual threats to do harm. In Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705 (1969), the United States Supreme Court took up the conviction of an 18-year-old man who said this during an anti-draft protest during Vietnam: “They always holler at us to get an education. And now I have already received my draft classification as 1-A and I have got to report for my physical this Monday coming. I am not going. If they ever make me carry a rifle the first man I want to get in my sights is L. B. J. . . . . They are not going to make me kill my black brothers.” The Court articulated the core of the “true threat” doctrine, noting that political rhetoric, hyperbole, and robust debate that does not convey an intent to do harm is protected by the First Amendment:
“But whatever the “willfullness” requirement implies, the statute initially requires the Government to prove a true threat. We do not believe that the kind of political hyperbole indulged in by petitioner fits within that statutory term. For we must interpret the language Congress chose “against the background of a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.” New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 270 (1964). The language [**1402] of the political arena, like the language used in labor disputes, see Linn v. United Plant Guard Workers of America, 383 U.S. 53, 58 (1966), is often vituperative, abusive, and inexact. We agree with petitioner that his only offense here was “a kind of very crude offensive method of stating a political opposition to the President.” Taken in context, and regarding the expressly conditional nature of the statement and the reaction of the listeners, we do not see how it could be interpreted otherwise. Watts, 394 U.S. at 708.”
No minimally rationally person could possibly conclude, seeing James Comey’s beachside dad joke, that he was expressing a sincere intent to harm the President. Nobody could look at it and conclude that Comey intended to convey that message. In evaluating whether a threat is “true,” the trier of fact must consider the context. Here the context is seashells. The context is the former Director of the FBI, a lifetime member of law enforcement, who is a well-known critic of the President and a target of the President’s wrath, using a campy mechanism to express opposition to the President, using slang for “ditch” or “eject” or “get rid of.” No rational person could see that and say “the former director of the FBI is saying he’s going to kill the President”!”
I could now cite to you a legion of cases for that proposition, finding rhetoric far more concerning than this protected by the First Amendment, analyzing language and context to show this is protected. But it wouldn’t matter, would it? If you are a minimally rational person, you don’t need to see the precedent, and if you’re a cultist, no amount of precedent matters to you.
He does go on; read the rest at the link above.
From Blanche’s press conference yesterday:
Q: Should we expect more indictments of this sort? For example, in 2020 Gretchen Whitmer did a TV hit with "8645" in the background." Would you pursue that?BLANCHE: As far as other instances of threats against the president — those will be investigated
I hope Blanche doesn’t have plans to continue legal work in the future. I don’t think he’s going to have a license. The same goes for the lawyers who prosecute this case.
One more from The Washington Post: Prosecutions of Trump’s foes add to GOP’s headaches in midterms.
Republicans hoping their party’s standard-bearer will stay focused on voters’ priorities heading into the November midterms caught no relief on Tuesday as the Trump administration announced charges against former FBI director James B. Comey and an aide to former chief medical adviser Anthony S. Fauci, as well as a review of Disney’s broadcast licenses.
The latest instances of turning government power against President Donald Trump’s critics and pursuing years-old grievances added to frustrations felt by Republicans who say the president isn’t doing enough to address the signature issues that won him a second term.
Two-thirds of Americans said Trump hasn’t paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems in a CNN survey conducted late last month, up from 52 percent in February 2025 and higher than at any point in his first term.
“No Republican wants to run on ‘I stand with Donald Trump’s retribution tour’” while gas prices are so high, said Barrett Marson, a GOP strategist in Arizona. “There is no doubt that the vast majority of non-MAGA voters want Trump to focus on anything but his personal animus toward a wide variety of people.”
The White House said the Comey prosecution has no bearing on Trump’s efforts to bring down costs — moves that include signing a tax-cut bill, adding discounted drugs to a government-run portal, expanding domestic beef production, releasing oil reserves and easing restrictions on tankers moving fuel between U.S. ports.
“The idea that President Trump and his Cabinet agencies cannot execute multiple actions simultaneously is so laughably false,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. “The insinuation that a grand jury returning an indictment is mutually exclusive with the administration’s strong efforts on the economy is objectively false.”
Other Republicans, however, asked about the administration’s priorities. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned whether the Comey case was the best use of time and resources for the acting U.S. attorney from his state who brought the charges, W. Ellis Boyle. Trump renominated Boyle to the position in January after the Senate took no action on his nomination last year.
This is just who Trump is. We can only hope the Democrats will win the House and Senate and impeach him.
That’s it for me today. What’s on your mind?
#8647 #DonaldTrump #IranWar #JamesComeyIndictedAgain #JusticeDepartment #KenWhite #OPEC #Popehat #RobertsCourt #SamuelAlito #SCOTUS #ToddBlanche #UAE #VotingRightsAct -
Rock Art on Screen: 12 Free Documentaries That Bring the Painted Past to Life
By Seth Chagi for World of Paleoanthropology
“We carry the torch of ancient storytellers each time we switch on a screen.” — Stoic reflection after too many late‑night documentary binges
Rock art feels simultaneously intimate and cosmic—handprints that whisper I was here across 30,000 years. The internet, bless its algorithmic heart, is brimming with free films that let us wander those caves and escarpments without the knee‑scrapes, bat guano, or UNESCO paperwork. Below are a dozen feature‑length (20 min +) documentaries your audience can stream today. I’ve grouped them by theme and noted what each one can teach us. Pop some popcorn (or Aquafor‑coated trail mix if you’re truly hardcore) and prepare to time‑travel.
1. Deep Time Immersion
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“Cave of Forgotten Dreams”89 minWatchDocumentaries.comWerner Herzog’s 3‑D glide through Chauvet (32 kya) is as close as most of us will get to those charcoal lions. Perfect for discussing preservation ethics, pigment chemistry, and the phenomenology of darkness.“Inside France’s Chauvet Cave” (DW Documentary)52 minYouTubeA more traditional science‑journalist tour that balances visuals with up‑to‑date uranium‑thorium dating and virtual‑reality replication work. Great classroom fodder on 3‑D scanning.2. Rock Art & Global Narratives
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“Les secrets des fresques d’Amazonie”88 minARTE.tvTakes viewers into Colombia’s Serranía de la Lindosa cliff murals—tens of thousands of figures dated ≥12 kya—while foregrounding Indigenous perspectives and environmental stakes.“Oldest Cave Art Found in Sulawesi”24 minYouTube (Griffith Univ.)Concise but rich breakdown of the 45 kya pig panel & new 51 kya hunting scene; use it to spark debates on symbolic cognition outside Europe.“KIMBERLEY ROCK ART: A World Treasure”45 minYouTubeExplores Australia’s Gwion Gwion & Wandjina iconography, weaving in modern Aboriginal custodianship and cutting‑edge optically stimulated luminescence dating.“The Rock Art of Arnhem Land” (Part I)26 minYouTubeVeteran archaeologist Paul Taçon walks viewers through x‑ray kangaroos and Lightning Man motifs; ideal primer on superimposition sequences.3. Mediterranean & Atlantic Europe
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“Rock‑Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus” (UNESCO/NHK)28 minUNESCO.orgSahara pastoralism in motion—perfect for stressing how climate shifts shaped iconographic changes.“Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin”28 minYouTube (UNESCO)Surveys 758 Iberian sites; includes rare footage of Levantine‑style hunters in eastern Spain. Good segue into discussions of pigment sourcing.“Prehistoric Rock Art of the Côa Valley & Siega Verde”30 minUNESCO.orgNight‑shot filming of open‑air engravings (≈25 kya onward) highlights why Foz Côa is a conservation victory.“Exploring the Ancient Art of Altamira”24 minYouTubeA guided VR‑style tour of Spain’s “Sistine Chapel of the Palaeolithic,” complete with replica cave construction details—great for public‑engagement case studies.4. Decoding Symbolic Systems
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“How Art Made the World – Ep 2: The Day Pictures Were Born”59 minYouTube (BBC series)Frames cave art within a cognitive‑evolution story: why image‑making matters for social cohesion.**“Paleo Cave Art Mysteries” (Episode 1 of 3)22 minYouTube**Paleoanthropologist Neil Bockoven dives into dot‑and‑line signs (à la von Petzinger) and therianthropes; a bite‑sized springboard for symbol taxonomy exercises.How to Use This Playlist – (of course, you could just be like me and want to watch them, but here are some fun activities for those of you who may be teachers, professors, and the like for your students to better engage with the content):
- Chronological Viewing Party: Start with Acacus for Holocene climate context, swing through European Upper Palaeolithic masterpieces, then finish in the Amazon to spotlight New World debates.
- Data‑Extraction Exercise: Have students log motifs, substrates, and dating techniques in a shared Zotero group to spot regional patterns.
- Compare Custodianship Models: Contrast Indigenous‑led management in Australia with state oversight in France and Spain—fertile ground for ethical discussions.
- DIY Experimental Archaeology: After watching the Altamira VR segment, try recreating blowing techniques with ochre and charcoal on butcher paper (outdoors, trust me).
Remember: every dash of ochre, every engraved aurochs, is a dialogue across millennia. Hit play, listen closely, and pass the story on.
Feel free to embed this post—just credit World of Paleoanthropology and link readers back to the documentary sources. Happy cave‑surfing!
#Altamira #AncientArt #Anthropology #Archaeology #ArtHistory #CaveArt #CavePainting #ChauvetCave #GwionGwion #HandsOnHistory #HumanEvolution #Lascaux #PaleoArt #Paleolithic #ParietalArt #Petroglyphs #PrehistoricArt #Prehistory #RockArt #RockArtResearch #StoneAge #SulawesiRockArt #UNESCOWorldHeritage #UpperPaleolithic
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Rock Art on Screen: 12 Free Documentaries That Bring the Painted Past to Life
By Seth Chagi for World of Paleoanthropology
“We carry the torch of ancient storytellers each time we switch on a screen.” — Stoic reflection after too many late‑night documentary binges
Rock art feels simultaneously intimate and cosmic—handprints that whisper I was here across 30,000 years. The internet, bless its algorithmic heart, is brimming with free films that let us wander those caves and escarpments without the knee‑scrapes, bat guano, or UNESCO paperwork. Below are a dozen feature‑length (20 min +) documentaries your audience can stream today. I’ve grouped them by theme and noted what each one can teach us. Pop some popcorn (or Aquafor‑coated trail mix if you’re truly hardcore) and prepare to time‑travel.
1. Deep Time Immersion
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“Cave of Forgotten Dreams”89 minWatchDocumentaries.comWerner Herzog’s 3‑D glide through Chauvet (32 kya) is as close as most of us will get to those charcoal lions. Perfect for discussing preservation ethics, pigment chemistry, and the phenomenology of darkness.“Inside France’s Chauvet Cave” (DW Documentary)52 minYouTubeA more traditional science‑journalist tour that balances visuals with up‑to‑date uranium‑thorium dating and virtual‑reality replication work. Great classroom fodder on 3‑D scanning.2. Rock Art & Global Narratives
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“Les secrets des fresques d’Amazonie”88 minARTE.tvTakes viewers into Colombia’s Serranía de la Lindosa cliff murals—tens of thousands of figures dated ≥12 kya—while foregrounding Indigenous perspectives and environmental stakes.“Oldest Cave Art Found in Sulawesi”24 minYouTube (Griffith Univ.)Concise but rich breakdown of the 45 kya pig panel & new 51 kya hunting scene; use it to spark debates on symbolic cognition outside Europe.“KIMBERLEY ROCK ART: A World Treasure”45 minYouTubeExplores Australia’s Gwion Gwion & Wandjina iconography, weaving in modern Aboriginal custodianship and cutting‑edge optically stimulated luminescence dating.“The Rock Art of Arnhem Land” (Part I)26 minYouTubeVeteran archaeologist Paul Taçon walks viewers through x‑ray kangaroos and Lightning Man motifs; ideal primer on superimposition sequences.3. Mediterranean & Atlantic Europe
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“Rock‑Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus” (UNESCO/NHK)28 minUNESCO.orgSahara pastoralism in motion—perfect for stressing how climate shifts shaped iconographic changes.“Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin”28 minYouTube (UNESCO)Surveys 758 Iberian sites; includes rare footage of Levantine‑style hunters in eastern Spain. Good segue into discussions of pigment sourcing.“Prehistoric Rock Art of the Côa Valley & Siega Verde”30 minUNESCO.orgNight‑shot filming of open‑air engravings (≈25 kya onward) highlights why Foz Côa is a conservation victory.“Exploring the Ancient Art of Altamira”24 minYouTubeA guided VR‑style tour of Spain’s “Sistine Chapel of the Palaeolithic,” complete with replica cave construction details—great for public‑engagement case studies.4. Decoding Symbolic Systems
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“How Art Made the World – Ep 2: The Day Pictures Were Born”59 minYouTube (BBC series)Frames cave art within a cognitive‑evolution story: why image‑making matters for social cohesion.**“Paleo Cave Art Mysteries” (Episode 1 of 3)22 minYouTube**Paleoanthropologist Neil Bockoven dives into dot‑and‑line signs (à la von Petzinger) and therianthropes; a bite‑sized springboard for symbol taxonomy exercises.How to Use This Playlist – (of course, you could just be like me and want to watch them, but here are some fun activities for those of you who may be teachers, professors, and the like for your students to better engage with the content):
- Chronological Viewing Party: Start with Acacus for Holocene climate context, swing through European Upper Palaeolithic masterpieces, then finish in the Amazon to spotlight New World debates.
- Data‑Extraction Exercise: Have students log motifs, substrates, and dating techniques in a shared Zotero group to spot regional patterns.
- Compare Custodianship Models: Contrast Indigenous‑led management in Australia with state oversight in France and Spain—fertile ground for ethical discussions.
- DIY Experimental Archaeology: After watching the Altamira VR segment, try recreating blowing techniques with ochre and charcoal on butcher paper (outdoors, trust me).
Remember: every dash of ochre, every engraved aurochs, is a dialogue across millennia. Hit play, listen closely, and pass the story on.
Feel free to embed this post—just credit World of Paleoanthropology and link readers back to the documentary sources. Happy cave‑surfing!
#Altamira #AncientArt #Anthropology #Archaeology #ArtHistory #CaveArt #CavePainting #ChauvetCave #GwionGwion #HandsOnHistory #HumanEvolution #Lascaux #PaleoArt #Paleolithic #ParietalArt #Petroglyphs #PrehistoricArt #Prehistory #RockArt #RockArtResearch #StoneAge #SulawesiRockArt #UNESCOWorldHeritage #UpperPaleolithic
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Rock Art on Screen: 12 Free Documentaries That Bring the Painted Past to Life
By Seth Chagi for World of Paleoanthropology
“We carry the torch of ancient storytellers each time we switch on a screen.” — Stoic reflection after too many late‑night documentary binges
Rock art feels simultaneously intimate and cosmic—handprints that whisper I was here across 30,000 years. The internet, bless its algorithmic heart, is brimming with free films that let us wander those caves and escarpments without the knee‑scrapes, bat guano, or UNESCO paperwork. Below are a dozen feature‑length (20 min +) documentaries your audience can stream today. I’ve grouped them by theme and noted what each one can teach us. Pop some popcorn (or Aquafor‑coated trail mix if you’re truly hardcore) and prepare to time‑travel.
1. Deep Time Immersion
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“Cave of Forgotten Dreams”89 minWatchDocumentaries.comWerner Herzog’s 3‑D glide through Chauvet (32 kya) is as close as most of us will get to those charcoal lions. Perfect for discussing preservation ethics, pigment chemistry, and the phenomenology of darkness.“Inside France’s Chauvet Cave” (DW Documentary)52 minYouTubeA more traditional science‑journalist tour that balances visuals with up‑to‑date uranium‑thorium dating and virtual‑reality replication work. Great classroom fodder on 3‑D scanning.2. Rock Art & Global Narratives
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“Les secrets des fresques d’Amazonie”88 minARTE.tvTakes viewers into Colombia’s Serranía de la Lindosa cliff murals—tens of thousands of figures dated ≥12 kya—while foregrounding Indigenous perspectives and environmental stakes.“Oldest Cave Art Found in Sulawesi”24 minYouTube (Griffith Univ.)Concise but rich breakdown of the 45 kya pig panel & new 51 kya hunting scene; use it to spark debates on symbolic cognition outside Europe.“KIMBERLEY ROCK ART: A World Treasure”45 minYouTubeExplores Australia’s Gwion Gwion & Wandjina iconography, weaving in modern Aboriginal custodianship and cutting‑edge optically stimulated luminescence dating.“The Rock Art of Arnhem Land” (Part I)26 minYouTubeVeteran archaeologist Paul Taçon walks viewers through x‑ray kangaroos and Lightning Man motifs; ideal primer on superimposition sequences.3. Mediterranean & Atlantic Europe
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“Rock‑Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus” (UNESCO/NHK)28 minUNESCO.orgSahara pastoralism in motion—perfect for stressing how climate shifts shaped iconographic changes.“Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin”28 minYouTube (UNESCO)Surveys 758 Iberian sites; includes rare footage of Levantine‑style hunters in eastern Spain. Good segue into discussions of pigment sourcing.“Prehistoric Rock Art of the Côa Valley & Siega Verde”30 minUNESCO.orgNight‑shot filming of open‑air engravings (≈25 kya onward) highlights why Foz Côa is a conservation victory.“Exploring the Ancient Art of Altamira”24 minYouTubeA guided VR‑style tour of Spain’s “Sistine Chapel of the Palaeolithic,” complete with replica cave construction details—great for public‑engagement case studies.4. Decoding Symbolic Systems
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“How Art Made the World – Ep 2: The Day Pictures Were Born”59 minYouTube (BBC series)Frames cave art within a cognitive‑evolution story: why image‑making matters for social cohesion.**“Paleo Cave Art Mysteries” (Episode 1 of 3)22 minYouTube**Paleoanthropologist Neil Bockoven dives into dot‑and‑line signs (à la von Petzinger) and therianthropes; a bite‑sized springboard for symbol taxonomy exercises.How to Use This Playlist – (of course, you could just be like me and want to watch them, but here are some fun activities for those of you who may be teachers, professors, and the like for your students to better engage with the content):
- Chronological Viewing Party: Start with Acacus for Holocene climate context, swing through European Upper Palaeolithic masterpieces, then finish in the Amazon to spotlight New World debates.
- Data‑Extraction Exercise: Have students log motifs, substrates, and dating techniques in a shared Zotero group to spot regional patterns.
- Compare Custodianship Models: Contrast Indigenous‑led management in Australia with state oversight in France and Spain—fertile ground for ethical discussions.
- DIY Experimental Archaeology: After watching the Altamira VR segment, try recreating blowing techniques with ochre and charcoal on butcher paper (outdoors, trust me).
Remember: every dash of ochre, every engraved aurochs, is a dialogue across millennia. Hit play, listen closely, and pass the story on.
Feel free to embed this post—just credit World of Paleoanthropology and link readers back to the documentary sources. Happy cave‑surfing!
#Altamira #AncientArt #Anthropology #Archaeology #ArtHistory #CaveArt #CavePainting #ChauvetCave #GwionGwion #HandsOnHistory #HumanEvolution #Lascaux #PaleoArt #Paleolithic #ParietalArt #Petroglyphs #PrehistoricArt #Prehistory #RockArt #RockArtResearch #StoneAge #SulawesiRockArt #UNESCOWorldHeritage #UpperPaleolithic
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Rock Art on Screen: 12 Free Documentaries That Bring the Painted Past to Life
By Seth Chagi for World of Paleoanthropology
“We carry the torch of ancient storytellers each time we switch on a screen.” — Stoic reflection after too many late‑night documentary binges
Rock art feels simultaneously intimate and cosmic—handprints that whisper I was here across 30,000 years. The internet, bless its algorithmic heart, is brimming with free films that let us wander those caves and escarpments without the knee‑scrapes, bat guano, or UNESCO paperwork. Below are a dozen feature‑length (20 min +) documentaries your audience can stream today. I’ve grouped them by theme and noted what each one can teach us. Pop some popcorn (or Aquafor‑coated trail mix if you’re truly hardcore) and prepare to time‑travel.
1. Deep Time Immersion
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“Cave of Forgotten Dreams”89 minWatchDocumentaries.comWerner Herzog’s 3‑D glide through Chauvet (32 kya) is as close as most of us will get to those charcoal lions. Perfect for discussing preservation ethics, pigment chemistry, and the phenomenology of darkness.“Inside France’s Chauvet Cave” (DW Documentary)52 minYouTubeA more traditional science‑journalist tour that balances visuals with up‑to‑date uranium‑thorium dating and virtual‑reality replication work. Great classroom fodder on 3‑D scanning.2. Rock Art & Global Narratives
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“Les secrets des fresques d’Amazonie”88 minARTE.tvTakes viewers into Colombia’s Serranía de la Lindosa cliff murals—tens of thousands of figures dated ≥12 kya—while foregrounding Indigenous perspectives and environmental stakes.“Oldest Cave Art Found in Sulawesi”24 minYouTube (Griffith Univ.)Concise but rich breakdown of the 45 kya pig panel & new 51 kya hunting scene; use it to spark debates on symbolic cognition outside Europe.“KIMBERLEY ROCK ART: A World Treasure”45 minYouTubeExplores Australia’s Gwion Gwion & Wandjina iconography, weaving in modern Aboriginal custodianship and cutting‑edge optically stimulated luminescence dating.“The Rock Art of Arnhem Land” (Part I)26 minYouTubeVeteran archaeologist Paul Taçon walks viewers through x‑ray kangaroos and Lightning Man motifs; ideal primer on superimposition sequences.3. Mediterranean & Atlantic Europe
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“Rock‑Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus” (UNESCO/NHK)28 minUNESCO.orgSahara pastoralism in motion—perfect for stressing how climate shifts shaped iconographic changes.“Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin”28 minYouTube (UNESCO)Surveys 758 Iberian sites; includes rare footage of Levantine‑style hunters in eastern Spain. Good segue into discussions of pigment sourcing.“Prehistoric Rock Art of the Côa Valley & Siega Verde”30 minUNESCO.orgNight‑shot filming of open‑air engravings (≈25 kya onward) highlights why Foz Côa is a conservation victory.“Exploring the Ancient Art of Altamira”24 minYouTubeA guided VR‑style tour of Spain’s “Sistine Chapel of the Palaeolithic,” complete with replica cave construction details—great for public‑engagement case studies.4. Decoding Symbolic Systems
TitleRuntimePlatformWhy Watch“How Art Made the World – Ep 2: The Day Pictures Were Born”59 minYouTube (BBC series)Frames cave art within a cognitive‑evolution story: why image‑making matters for social cohesion.**“Paleo Cave Art Mysteries” (Episode 1 of 3)22 minYouTube**Paleoanthropologist Neil Bockoven dives into dot‑and‑line signs (à la von Petzinger) and therianthropes; a bite‑sized springboard for symbol taxonomy exercises.How to Use This Playlist – (of course, you could just be like me and want to watch them, but here are some fun activities for those of you who may be teachers, professors, and the like for your students to better engage with the content):
- Chronological Viewing Party: Start with Acacus for Holocene climate context, swing through European Upper Palaeolithic masterpieces, then finish in the Amazon to spotlight New World debates.
- Data‑Extraction Exercise: Have students log motifs, substrates, and dating techniques in a shared Zotero group to spot regional patterns.
- Compare Custodianship Models: Contrast Indigenous‑led management in Australia with state oversight in France and Spain—fertile ground for ethical discussions.
- DIY Experimental Archaeology: After watching the Altamira VR segment, try recreating blowing techniques with ochre and charcoal on butcher paper (outdoors, trust me).
Remember: every dash of ochre, every engraved aurochs, is a dialogue across millennia. Hit play, listen closely, and pass the story on.
Feel free to embed this post—just credit World of Paleoanthropology and link readers back to the documentary sources. Happy cave‑surfing!
#Altamira #AncientArt #Anthropology #Archaeology #ArtHistory #CaveArt #CavePainting #ChauvetCave #GwionGwion #HandsOnHistory #HumanEvolution #Lascaux #PaleoArt #Paleolithic #ParietalArt #Petroglyphs #PrehistoricArt #Prehistory #RockArt #RockArtResearch #StoneAge #SulawesiRockArt #UNESCOWorldHeritage #UpperPaleolithic
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New website catalogues persecuted Dutch composers
On Wednesday, 20 June, Kajsa Ollongren launched the website Forbidden Music Regained. This catalogue of composers persecuted by the Nazi’s was initiated by the Amsterdam based Leo Smit Foundation. The city’s deputy mayor and alderman called the project ‘a giant leap for mankind’, quoting the astronaut Neil Armstrong.
Ollongren continued: “The website is important to Amsterdam because we can and may not forget what happened seventy years ago in our town. It is an honour to launch it.” – Striking detail: under Ollongren’s responsibility, the support of the Leo Smit Foundation was stopped.
Kajsa Ollongren launches website Forbidden Music Regained, Uilenburgersjoel 20-6-2017
Driving forces behind this large-scale project are the flutist Eleonore Pameijer, initiator and artistic leader of the Leo Smit Foundation, and manager Carine Alders. With stubborn perseverance they searched domestic and foreign archives for information about Dutch ‘degenerate’ composers. – Most of whom lost their lives in concentration camps during World War II. Pameijer and Alders assembled an archive of almost 2000 works and sound recordings.
The launch of the website was preceded by an international symposium. Pameijer: “Together with the chairman of our board, I went to Kajsa Ollongren. We said: “We have not come to complain about the Amsterdam council’s decision to stop supporting us, but to ask for a contribution to the symposium. – Moreover we want you to personally launch the website.”
Ollongren gave them € 3500 for the symposium and promised she would indeed launch the website. Pameijer: “She was bowled over when she learnt what we’ve achieved in the past two decades. In addition to a successful – subsidized – concert series, we published the book Vervolgde componisten in Nederland (Persecuted composers in the Netherlands) in 2015, without any form of public funding. We also organized an accompanying exhibition and concerts in the Amsterdam City Archive.
International symposium
In order to realize all this, the Foundation managed to collect € 80,000 in private gifts. And with support from music shop Broekmans & Van Poppel, the Dutch label Et’cetera released a ten-CD box of forbidden music. Pameijer: “This release got great reviews in the BBC and Gramophone magazines, but hardly drew attention in the Netherlands. There was one positive review in the music magazine Luister (Listen) and an offer in Klassieke Zaken (Classical Matters).
International bigwigs gave talks at the symposium. Pameijer: “We deliberately chose people who really relate to the subject. We did not want hotshots that are only invited for their name. I’m proud that we were able to engage Abram de Swaan. He is a great thinker and sociologist, who views everything from a much wider context than, for example, a musicologist or music journalist.
Frank van Vree, the new director of the NIOD (Dutch War Archive), was one of the speakers, too. Pameijer: “At first he was reluctant, because he doesn’t know much about music. But he has a vast knowledge of the period and its history, so it was very interesting to hear him speak about this.”
The flutist is perhaps even more thrilled by the presence of Albrecht Dümling from Musica Reanimata Berlin. “Over the years we have assembled a lot of international contacts. None of them had ever heard of the composers we’d unearthed, and they were invariably excited about their music. Dümling even invited us to present a complete program on Rosy Wertheim, that was broadcast live on the radio. It was a huge success.”
Wealth of information
Forbidden Music Regained offers a wealth of information about persecuted Dutch composers. The site is excellently searchable, offering biographies, sheet music, recordings, manuscripts and audio clips. For example, when you type ‘Rosy Wertheim’ in the search box, a list of 112 compositions pops up. The search can be refined further, e.g. on length, period of origin, orchestral or chamber music and the like. You can listen to Wertheim’s lively Sonatina for piano.
With this new website the Leo Smit Foundation has once more proved itself to be an indispensable knowledge center for persecuted composers.
Patricia Werner Leanse made a video documentary of the presentation.
#AbramDeSwaan #AlbrechtDümling #CarineAlders #EleonorePameijer #ForbiddenMusicRegained #FrankVanVree #KajsaOllongren #LeoSmitstichting #MusicaReanimataBerlin #NIOD #RosyWertheim
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Trevine woman loses dogs after neighbours’ barking nightmare
Julia Goodgame, of Bryn Y Derwydd, was fined £1,000 and slapped with a Criminal Behaviour Order after admitting she breached a Community Protection Notice. The court also imposed a Forfeit and Seizure Order, allowing officers to remove her dogs and place them in an animal welfare centre.
Protest over barking chaos
The row has rumbled on for more than a year in the small coastal village of Trevine. In August, frustrated neighbours staged a protest outside Goodgame’s home, claiming up to ten dogs were being kept at the property and describing the noise as “constant” and “intolerable.”
One pensioner told reporters they had been “kept awake for months,” while others complained of dogs roaming freely and fouling gardens.
Local councillor Neil Prior, who represents Llanrhian, said at the time the situation had been “slow and frustrating” for all involved, with council officers, housing staff and police in talks for over a year about enforcement.
Court battle
Goodgame was issued with a Community Protection Notice in June, ordering her to keep her dogs under control, prevent excessive barking, and clear mess properly. She was later accused of breaching the notice on nine occasions between June and July.
At a November hearing she admitted one count, relating to June 20, while eight other charges were dropped after the council offered no evidence. But magistrates warned further restrictions could follow.
On Thursday 11 December, the court imposed tougher measures — a Criminal Behaviour Order and the seizure of her dogs. Any breach of the CBO could see her back before magistrates facing jail.
Council hits out
Councillor Jacob Williams, Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Regulatory Services, said the case showed coordinated action between public protection, housing services and police.
“Residents of the area have had to endure long periods of inconvenience and distress as a result of the situation, which hopefully will now be resolved.”
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Pembrokeshire livestock owner convicted of animal welfare offences
District Judge says animals suffered over a long period in a case brought by the council.Pembrokeshire father and daughter plead guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to animals
Family admit charges after council investigation into poor treatment of animals.Illegal dog breeder ordered to pay £100,000 or face jail
#animalWelfare #barkingDogs #CriminalBehaviourOrder #Dogs #noise #Pembrokeshire #PembrokeshireCouncil #PembrokeshireCountyCouncil #Trevine
Court orders Carmarthenshire man to repay profits from illegal puppy sales or face prison. -
CW: Scientists in the Natural Applied Sciences - Long List to Scroll!
Scientists in the Natural Sciences - Applied Sciences
• Published (not necessarily in field)
Please Message for Additions, Deletions or Edits
Agricultural Science
Birge, Traci @TraciInFinland
Bommarco, Riccardo @bommarco
Cardinael, Rémi @remicardinael
Ehlers, Melf-Hinrich @Melf
ETH Zürich @crop_science_eth
Finger, Robert @robertfinger
Hepworth, Craig @floridafruitgeek
Kniss, Andrew R @AK
Lynch, Megan @ml
Malek, Žiga @zigamalek
Morris, Ed R @Edrmorris
Nordquist, Rebecca @renordquist
Parent, Essi @essi
Plieninger, Tobias @plieninger
Rodriguez, Carolina @CRodriguez
Schulze, Christoph @qris
Schwerdtner, Ulrike @UliSchwerdtnerBiophysics
Bagley, Bryce Allen @babagley
Batalha, Natalie M @nbatalha
Benedetti, Fabrizio @scienceFab
Bonsma-Fisher, Madeleine @mbonsma
Delpierre, Julien @JulienDelpierre
Dmitrieff, Serge @dmitrieff
Etienne, Jocelyn @jocelyn_etienne
Giorgino, Toni @giorginolab
Haase, Albrecht @neurophysics
Kennard, Andrew @askennard
Michieletto, Davide @dmichiel
Lew, Matthew D @lewlab
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Meyer, Carola @carbonwoman
Neher, Richard @richardneher
Plested, Andrew @andrewplested
Popescu, Gabriela K @PopStarLab
Rowland, David James @drdrowland
Sadoine, Mayuri @MayuriSadoine
Schwarz, Ulrich Sebastian @UlrichSchwarz
Tyka, Mike @mtyka
Wallace, Mark I @markianwallaceGitHub Biophysicists
Biotremology
López Díez, Juan José @TremonetaClimate Science
Brettschneider, Brian @Climatologist49
Campbell, Micheline @michcampbell
Cobb, Kim @coralsncaves
Gironella, Fritzi G @fagg
Gleick, Peter @petergleick
Gowan, Evan J @DrEvanGowan
Hawkins, Ed @ed_hawkins
Hayhoe, Katharine @kathhayhoe
Ilyina, Tatiana @TatianaIlyina
Karmalkar, Ambarish @akarma
Labe, Zach M @ZLabe
LeGrande, Allegra Nicole @atthenius
Marelle, Louis @louismarelle
Mottram, Ruth @Ruth_Mottram
Pollice, Robert @robpollice
Rahmstorf, Stefan @rahmstorf
Thoman Jr, Richard L @AlaskaWx
Van de Velde, Jorn @jornvdvClimatology
Barnes-Keoghan, Ian @ibk
Dupont, Claire @Cladupont
Lucht, Wolfgang @W_Lucht
Wagner, Gernot @gwagner@ClimateMigration Follows & boosts Climate Science experts
Engineering
Aldrich, Chris @chrisaldrich
Barba, Lorena A @labarba
Berry, Carlotta A @drcaberry
Ellison, Doug @doug_ellison
Gill, Kevin M @kevinmgill
Hale, Steven J @drstevenhale
Hashemi, Nicole @NicoleHashemi
Hulse, Daniel @Daniel_Hulse
Hurkat, Skand @skandhurkat
Kruger, Justin D @jdavidnet
Subramanian, R @subu_caps• AeroSpace Engineers
Cothern, Kyle @Risknc
Dubos, Gregory @astroptere
Ellison, Doug @doug_ellison
Hutt, Jason T @jathhutt• Chemical Engineers
Krawczyk, Paweł @kravietz
McNeill, V Faye @vfmcneill
Meekins, Benjamin H @meekinslab• Environmental Engineers
Haas, Charles @ProfCharlesHaas
Parent, Essi @essi
Scriven, David @David_Epithet
Walker-Franklin, Imari @calimari• Software Engineers
Brooker, Marc @marcbrooker
Emir, Burak @burakemir
Famelis, Michalis @mfamelis
Hubbard, Philip @philiphubbard
Mueller-Roemer, Johannes S @JSMuellerRoemer
Pavlic, Theodore P @tedpavlic
Ralph, Paul @paulralph
Sacerdote, David @dsacer
Santander-Vela, Juan de Dios @juandesant
Zaslavsky, David @diazona• Systems Engineers
Bean, Keri @PlanetaryKeri
Reck, Rebecca M @RebeccaEE
Santander-Vela, Juan de Dios @juandesant
Van Bossuyt, Douglas Lee @douglasvbFedi.Directory Engineering
Trunk EngineeringEnvironmental Science
Brander, Susanne M @smbrander
Büchau, Yann @nobodyinperson
Feldwick, Mark @MarkIngs
Glückler, Ramesh @rglueckler
Gusmão, Felipe @fgusmao
Hart-Davis, Damon @DamonHD
Jehn, Florian Ulrich @florianjehn
Jones, Oliver AH @Dr_Oli_Jones
Killam, Daniel @dantheclamman
Mann, Michael E @MichaelEMann
Manuel, Ivan Ruiz @IvanRManuel
McKinney, Zeke J @ZekeMD
Osborn, Mark @MicrobialLife
O'Shea, Bethany @DrBethRocks
Parent, Essi @essi
Pomeranz, Justin PZ @PZ_ecology
Pyle, Greg @gregpyle
Ruiz Manuel, Ivan @IvanRManuel
Sigmund, Gabriel @GabrielS
Sims, Kerry @DrKerryS
Sultana, Farhana @farhanasultana
Tate, Brandon K @brandontate
Torkelson, Jaclyn @DesertAndReef
Walker-Franklin, Imari @calimari
Weintraub, Michael N @mnweintraub
Zourek, Leonard @leonardzourekTrunk Environmentalists
Environmental Toxicology
Feldwick, Mark @MarkIngs
Hammer, Sjúrður @sjurdur
Pyle, Greg @gregpyle
Reichman, Suzie M @SuzieReichman
Whitehead, Andrew @andrewwhiteheadEpidemiology
Alwan, Nisreen A @nisreen
Bassani, Diego G @dgbassani
Bastian, Hilda @hildabast
Basu, Arindam @arinbasu1
Baxter, Nancy @enenbee
Bazaco, Michael @MCBazacoPhD
Bergstrom, Carl T @ct_bergstrom
Bolker, Ben @bbolker
Borrell, Luisa N @lborrell
Chiong, Winston @winstonchiong
D'Angelo, Nico @nicod
Fagherazzi, Guy @gfaghe
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Fontenelle, Leonardo Ferreira @lffontenelle
Funk, Sebastian @sbfnk
Ghafari, Mahan @mghafari
Gonsalves, Gregg @gregggonsalves
Handel, Andreas @andreashandel
Hernan, Miguel @MiguelHernan
Hill, Edward M @EdMHill
Hyde, Zoë @DrZoeHyde
Jamal, Alainna J @alainnajj
Kinney, Gregory L @mycotropic
Kline, David @DavidKline
Kucharski, Adam @adamjkucharski
Ley, Sylvia @sylvialey
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Mekaru, Sumiko @Sumiko_Mekaru
Moss, Rob @rob_models
Murray, Eleanor J @epiellie
Newman, Kira L @KiraNewmanMDPhD
Pearce, Neil @nepearce
Peiper, Nicholas C @doctorpipes
Polis, Chelsea B @cbpolis
Salemi, Jason L @JasonSalemi
Schrom, John @johnschrom
Sesay, Cecirahim @cecirahim
Smith, Tara C @aetiology
Tennant, Peter WG @pwgtennant
Thelwall, Simon @simonthelwall
Tobin, Martin D @martin_tobin
Wakeham, David @wakehamAMR
Wallace, Katrine @EpidemiologistKat
Walsh, Michael @EpiDoctor• Genetic Epidemiology
Hodcroft, Emma @firefoxx66
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Retchless, Adam C @adamr
Tobin, Martin D @martin_tobin• Wildlife Epidemiology
Shriner, Susan A @SusanAShrinerFedi.Directory Epidemiology
Evolutionary Science
Albert, Victor A @PlantEvoGenomics
Anderson, Chris @c_n_anderson
Arnold, Sarah EJ @sejarnold
Aylward, Frank O @foaylward
Barber, Matthew F @bioBarber
Barker, Michael S @MikeBarker
Benham, Phred M @TheSaltySparrow
Bergstrom, Carl T @ct_bergstrom
Blazanin, Michael @mikeblazanin
Bolker, Ben @bbolker
Clarke, John T @jclarkepaleo
Constantinides, Bede @bede
Corman, Victor Max @vmcorman
Davison, Angus @snailman
Débarre, Florence @flodebarre
Delph, Lynda @LyndaDelph
Eisen, Jonathan @phylogenomics
Enquist, Brian J @bjenquist
Fisher, Diana O @Diana_mammalecology
Ghafari, Mahan @mghafari
Gogarten, Jan F @communities
Grau-Bové, Xavier @xgrau
Gregory, T Ryan @TRyanGregory
Hakala, Sanja @SanjaHakala
Hancock, John M @jmhancock
Hartberg, Yasha @yasha
Iwaniuk, N Andrew @brainsevolve
Jarochowska, Emilia @Emiliagnathus
Kane, Emily A @TheKaneLab
Katzourakis, Aris @ariskatzourakis
Kellie, Dax J @daxkellie
Kennard, Andrew @askennard
Knell, Robert J @robknell
Knudson, Alexander H @Knudson_H
Koene, Joris M @jkoene
Kovács, Ákos T @EvolvedBiofilm
Kristensen, Nadiah Pardede @nadiah
LeBoeuf, Adria @Adria
Leighton, Gavin M @GMcLeanLeighton
Lenski, Richard @RELenski
Louvel, Guillaume @GullumLuvl
Lukas, Dieter @DieterLukas
McCutcheon, John @mcsymbiont
Meuthen, Denis @DenisMeuthen
Moreau, Corrie S @CorrieMoreau
Neher, Richard @richardneher
Nelson, Chase W @chasewnelson
Osmond, Matthew @mmosmond
Ralph, Peter L @petrelharp
Schreiber, Sebastian @SebastianSchreiber
Ross-Ibarra, Jeffrey @jrossibarra
Schürch, Roger @schuemaa
Sheard, Catherine @sheardcat
Shropshire, Dylan J @ShropshireJD
Simon, Alexis @alxsim
Slotte, Tanja @tanjaslotte
Sponheimer, Matt @spon
Stajich, Jason @hyphaltip
Strepsipzerg, Max Aubry @StrepsipZerg
Szala, Anna @anna
Tzovaras, Bastian Greshake @gedankenstuecke
Vlieger, Leon @inqbiol
Warrington, Miya H @MiyaWarrington
White, Rhys Thomas @Rhys
Yoder, Jeremy B @jbyFedi.Directory Evolutionary Biology
FoodScience
Hammann, Simon @simonhammann
Kupferschmidt, Kai @kakapeGenomics
Albert, Victor A @PlantEvoGenomics
Aninta, Sabhrina Gita @sagitaninta
Bayer, Philipp @PhilippBayer
Benham, Phred M @TheSaltySparrow
Breitbart, Mya @virome_girl
Clare, Elizabeth L @ProfBatGirl
Coassin, Stefan @stncsn
Constantinides, Bede @bede
Davison, Angus @snailman
Eisen, Jonathan @phylogenomics
Fisher, Simon E @ProfSimonFisher
Friedberg, Iddo @iddux
Gebhard, Christian @basepair
Grau-Bové, Xavier @xgrau
Gregory, T Ryan @TRyanGregory
Guhlin, Joseph @josephguhlin
Gunter, Chris @girlscientist
Hamilton, Bruce A @bahome
Hancock, John M @jmhancock
Johnsson, Martin @mrtnj
Katzourakis, Aris @ariskatzourakis
Kieser, Silas @silask
Konda, Prathyusha @prats
Lenski, Richard @RELenski
Louvel, Guillaume @GullumLuvl
MacLean, Dan @danmaclean
McCutcheon, John @mcsymbiont
Mäklin, Tommi @themaklin
Maurizio, Paul L @paul
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Mutalik, Vivek K @vivek_mutalik
Neher, Richard @richardneher
Nelson, Chase W @chasewnelson
Pembleton, Luke W @lwpembleton
Phinney, Brett S @UCDProteomics
Porter, Teresita M @DNAdataPhile
Racimo, Fernando @FerRacimo
Ross-Ibarra, Jeffrey @jrossibarra
Salter, Susannah J @zannah_du
Schuster-Böckler Benjamin @bensb
Stajich, Jason @hyphaltip
Tobin, Martin D @martin_tobin
Viñuela, Ana @AnaVinuela
Vlieger, Leon @inqbiol
Walmarth, Phillip A @pwilmart
White, Rhys Thomas @Rhys
Yoder, Jeremy B @jby
Zakour, Nouri Ben @genomissGitHub Palaeogenomicists
Library & Information Systems
Brown, Leah @leahdriel
Chalifour, Joshua @owlyph
Cockett, Rowan @rowan
Costas Comesana, Rodrigo @rodrigocostas
DeRosa, Robin @actualham
Deschaine, Anne @aehdeschaine
Dudek, Jonathan @jo_dudek
Eickhoff, Carsten @carsten
Fedorak, Lisa @FedorakIndexing
Gerdes, Thomas @ThomasGerdes
Goldberg, Julie @Julie
Hauschke, Christian @hauschke
Hedreen, Rebecca @delibrarian
Horton, Laurence @laurencehorton
Karcher, Sebastian @adam42smith
Keegan, Brian C @bkeegan
Levine, Kendra K @kklevine
Macgregor, George @g3om4c
Monnin, Jenn @msjennmo
Nazarovets, Serhii @serhii
Nyhan, Kate @kdnyhan
Odell, Jere D @jaireeo
Ramshaw, Veronica @verolynne
Schomberg, Jessica @schomj
Seifried, Rebecca M @rmseifried
Shirazi, Roxanne @roxanneshirazi
University of Groningen Library @Bibliothecaris
Ward, Kestrel @KestrelSWard
Wuttke, Ulrike @uwuttke
Ziegler, Sophie @SophieTrunk Librarians
Medicine
Alwan, Nisreen A @nisreen
Argyropoulos, Christos @ChristosArgyrop
Bakke, Håkon Kvåle @BakkeHK
Barber, Carolyn @cbarbermd
Barnkob, Michael B @mikebarnkob
Basu, Arindam @arinbasu1
Baxter, Nancy @enenbee
Bhattacharyya, Roby @roby
Briscoe, Joshua @jcbriscoe
Casas Ciria, Francisco Javier @cientounero
Corman, Victor Max @vmcorman
Crystal, Ruth Ann @catchthebaby
Delaney, Brendan C @bcdelaney1
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Flores, Anthony R @pedIDDoc
Fontenelle, Leonardo Ferreira @lffontenelle
Funk, Sebastian @sbfnk
Gebhard, Christian @basepair
Halama, Niels @halama_immuno
Jamal, Alainna J @alainnajj
Johansen, Michael @mike_johansen
McKinney, Zeke J @ZekeMD
Mohr, Emma @Mohr_lab
Newman, Kira L @KiraNewmanMDPhD
Nguyễn, Bích-Mây @bicmay
Pollara, Gabriele @gpollara
Schwartz, Ilan S @GermHunterMD
Steinbach, Daniel @danielsteinbach
Stone, Judy @drjudystone
Tomasson, Michael H @tomasson
Topolsky, Ivan @dryak
Trebach, Joshua D @jtrebach• Critical Care
Barthélémy, Romain @rombarthelemyFedi.Directory Health and Medical
followlists.online Anaesthetist/Anesthesiologist Critical Care
followlists.online Infectious Diseases & #IDMastodon
followlists.online Medical AI
GitHub Medical AI
Trunk MedicineNeuroScience
Agrawal, Niket @niketagrawal
Aly, Mariam @mariam
Barbour, Boris @BorisBarbour
Bellec, Pierre @pierre_bellec
Brembs, Björn @brembs
Cardona, Albert @albertcardona
Case, Sami @samilcase
Chiong, Winston @winstonchiong
Desrochers, Theresa M @DesrochersLab
Duvelle, Éléonor @elduvelle_neuro
Elsilä, Lauri @laurielsila
Garside, Danny @da5nsy
Gellersen, Helena M @helenagellersen
Hall, Megan C @ScienceisWhere
Haun, Andrew M @amhaun
Hoffman, Kari L @karihoffman
Hofmann, Ulrich G @kraweel65
Hyseni, Fjola @fjola
Iwaniuk, N Andrew @brainsevolve
Jékely, Gáspár @jekely
John, Yohan J @DrYohanJohn
Kachlicka, Magdalena @mkachlicka
Kanev, Jacob @jkanev
Karashchuk, Lili @lili
Karmarkar, Uma R @uma_karma
Leterrier, Christophe @christlet
Lindsay, Grace W @Neurograce
Miller, Earl K @ekmiller
Moleman, Peter @MolemanPeter
Negwer, Moritz @moritz_negwer
Ngiam, William XQ @will_ngiam
Olsen, Rosanna @RosannaOlsen
O’Mara, Shane @shaneomara
Popescu, Gabriela K @PopStarLab
Schultz, Simon R @neuralengine
Seuntjens, Eve @EveSeuntjens
Sinha, Manisha @manisha
Sutterer, Matthew J @mjsutterer
Thakur, Dhananjay P @dhananjaythakur
Timberlake, Ben @ByBenTimberlake
van Bree, Sander @sandervanbree
Wu, Wayne @attninactionGitHub Neuroscience
Pharmacology
Bartos, Piia @piiabartos
Case, Sami @samilcase
Elsilä, Lauri @laurielsila
Faradilla, Meutia @meutiafaradilla
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Konrad, David @dbkonrad
Moleman, Peter @MolemanPeter
Rutz, Adriano @adafede
Wilkins, Justin J @justinwilkinsPharmacometrics
Smith, Mike K @MikeKSmith
Wilkins, Justin J @justinwilkinsPhysiology
Caspar, Kai R @nomascus
Glazier, Amelia @ameliaglazier
Hoffman, Kari L @karihoffman
Olson, Christopher R @ChristophROlson
Schumacher, Michael A @schumacher
Tomasson, Michael H @tomasson
Umbers, Kate DL @kateumbers
Wayne, Nancy L @nancylwaynePsychiatry
Anderson, Chase TM @ChaseTMAnderson
Briscoe, Joshua @jcbriscoe
Eckert, Anna-Lena @eckertal
Lam, Raymond W @DrRaymondLam
Lee, Kangjoo @kangjoolee
Reeder, Michael @admin
Turban, Jack L @jackturban
Urgelés, Diego @urgelesfollowlists.online Psychiatrists
Scientific Computing
Eickhoff, Carsten @carsten
Frost, Jarvist Moore @Jarvist
Jambor, Helena @helenajambor• Computational Biology
Andreani, Virgile @Armavica
Argyropoulos, Christos @ChristosArgyrop
Bahlai, Christie @cbahlai
Carpenter, Anne E @DrAnneCarpenter
Clark, Chase M @chasingmicrobes
Fagherazzi, Guy @gfaghe
Gatto, Laurent @lgatto
Gómez-Dans, José @jgomezdans
Hauck, Judith @jhauck
Hill, Edward M @EdMHill
Hoffman, Kari L @karihoffman
Hubbard, Philip @philiphubbard
Hyseni, Fjola @fjola
Jarosz, Wojciech @wjarosz
Jessen, Walter @wj
John, Yohan J @DrYohanJohn
Kanev, Jacob @jkanev
Kedzierska, Kasia Zofia @kzkedzierska
Kucharavy, Andrei @andrei_chiffa
Louvel, Guillaume @GullumLuvl
MaClean, Dan @danmaclean
Mendes, Pedro @gepasi
O'Donnell, Cian @cian
MacLean, Dan @danmaclean
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Mendes, Pedro @gepasi
Moore, Jason H @moorejh
Moss, Rob @rob_models
Ross, Noam @noamross
Scott, Eric R @LeafyEricScott
Sinha, Manisha @manisha
Stévant, Isabelle @IsabelleStevant
Stowell, Dan @danstowell
Viscownti, Alessia @alesssia
Winkler, Tilo @twinkler• Climate Modelling
Easterbrook, Steve @steve
Ilyina, Tatiana @TatianaIlyinaFedi.Directory Data Visualisation
Soil Science
Cardinael, Rémi @remicardinael
Moorberg, Colby J @ColbyDigsSoil
Schymanski, Stanislaus J @schymans
Schwerdtner, Ulrike @UliSchwerdtnerTaxonomy
Brabant, Craig @mutillidae
Brignoli, Gino @gino
De Vivo, Mattia @mdv
Hobern, Donald @dhobern
Musetti, Luciana @DrLu_Musetti
Plazi Species @plazi_speciesToxicology
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Trebach, Joshua D @jtrebachVeterinary Medicine
Firth, Clair @Buxton_Vienna
MacPhee, Daniel J @dmacphee
Mekaru, Sumiko @Sumiko_Mekaru
Nordquist, Rebecca @renordquist
van Vlie, Arnoud @dutchscientist
Voss, Sarah J @Sarah_J_Voss
Wakeham, David @wakehamAMRMore extensive lists on Mastodon can be found exploring the following
Fedi.Directory - Science & Humanities
find.sciences.social - Find Academics on Mastodon
GitHub - Academics on Mastodon Lists
TrueSciPhi - Curated science, philosophy, and mathematics lists covering podcasts, Mastodon, and Bluesky
Trunk - allows you to mass-follow a bunch of people(Click to access Formal, Natural (Life & Physical) & Social Sciences)
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CW: Scientists in the Natural Applied Sciences - Long List to Scroll!
Scientists in the Natural Sciences - Applied Sciences
• Published (not necessarily in field)
Please Message for Additions, Deletions or Edits
Agricultural Science
Birge, Traci @TraciInFinland
Bommarco, Riccardo @bommarco
Cardinael, Rémi @remicardinael
Ehlers, Melf-Hinrich @Melf
ETH Zürich @crop_science_eth
Finger, Robert @robertfinger
Hepworth, Craig @floridafruitgeek
Kniss, Andrew R @AK
Lynch, Megan @ml
Malek, Žiga @zigamalek
Morris, Ed R @Edrmorris
Nordquist, Rebecca @renordquist
Parent, Essi @essi
Plieninger, Tobias @plieninger
Rodriguez, Carolina @CRodriguez
Schulze, Christoph @qris
Schwerdtner, Ulrike @UliSchwerdtnerBiophysics
Bagley, Bryce Allen @babagley
Batalha, Natalie M @nbatalha
Benedetti, Fabrizio @scienceFab
Bonsma-Fisher, Madeleine @mbonsma
Delpierre, Julien @JulienDelpierre
Dmitrieff, Serge @dmitrieff
Etienne, Jocelyn @jocelyn_etienne
Giorgino, Toni @giorginolab
Haase, Albrecht @neurophysics
Kennard, Andrew @askennard
Michieletto, Davide @dmichiel
Lew, Matthew D @lewlab
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Meyer, Carola @carbonwoman
Neher, Richard @richardneher
Plested, Andrew @andrewplested
Popescu, Gabriela K @PopStarLab
Rowland, David James @drdrowland
Sadoine, Mayuri @MayuriSadoine
Schwarz, Ulrich Sebastian @UlrichSchwarz
Tyka, Mike @mtyka
Wallace, Mark I @markianwallaceGitHub Biophysicists
Biotremology
López Díez, Juan José @TremonetaClimate Science
Brettschneider, Brian @Climatologist49
Campbell, Micheline @michcampbell
Cobb, Kim @coralsncaves
Gironella, Fritzi G @fagg
Gleick, Peter @petergleick
Gowan, Evan J @DrEvanGowan
Hawkins, Ed @ed_hawkins
Hayhoe, Katharine @kathhayhoe
Ilyina, Tatiana @TatianaIlyina
Karmalkar, Ambarish @akarma
Labe, Zach M @ZLabe
LeGrande, Allegra Nicole @atthenius
Marelle, Louis @louismarelle
Mottram, Ruth @Ruth_Mottram
Pollice, Robert @robpollice
Rahmstorf, Stefan @rahmstorf
Thoman Jr, Richard L @AlaskaWx
Van de Velde, Jorn @jornvdvClimatology
Barnes-Keoghan, Ian @ibk
Dupont, Claire @Cladupont
Lucht, Wolfgang @W_Lucht
Wagner, Gernot @gwagner@ClimateMigration Follows & boosts Climate Science experts
Engineering
Aldrich, Chris @chrisaldrich
Barba, Lorena A @labarba
Berry, Carlotta A @drcaberry
Ellison, Doug @doug_ellison
Gill, Kevin M @kevinmgill
Hale, Steven J @drstevenhale
Hashemi, Nicole @NicoleHashemi
Hulse, Daniel @Daniel_Hulse
Hurkat, Skand @skandhurkat
Kruger, Justin D @jdavidnet
Subramanian, R @subu_caps• AeroSpace Engineers
Cothern, Kyle @Risknc
Dubos, Gregory @astroptere
Ellison, Doug @doug_ellison
Hutt, Jason T @jathhutt• Chemical Engineers
Krawczyk, Paweł @kravietz
McNeill, V Faye @vfmcneill
Meekins, Benjamin H @meekinslab• Environmental Engineers
Haas, Charles @ProfCharlesHaas
Parent, Essi @essi
Scriven, David @David_Epithet
Walker-Franklin, Imari @calimari• Software Engineers
Brooker, Marc @marcbrooker
Emir, Burak @burakemir
Famelis, Michalis @mfamelis
Hubbard, Philip @philiphubbard
Mueller-Roemer, Johannes S @JSMuellerRoemer
Pavlic, Theodore P @tedpavlic
Ralph, Paul @paulralph
Sacerdote, David @dsacer
Santander-Vela, Juan de Dios @juandesant
Zaslavsky, David @diazona• Systems Engineers
Bean, Keri @PlanetaryKeri
Reck, Rebecca M @RebeccaEE
Santander-Vela, Juan de Dios @juandesant
Van Bossuyt, Douglas Lee @douglasvbFedi.Directory Engineering
Trunk EngineeringEnvironmental Science
Brander, Susanne M @smbrander
Büchau, Yann @nobodyinperson
Feldwick, Mark @MarkIngs
Glückler, Ramesh @rglueckler
Gusmão, Felipe @fgusmao
Hart-Davis, Damon @DamonHD
Jehn, Florian Ulrich @florianjehn
Jones, Oliver AH @Dr_Oli_Jones
Killam, Daniel @dantheclamman
Mann, Michael E @MichaelEMann
Manuel, Ivan Ruiz @IvanRManuel
McKinney, Zeke J @ZekeMD
Osborn, Mark @MicrobialLife
O'Shea, Bethany @DrBethRocks
Parent, Essi @essi
Pomeranz, Justin PZ @PZ_ecology
Pyle, Greg @gregpyle
Ruiz Manuel, Ivan @IvanRManuel
Sigmund, Gabriel @GabrielS
Sims, Kerry @DrKerryS
Sultana, Farhana @farhanasultana
Tate, Brandon K @brandontate
Torkelson, Jaclyn @DesertAndReef
Walker-Franklin, Imari @calimari
Weintraub, Michael N @mnweintraub
Zourek, Leonard @leonardzourekTrunk Environmentalists
Environmental Toxicology
Feldwick, Mark @MarkIngs
Hammer, Sjúrður @sjurdur
Pyle, Greg @gregpyle
Reichman, Suzie M @SuzieReichman
Whitehead, Andrew @andrewwhiteheadEpidemiology
Alwan, Nisreen A @nisreen
Bassani, Diego G @dgbassani
Bastian, Hilda @hildabast
Basu, Arindam @arinbasu1
Baxter, Nancy @enenbee
Bazaco, Michael @MCBazacoPhD
Bergstrom, Carl T @ct_bergstrom
Bolker, Ben @bbolker
Borrell, Luisa N @lborrell
Chiong, Winston @winstonchiong
D'Angelo, Nico @nicod
Fagherazzi, Guy @gfaghe
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Fontenelle, Leonardo Ferreira @lffontenelle
Funk, Sebastian @sbfnk
Ghafari, Mahan @mghafari
Gonsalves, Gregg @gregggonsalves
Handel, Andreas @andreashandel
Hernan, Miguel @MiguelHernan
Hill, Edward M @EdMHill
Hyde, Zoë @DrZoeHyde
Jamal, Alainna J @alainnajj
Kinney, Gregory L @mycotropic
Kline, David @DavidKline
Kucharski, Adam @adamjkucharski
Ley, Sylvia @sylvialey
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Mekaru, Sumiko @Sumiko_Mekaru
Moss, Rob @rob_models
Murray, Eleanor J @epiellie
Newman, Kira L @KiraNewmanMDPhD
Pearce, Neil @nepearce
Peiper, Nicholas C @doctorpipes
Polis, Chelsea B @cbpolis
Salemi, Jason L @JasonSalemi
Schrom, John @johnschrom
Sesay, Cecirahim @cecirahim
Smith, Tara C @aetiology
Tennant, Peter WG @pwgtennant
Thelwall, Simon @simonthelwall
Tobin, Martin D @martin_tobin
Wakeham, David @wakehamAMR
Wallace, Katrine @EpidemiologistKat
Walsh, Michael @EpiDoctor• Genetic Epidemiology
Hodcroft, Emma @firefoxx66
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Retchless, Adam C @adamr
Tobin, Martin D @martin_tobin• Wildlife Epidemiology
Shriner, Susan A @SusanAShrinerFedi.Directory Epidemiology
Evolutionary Science
Albert, Victor A @PlantEvoGenomics
Anderson, Chris @c_n_anderson
Arnold, Sarah EJ @sejarnold
Aylward, Frank O @foaylward
Barber, Matthew F @bioBarber
Barker, Michael S @MikeBarker
Benham, Phred M @TheSaltySparrow
Bergstrom, Carl T @ct_bergstrom
Blazanin, Michael @mikeblazanin
Bolker, Ben @bbolker
Clarke, John T @jclarkepaleo
Constantinides, Bede @bede
Corman, Victor Max @vmcorman
Davison, Angus @snailman
Débarre, Florence @flodebarre
Delph, Lynda @LyndaDelph
Eisen, Jonathan @phylogenomics
Enquist, Brian J @bjenquist
Fisher, Diana O @Diana_mammalecology
Ghafari, Mahan @mghafari
Gogarten, Jan F @communities
Grau-Bové, Xavier @xgrau
Gregory, T Ryan @TRyanGregory
Hakala, Sanja @SanjaHakala
Hancock, John M @jmhancock
Hartberg, Yasha @yasha
Iwaniuk, N Andrew @brainsevolve
Jarochowska, Emilia @Emiliagnathus
Kane, Emily A @TheKaneLab
Katzourakis, Aris @ariskatzourakis
Kellie, Dax J @daxkellie
Kennard, Andrew @askennard
Knell, Robert J @robknell
Knudson, Alexander H @Knudson_H
Koene, Joris M @jkoene
Kovács, Ákos T @EvolvedBiofilm
Kristensen, Nadiah Pardede @nadiah
LeBoeuf, Adria @Adria
Leighton, Gavin M @GMcLeanLeighton
Lenski, Richard @RELenski
Louvel, Guillaume @GullumLuvl
Lukas, Dieter @DieterLukas
McCutcheon, John @mcsymbiont
Meuthen, Denis @DenisMeuthen
Moreau, Corrie S @CorrieMoreau
Neher, Richard @richardneher
Nelson, Chase W @chasewnelson
Osmond, Matthew @mmosmond
Ralph, Peter L @petrelharp
Schreiber, Sebastian @SebastianSchreiber
Ross-Ibarra, Jeffrey @jrossibarra
Schürch, Roger @schuemaa
Sheard, Catherine @sheardcat
Shropshire, Dylan J @ShropshireJD
Simon, Alexis @alxsim
Slotte, Tanja @tanjaslotte
Sponheimer, Matt @spon
Stajich, Jason @hyphaltip
Strepsipzerg, Max Aubry @StrepsipZerg
Szala, Anna @anna
Tzovaras, Bastian Greshake @gedankenstuecke
Vlieger, Leon @inqbiol
Warrington, Miya H @MiyaWarrington
White, Rhys Thomas @Rhys
Yoder, Jeremy B @jbyFedi.Directory Evolutionary Biology
FoodScience
Hammann, Simon @simonhammann
Kupferschmidt, Kai @kakapeGenomics
Albert, Victor A @PlantEvoGenomics
Aninta, Sabhrina Gita @sagitaninta
Bayer, Philipp @PhilippBayer
Benham, Phred M @TheSaltySparrow
Breitbart, Mya @virome_girl
Clare, Elizabeth L @ProfBatGirl
Coassin, Stefan @stncsn
Constantinides, Bede @bede
Davison, Angus @snailman
Eisen, Jonathan @phylogenomics
Fisher, Simon E @ProfSimonFisher
Friedberg, Iddo @iddux
Gebhard, Christian @basepair
Grau-Bové, Xavier @xgrau
Gregory, T Ryan @TRyanGregory
Guhlin, Joseph @josephguhlin
Gunter, Chris @girlscientist
Hamilton, Bruce A @bahome
Hancock, John M @jmhancock
Johnsson, Martin @mrtnj
Katzourakis, Aris @ariskatzourakis
Kieser, Silas @silask
Konda, Prathyusha @prats
Lenski, Richard @RELenski
Louvel, Guillaume @GullumLuvl
MacLean, Dan @danmaclean
McCutcheon, John @mcsymbiont
Mäklin, Tommi @themaklin
Maurizio, Paul L @paul
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Mutalik, Vivek K @vivek_mutalik
Neher, Richard @richardneher
Nelson, Chase W @chasewnelson
Pembleton, Luke W @lwpembleton
Phinney, Brett S @UCDProteomics
Porter, Teresita M @DNAdataPhile
Racimo, Fernando @FerRacimo
Ross-Ibarra, Jeffrey @jrossibarra
Salter, Susannah J @zannah_du
Schuster-Böckler Benjamin @bensb
Stajich, Jason @hyphaltip
Tobin, Martin D @martin_tobin
Viñuela, Ana @AnaVinuela
Vlieger, Leon @inqbiol
Walmarth, Phillip A @pwilmart
White, Rhys Thomas @Rhys
Yoder, Jeremy B @jby
Zakour, Nouri Ben @genomissGitHub Palaeogenomicists
Library & Information Systems
Brown, Leah @leahdriel
Chalifour, Joshua @owlyph
Cockett, Rowan @rowan
Costas Comesana, Rodrigo @rodrigocostas
DeRosa, Robin @actualham
Deschaine, Anne @aehdeschaine
Dudek, Jonathan @jo_dudek
Eickhoff, Carsten @carsten
Fedorak, Lisa @FedorakIndexing
Gerdes, Thomas @ThomasGerdes
Goldberg, Julie @Julie
Hauschke, Christian @hauschke
Hedreen, Rebecca @delibrarian
Horton, Laurence @laurencehorton
Karcher, Sebastian @adam42smith
Keegan, Brian C @bkeegan
Levine, Kendra K @kklevine
Macgregor, George @g3om4c
Monnin, Jenn @msjennmo
Nazarovets, Serhii @serhii
Nyhan, Kate @kdnyhan
Odell, Jere D @jaireeo
Ramshaw, Veronica @verolynne
Schomberg, Jessica @schomj
Seifried, Rebecca M @rmseifried
Shirazi, Roxanne @roxanneshirazi
University of Groningen Library @Bibliothecaris
Ward, Kestrel @KestrelSWard
Wuttke, Ulrike @uwuttke
Ziegler, Sophie @SophieTrunk Librarians
Medicine
Alwan, Nisreen A @nisreen
Argyropoulos, Christos @ChristosArgyrop
Bakke, Håkon Kvåle @BakkeHK
Barber, Carolyn @cbarbermd
Barnkob, Michael B @mikebarnkob
Basu, Arindam @arinbasu1
Baxter, Nancy @enenbee
Bhattacharyya, Roby @roby
Briscoe, Joshua @jcbriscoe
Casas Ciria, Francisco Javier @cientounero
Corman, Victor Max @vmcorman
Crystal, Ruth Ann @catchthebaby
Delaney, Brendan C @bcdelaney1
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Flores, Anthony R @pedIDDoc
Fontenelle, Leonardo Ferreira @lffontenelle
Funk, Sebastian @sbfnk
Gebhard, Christian @basepair
Halama, Niels @halama_immuno
Jamal, Alainna J @alainnajj
Johansen, Michael @mike_johansen
McKinney, Zeke J @ZekeMD
Mohr, Emma @Mohr_lab
Newman, Kira L @KiraNewmanMDPhD
Nguyễn, Bích-Mây @bicmay
Pollara, Gabriele @gpollara
Schwartz, Ilan S @GermHunterMD
Steinbach, Daniel @danielsteinbach
Stone, Judy @drjudystone
Tomasson, Michael H @tomasson
Topolsky, Ivan @dryak
Trebach, Joshua D @jtrebach• Critical Care
Barthélémy, Romain @rombarthelemyFedi.Directory Health and Medical
followlists.online Anaesthetist/Anesthesiologist Critical Care
followlists.online Infectious Diseases & #IDMastodon
followlists.online Medical AI
GitHub Medical AI
Trunk MedicineNeuroScience
Agrawal, Niket @niketagrawal
Aly, Mariam @mariam
Barbour, Boris @BorisBarbour
Bellec, Pierre @pierre_bellec
Brembs, Björn @brembs
Cardona, Albert @albertcardona
Case, Sami @samilcase
Chiong, Winston @winstonchiong
Desrochers, Theresa M @DesrochersLab
Duvelle, Éléonor @elduvelle_neuro
Elsilä, Lauri @laurielsila
Garside, Danny @da5nsy
Gellersen, Helena M @helenagellersen
Hall, Megan C @ScienceisWhere
Haun, Andrew M @amhaun
Hoffman, Kari L @karihoffman
Hofmann, Ulrich G @kraweel65
Hyseni, Fjola @fjola
Iwaniuk, N Andrew @brainsevolve
Jékely, Gáspár @jekely
John, Yohan J @DrYohanJohn
Kachlicka, Magdalena @mkachlicka
Kanev, Jacob @jkanev
Karashchuk, Lili @lili
Karmarkar, Uma R @uma_karma
Leterrier, Christophe @christlet
Lindsay, Grace W @Neurograce
Miller, Earl K @ekmiller
Moleman, Peter @MolemanPeter
Negwer, Moritz @moritz_negwer
Ngiam, William XQ @will_ngiam
Olsen, Rosanna @RosannaOlsen
O’Mara, Shane @shaneomara
Popescu, Gabriela K @PopStarLab
Schultz, Simon R @neuralengine
Seuntjens, Eve @EveSeuntjens
Sinha, Manisha @manisha
Sutterer, Matthew J @mjsutterer
Thakur, Dhananjay P @dhananjaythakur
Timberlake, Ben @ByBenTimberlake
van Bree, Sander @sandervanbree
Wu, Wayne @attninactionGitHub Neuroscience
Pharmacology
Bartos, Piia @piiabartos
Case, Sami @samilcase
Elsilä, Lauri @laurielsila
Faradilla, Meutia @meutiafaradilla
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Konrad, David @dbkonrad
Moleman, Peter @MolemanPeter
Rutz, Adriano @adafede
Wilkins, Justin J @justinwilkinsPharmacometrics
Smith, Mike K @MikeKSmith
Wilkins, Justin J @justinwilkinsPhysiology
Caspar, Kai R @nomascus
Glazier, Amelia @ameliaglazier
Hoffman, Kari L @karihoffman
Olson, Christopher R @ChristophROlson
Schumacher, Michael A @schumacher
Tomasson, Michael H @tomasson
Umbers, Kate DL @kateumbers
Wayne, Nancy L @nancylwaynePsychiatry
Anderson, Chase TM @ChaseTMAnderson
Briscoe, Joshua @jcbriscoe
Eckert, Anna-Lena @eckertal
Lam, Raymond W @DrRaymondLam
Lee, Kangjoo @kangjoolee
Reeder, Michael @admin
Turban, Jack L @jackturban
Urgelés, Diego @urgelesfollowlists.online Psychiatrists
Scientific Computing
Eickhoff, Carsten @carsten
Frost, Jarvist Moore @Jarvist
Jambor, Helena @helenajambor• Computational Biology
Andreani, Virgile @Armavica
Argyropoulos, Christos @ChristosArgyrop
Bahlai, Christie @cbahlai
Carpenter, Anne E @DrAnneCarpenter
Clark, Chase M @chasingmicrobes
Fagherazzi, Guy @gfaghe
Gatto, Laurent @lgatto
Gómez-Dans, José @jgomezdans
Hauck, Judith @jhauck
Hill, Edward M @EdMHill
Hoffman, Kari L @karihoffman
Hubbard, Philip @philiphubbard
Hyseni, Fjola @fjola
Jarosz, Wojciech @wjarosz
Jessen, Walter @wj
John, Yohan J @DrYohanJohn
Kanev, Jacob @jkanev
Kedzierska, Kasia Zofia @kzkedzierska
Kucharavy, Andrei @andrei_chiffa
Louvel, Guillaume @GullumLuvl
MaClean, Dan @danmaclean
Mendes, Pedro @gepasi
O'Donnell, Cian @cian
MacLean, Dan @danmaclean
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Mendes, Pedro @gepasi
Moore, Jason H @moorejh
Moss, Rob @rob_models
Ross, Noam @noamross
Scott, Eric R @LeafyEricScott
Sinha, Manisha @manisha
Stévant, Isabelle @IsabelleStevant
Stowell, Dan @danstowell
Viscownti, Alessia @alesssia
Winkler, Tilo @twinkler• Climate Modelling
Easterbrook, Steve @steve
Ilyina, Tatiana @TatianaIlyinaFedi.Directory Data Visualisation
Soil Science
Cardinael, Rémi @remicardinael
Moorberg, Colby J @ColbyDigsSoil
Schymanski, Stanislaus J @schymans
Schwerdtner, Ulrike @UliSchwerdtnerTaxonomy
Brabant, Craig @mutillidae
Brignoli, Gino @gino
De Vivo, Mattia @mdv
Hobern, Donald @dhobern
Musetti, Luciana @DrLu_Musetti
Plazi Species @plazi_speciesToxicology
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Trebach, Joshua D @jtrebachVeterinary Medicine
Firth, Clair @Buxton_Vienna
MacPhee, Daniel J @dmacphee
Mekaru, Sumiko @Sumiko_Mekaru
Nordquist, Rebecca @renordquist
van Vlie, Arnoud @dutchscientist
Voss, Sarah J @Sarah_J_Voss
Wakeham, David @wakehamAMRMore extensive lists on Mastodon can be found exploring the following
Fedi.Directory - Science & Humanities
find.sciences.social - Find Academics on Mastodon
GitHub - Academics on Mastodon Lists
TrueSciPhi - Curated science, philosophy, and mathematics lists covering podcasts, Mastodon, and Bluesky
Trunk - allows you to mass-follow a bunch of people(Click to access Formal, Natural (Life & Physical) & Social Sciences)
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CW: Scientists in the Natural Applied Sciences - Long List to Scroll!
Scientists in the Natural Sciences - Applied Sciences
• Published (not necessarily in field)
Please Message for Additions, Deletions or Edits
Agricultural Science
Birge, Traci @TraciInFinland
Bommarco, Riccardo @bommarco
Cardinael, Rémi @remicardinael
Ehlers, Melf-Hinrich @Melf
ETH Zürich @crop_science_eth
Finger, Robert @robertfinger
Hepworth, Craig @floridafruitgeek
Kniss, Andrew R @AK
Lynch, Megan @ml
Malek, Žiga @zigamalek
Morris, Ed R @Edrmorris
Nordquist, Rebecca @renordquist
Parent, Essi @essi
Plieninger, Tobias @plieninger
Rodriguez, Carolina @CRodriguez
Schulze, Christoph @qris
Schwerdtner, Ulrike @UliSchwerdtnerBiophysics
Bagley, Bryce Allen @babagley
Batalha, Natalie M @nbatalha
Benedetti, Fabrizio @scienceFab
Bonsma-Fisher, Madeleine @mbonsma
Delpierre, Julien @JulienDelpierre
Dmitrieff, Serge @dmitrieff
Etienne, Jocelyn @jocelyn_etienne
Giorgino, Toni @giorginolab
Haase, Albrecht @neurophysics
Kennard, Andrew @askennard
Michieletto, Davide @dmichiel
Lew, Matthew D @lewlab
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Meyer, Carola @carbonwoman
Neher, Richard @richardneher
Plested, Andrew @andrewplested
Popescu, Gabriela K @PopStarLab
Rowland, David James @drdrowland
Sadoine, Mayuri @MayuriSadoine
Schwarz, Ulrich Sebastian @UlrichSchwarz
Tyka, Mike @mtyka
Wallace, Mark I @markianwallaceGitHub Biophysicists
Biotremology
López Díez, Juan José @TremonetaClimate Science
Brettschneider, Brian @Climatologist49
Campbell, Micheline @michcampbell
Cobb, Kim @coralsncaves
Gironella, Fritzi G @fagg
Gleick, Peter @petergleick
Gowan, Evan J @DrEvanGowan
Hawkins, Ed @ed_hawkins
Hayhoe, Katharine @kathhayhoe
Ilyina, Tatiana @TatianaIlyina
Karmalkar, Ambarish @akarma
Labe, Zach M @ZLabe
LeGrande, Allegra Nicole @atthenius
Marelle, Louis @louismarelle
Mottram, Ruth @Ruth_Mottram
Pollice, Robert @robpollice
Rahmstorf, Stefan @rahmstorf
Thoman Jr, Richard L @AlaskaWx
Van de Velde, Jorn @jornvdvClimatology
Barnes-Keoghan, Ian @ibk
Dupont, Claire @Cladupont
Lucht, Wolfgang @W_Lucht
Wagner, Gernot @gwagner@ClimateMigration Follows & boosts Climate Science experts
Engineering
Aldrich, Chris @chrisaldrich
Barba, Lorena A @labarba
Berry, Carlotta A @drcaberry
Ellison, Doug @doug_ellison
Gill, Kevin M @kevinmgill
Hale, Steven J @drstevenhale
Hashemi, Nicole @NicoleHashemi
Hulse, Daniel @Daniel_Hulse
Hurkat, Skand @skandhurkat
Kruger, Justin D @jdavidnet
Subramanian, R @subu_caps• AeroSpace Engineers
Cothern, Kyle @Risknc
Dubos, Gregory @astroptere
Ellison, Doug @doug_ellison
Hutt, Jason T @jathhutt• Chemical Engineers
Krawczyk, Paweł @kravietz
McNeill, V Faye @vfmcneill
Meekins, Benjamin H @meekinslab• Environmental Engineers
Haas, Charles @ProfCharlesHaas
Parent, Essi @essi
Scriven, David @David_Epithet
Walker-Franklin, Imari @calimari• Software Engineers
Brooker, Marc @marcbrooker
Emir, Burak @burakemir
Famelis, Michalis @mfamelis
Hubbard, Philip @philiphubbard
Mueller-Roemer, Johannes S @JSMuellerRoemer
Pavlic, Theodore P @tedpavlic
Ralph, Paul @paulralph
Sacerdote, David @dsacer
Santander-Vela, Juan de Dios @juandesant
Zaslavsky, David @diazona• Systems Engineers
Bean, Keri @PlanetaryKeri
Reck, Rebecca M @RebeccaEE
Santander-Vela, Juan de Dios @juandesant
Van Bossuyt, Douglas Lee @douglasvbFedi.Directory Engineering
Trunk EngineeringEnvironmental Science
Brander, Susanne M @smbrander
Büchau, Yann @nobodyinperson
Feldwick, Mark @MarkIngs
Glückler, Ramesh @rglueckler
Gusmão, Felipe @fgusmao
Hart-Davis, Damon @DamonHD
Jehn, Florian Ulrich @florianjehn
Jones, Oliver AH @Dr_Oli_Jones
Killam, Daniel @dantheclamman
Mann, Michael E @MichaelEMann
Manuel, Ivan Ruiz @IvanRManuel
McKinney, Zeke J @ZekeMD
Osborn, Mark @MicrobialLife
O'Shea, Bethany @DrBethRocks
Parent, Essi @essi
Pomeranz, Justin PZ @PZ_ecology
Pyle, Greg @gregpyle
Ruiz Manuel, Ivan @IvanRManuel
Sigmund, Gabriel @GabrielS
Sims, Kerry @DrKerryS
Sultana, Farhana @farhanasultana
Tate, Brandon K @brandontate
Torkelson, Jaclyn @DesertAndReef
Walker-Franklin, Imari @calimari
Weintraub, Michael N @mnweintraub
Zourek, Leonard @leonardzourekTrunk Environmentalists
Environmental Toxicology
Feldwick, Mark @MarkIngs
Hammer, Sjúrður @sjurdur
Pyle, Greg @gregpyle
Reichman, Suzie M @SuzieReichman
Whitehead, Andrew @andrewwhiteheadEpidemiology
Alwan, Nisreen A @nisreen
Bassani, Diego G @dgbassani
Bastian, Hilda @hildabast
Basu, Arindam @arinbasu1
Baxter, Nancy @enenbee
Bazaco, Michael @MCBazacoPhD
Bergstrom, Carl T @ct_bergstrom
Bolker, Ben @bbolker
Borrell, Luisa N @lborrell
Chiong, Winston @winstonchiong
D'Angelo, Nico @nicod
Fagherazzi, Guy @gfaghe
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Fontenelle, Leonardo Ferreira @lffontenelle
Funk, Sebastian @sbfnk
Ghafari, Mahan @mghafari
Gonsalves, Gregg @gregggonsalves
Handel, Andreas @andreashandel
Hernan, Miguel @MiguelHernan
Hill, Edward M @EdMHill
Hyde, Zoë @DrZoeHyde
Jamal, Alainna J @alainnajj
Kinney, Gregory L @mycotropic
Kline, David @DavidKline
Kucharski, Adam @adamjkucharski
Ley, Sylvia @sylvialey
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Mekaru, Sumiko @Sumiko_Mekaru
Moss, Rob @rob_models
Murray, Eleanor J @epiellie
Newman, Kira L @KiraNewmanMDPhD
Pearce, Neil @nepearce
Peiper, Nicholas C @doctorpipes
Polis, Chelsea B @cbpolis
Salemi, Jason L @JasonSalemi
Schrom, John @johnschrom
Sesay, Cecirahim @cecirahim
Smith, Tara C @aetiology
Tennant, Peter WG @pwgtennant
Thelwall, Simon @simonthelwall
Tobin, Martin D @martin_tobin
Wakeham, David @wakehamAMR
Wallace, Katrine @EpidemiologistKat
Walsh, Michael @EpiDoctor• Genetic Epidemiology
Hodcroft, Emma @firefoxx66
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Retchless, Adam C @adamr
Tobin, Martin D @martin_tobin• Wildlife Epidemiology
Shriner, Susan A @SusanAShrinerFedi.Directory Epidemiology
Evolutionary Science
Albert, Victor A @PlantEvoGenomics
Anderson, Chris @c_n_anderson
Arnold, Sarah EJ @sejarnold
Aylward, Frank O @foaylward
Barber, Matthew F @bioBarber
Barker, Michael S @MikeBarker
Benham, Phred M @TheSaltySparrow
Bergstrom, Carl T @ct_bergstrom
Blazanin, Michael @mikeblazanin
Bolker, Ben @bbolker
Clarke, John T @jclarkepaleo
Constantinides, Bede @bede
Corman, Victor Max @vmcorman
Davison, Angus @snailman
Débarre, Florence @flodebarre
Delph, Lynda @LyndaDelph
Eisen, Jonathan @phylogenomics
Enquist, Brian J @bjenquist
Fisher, Diana O @Diana_mammalecology
Ghafari, Mahan @mghafari
Gogarten, Jan F @communities
Grau-Bové, Xavier @xgrau
Gregory, T Ryan @TRyanGregory
Hakala, Sanja @SanjaHakala
Hancock, John M @jmhancock
Hartberg, Yasha @yasha
Iwaniuk, N Andrew @brainsevolve
Jarochowska, Emilia @Emiliagnathus
Kane, Emily A @TheKaneLab
Katzourakis, Aris @ariskatzourakis
Kellie, Dax J @daxkellie
Kennard, Andrew @askennard
Knell, Robert J @robknell
Knudson, Alexander H @Knudson_H
Koene, Joris M @jkoene
Kovács, Ákos T @EvolvedBiofilm
Kristensen, Nadiah Pardede @nadiah
LeBoeuf, Adria @Adria
Leighton, Gavin M @GMcLeanLeighton
Lenski, Richard @RELenski
Louvel, Guillaume @GullumLuvl
Lukas, Dieter @DieterLukas
McCutcheon, John @mcsymbiont
Meuthen, Denis @DenisMeuthen
Moreau, Corrie S @CorrieMoreau
Neher, Richard @richardneher
Nelson, Chase W @chasewnelson
Osmond, Matthew @mmosmond
Ralph, Peter L @petrelharp
Schreiber, Sebastian @SebastianSchreiber
Ross-Ibarra, Jeffrey @jrossibarra
Schürch, Roger @schuemaa
Sheard, Catherine @sheardcat
Shropshire, Dylan J @ShropshireJD
Simon, Alexis @alxsim
Slotte, Tanja @tanjaslotte
Sponheimer, Matt @spon
Stajich, Jason @hyphaltip
Strepsipzerg, Max Aubry @StrepsipZerg
Szala, Anna @anna
Tzovaras, Bastian Greshake @gedankenstuecke
Vlieger, Leon @inqbiol
Warrington, Miya H @MiyaWarrington
White, Rhys Thomas @Rhys
Yoder, Jeremy B @jbyFedi.Directory Evolutionary Biology
FoodScience
Hammann, Simon @simonhammann
Kupferschmidt, Kai @kakapeGenomics
Albert, Victor A @PlantEvoGenomics
Aninta, Sabhrina Gita @sagitaninta
Bayer, Philipp @PhilippBayer
Benham, Phred M @TheSaltySparrow
Breitbart, Mya @virome_girl
Clare, Elizabeth L @ProfBatGirl
Coassin, Stefan @stncsn
Constantinides, Bede @bede
Davison, Angus @snailman
Eisen, Jonathan @phylogenomics
Fisher, Simon E @ProfSimonFisher
Friedberg, Iddo @iddux
Gebhard, Christian @basepair
Grau-Bové, Xavier @xgrau
Gregory, T Ryan @TRyanGregory
Guhlin, Joseph @josephguhlin
Gunter, Chris @girlscientist
Hamilton, Bruce A @bahome
Hancock, John M @jmhancock
Johnsson, Martin @mrtnj
Katzourakis, Aris @ariskatzourakis
Kieser, Silas @silask
Konda, Prathyusha @prats
Lenski, Richard @RELenski
Louvel, Guillaume @GullumLuvl
MacLean, Dan @danmaclean
McCutcheon, John @mcsymbiont
Mäklin, Tommi @themaklin
Maurizio, Paul L @paul
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Mutalik, Vivek K @vivek_mutalik
Neher, Richard @richardneher
Nelson, Chase W @chasewnelson
Pembleton, Luke W @lwpembleton
Phinney, Brett S @UCDProteomics
Porter, Teresita M @DNAdataPhile
Racimo, Fernando @FerRacimo
Ross-Ibarra, Jeffrey @jrossibarra
Salter, Susannah J @zannah_du
Schuster-Böckler Benjamin @bensb
Stajich, Jason @hyphaltip
Tobin, Martin D @martin_tobin
Viñuela, Ana @AnaVinuela
Vlieger, Leon @inqbiol
Walmarth, Phillip A @pwilmart
White, Rhys Thomas @Rhys
Yoder, Jeremy B @jby
Zakour, Nouri Ben @genomissGitHub Palaeogenomicists
Library & Information Systems
Brown, Leah @leahdriel
Chalifour, Joshua @owlyph
Cockett, Rowan @rowan
Costas Comesana, Rodrigo @rodrigocostas
DeRosa, Robin @actualham
Deschaine, Anne @aehdeschaine
Dudek, Jonathan @jo_dudek
Eickhoff, Carsten @carsten
Fedorak, Lisa @FedorakIndexing
Gerdes, Thomas @ThomasGerdes
Goldberg, Julie @Julie
Hauschke, Christian @hauschke
Hedreen, Rebecca @delibrarian
Horton, Laurence @laurencehorton
Karcher, Sebastian @adam42smith
Keegan, Brian C @bkeegan
Levine, Kendra K @kklevine
Macgregor, George @g3om4c
Monnin, Jenn @msjennmo
Nazarovets, Serhii @serhii
Nyhan, Kate @kdnyhan
Odell, Jere D @jaireeo
Ramshaw, Veronica @verolynne
Schomberg, Jessica @schomj
Seifried, Rebecca M @rmseifried
Shirazi, Roxanne @roxanneshirazi
University of Groningen Library @Bibliothecaris
Ward, Kestrel @KestrelSWard
Wuttke, Ulrike @uwuttke
Ziegler, Sophie @SophieTrunk Librarians
Medicine
Alwan, Nisreen A @nisreen
Argyropoulos, Christos @ChristosArgyrop
Bakke, Håkon Kvåle @BakkeHK
Barber, Carolyn @cbarbermd
Barnkob, Michael B @mikebarnkob
Basu, Arindam @arinbasu1
Baxter, Nancy @enenbee
Bhattacharyya, Roby @roby
Briscoe, Joshua @jcbriscoe
Casas Ciria, Francisco Javier @cientounero
Corman, Victor Max @vmcorman
Crystal, Ruth Ann @catchthebaby
Delaney, Brendan C @bcdelaney1
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Flores, Anthony R @pedIDDoc
Fontenelle, Leonardo Ferreira @lffontenelle
Funk, Sebastian @sbfnk
Gebhard, Christian @basepair
Halama, Niels @halama_immuno
Jamal, Alainna J @alainnajj
Johansen, Michael @mike_johansen
McKinney, Zeke J @ZekeMD
Mohr, Emma @Mohr_lab
Newman, Kira L @KiraNewmanMDPhD
Nguyễn, Bích-Mây @bicmay
Pollara, Gabriele @gpollara
Schwartz, Ilan S @GermHunterMD
Steinbach, Daniel @danielsteinbach
Stone, Judy @drjudystone
Tomasson, Michael H @tomasson
Topolsky, Ivan @dryak
Trebach, Joshua D @jtrebach• Critical Care
Barthélémy, Romain @rombarthelemyFedi.Directory Health and Medical
followlists.online Anaesthetist/Anesthesiologist Critical Care
followlists.online Infectious Diseases & #IDMastodon
followlists.online Medical AI
GitHub Medical AI
Trunk MedicineNeuroScience
Agrawal, Niket @niketagrawal
Aly, Mariam @mariam
Barbour, Boris @BorisBarbour
Bellec, Pierre @pierre_bellec
Brembs, Björn @brembs
Cardona, Albert @albertcardona
Case, Sami @samilcase
Chiong, Winston @winstonchiong
Desrochers, Theresa M @DesrochersLab
Duvelle, Éléonor @elduvelle_neuro
Elsilä, Lauri @laurielsila
Garside, Danny @da5nsy
Gellersen, Helena M @helenagellersen
Hall, Megan C @ScienceisWhere
Haun, Andrew M @amhaun
Hoffman, Kari L @karihoffman
Hofmann, Ulrich G @kraweel65
Hyseni, Fjola @fjola
Iwaniuk, N Andrew @brainsevolve
Jékely, Gáspár @jekely
John, Yohan J @DrYohanJohn
Kachlicka, Magdalena @mkachlicka
Kanev, Jacob @jkanev
Karashchuk, Lili @lili
Karmarkar, Uma R @uma_karma
Leterrier, Christophe @christlet
Lindsay, Grace W @Neurograce
Miller, Earl K @ekmiller
Moleman, Peter @MolemanPeter
Negwer, Moritz @moritz_negwer
Ngiam, William XQ @will_ngiam
Olsen, Rosanna @RosannaOlsen
O’Mara, Shane @shaneomara
Popescu, Gabriela K @PopStarLab
Schultz, Simon R @neuralengine
Seuntjens, Eve @EveSeuntjens
Sinha, Manisha @manisha
Sutterer, Matthew J @mjsutterer
Thakur, Dhananjay P @dhananjaythakur
Timberlake, Ben @ByBenTimberlake
van Bree, Sander @sandervanbree
Wu, Wayne @attninactionGitHub Neuroscience
Pharmacology
Bartos, Piia @piiabartos
Case, Sami @samilcase
Elsilä, Lauri @laurielsila
Faradilla, Meutia @meutiafaradilla
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Konrad, David @dbkonrad
Moleman, Peter @MolemanPeter
Rutz, Adriano @adafede
Wilkins, Justin J @justinwilkinsPharmacometrics
Smith, Mike K @MikeKSmith
Wilkins, Justin J @justinwilkinsPhysiology
Caspar, Kai R @nomascus
Glazier, Amelia @ameliaglazier
Hoffman, Kari L @karihoffman
Olson, Christopher R @ChristophROlson
Schumacher, Michael A @schumacher
Tomasson, Michael H @tomasson
Umbers, Kate DL @kateumbers
Wayne, Nancy L @nancylwaynePsychiatry
Anderson, Chase TM @ChaseTMAnderson
Briscoe, Joshua @jcbriscoe
Eckert, Anna-Lena @eckertal
Lam, Raymond W @DrRaymondLam
Lee, Kangjoo @kangjoolee
Reeder, Michael @admin
Turban, Jack L @jackturban
Urgelés, Diego @urgelesfollowlists.online Psychiatrists
Scientific Computing
Eickhoff, Carsten @carsten
Frost, Jarvist Moore @Jarvist
Jambor, Helena @helenajambor• Computational Biology
Andreani, Virgile @Armavica
Argyropoulos, Christos @ChristosArgyrop
Bahlai, Christie @cbahlai
Carpenter, Anne E @DrAnneCarpenter
Clark, Chase M @chasingmicrobes
Fagherazzi, Guy @gfaghe
Gatto, Laurent @lgatto
Gómez-Dans, José @jgomezdans
Hauck, Judith @jhauck
Hill, Edward M @EdMHill
Hoffman, Kari L @karihoffman
Hubbard, Philip @philiphubbard
Hyseni, Fjola @fjola
Jarosz, Wojciech @wjarosz
Jessen, Walter @wj
John, Yohan J @DrYohanJohn
Kanev, Jacob @jkanev
Kedzierska, Kasia Zofia @kzkedzierska
Kucharavy, Andrei @andrei_chiffa
Louvel, Guillaume @GullumLuvl
MaClean, Dan @danmaclean
Mendes, Pedro @gepasi
O'Donnell, Cian @cian
MacLean, Dan @danmaclean
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Mendes, Pedro @gepasi
Moore, Jason H @moorejh
Moss, Rob @rob_models
Ross, Noam @noamross
Scott, Eric R @LeafyEricScott
Sinha, Manisha @manisha
Stévant, Isabelle @IsabelleStevant
Stowell, Dan @danstowell
Viscownti, Alessia @alesssia
Winkler, Tilo @twinkler• Climate Modelling
Easterbrook, Steve @steve
Ilyina, Tatiana @TatianaIlyinaFedi.Directory Data Visualisation
Soil Science
Cardinael, Rémi @remicardinael
Moorberg, Colby J @ColbyDigsSoil
Schymanski, Stanislaus J @schymans
Schwerdtner, Ulrike @UliSchwerdtnerTaxonomy
Brabant, Craig @mutillidae
Brignoli, Gino @gino
De Vivo, Mattia @mdv
Hobern, Donald @dhobern
Musetti, Luciana @DrLu_Musetti
Plazi Species @plazi_speciesToxicology
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Trebach, Joshua D @jtrebachVeterinary Medicine
Firth, Clair @Buxton_Vienna
MacPhee, Daniel J @dmacphee
Mekaru, Sumiko @Sumiko_Mekaru
Nordquist, Rebecca @renordquist
van Vlie, Arnoud @dutchscientist
Voss, Sarah J @Sarah_J_Voss
Wakeham, David @wakehamAMRMore extensive lists on Mastodon can be found exploring the following
Fedi.Directory - Science & Humanities
find.sciences.social - Find Academics on Mastodon
GitHub - Academics on Mastodon Lists
TrueSciPhi - Curated science, philosophy, and mathematics lists covering podcasts, Mastodon, and Bluesky
Trunk - allows you to mass-follow a bunch of people(Click to access Formal, Natural (Life & Physical) & Social Sciences)
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CW: Scientists in the Natural Applied Sciences - Long List to Scroll!
Scientists in the Natural Sciences - Applied Sciences
• Published (not necessarily in field)
Please Message for Additions, Deletions or Edits
Agricultural Science
Birge, Traci @TraciInFinland
Bommarco, Riccardo @bommarco
Cardinael, Rémi @remicardinael
Ehlers, Melf-Hinrich @Melf
ETH Zürich @crop_science_eth
Finger, Robert @robertfinger
Hepworth, Craig @floridafruitgeek
Kniss, Andrew R @AK
Lynch, Megan @ml
Malek, Žiga @zigamalek
Morris, Ed R @Edrmorris
Nordquist, Rebecca @renordquist
Parent, Essi @essi
Plieninger, Tobias @plieninger
Rodriguez, Carolina @CRodriguez
Schulze, Christoph @qris
Schwerdtner, Ulrike @UliSchwerdtnerBiophysics
Bagley, Bryce Allen @babagley
Batalha, Natalie M @nbatalha
Benedetti, Fabrizio @scienceFab
Bonsma-Fisher, Madeleine @mbonsma
Delpierre, Julien @JulienDelpierre
Dmitrieff, Serge @dmitrieff
Etienne, Jocelyn @jocelyn_etienne
Giorgino, Toni @giorginolab
Haase, Albrecht @neurophysics
Kennard, Andrew @askennard
Michieletto, Davide @dmichiel
Lew, Matthew D @lewlab
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Meyer, Carola @carbonwoman
Neher, Richard @richardneher
Plested, Andrew @andrewplested
Popescu, Gabriela K @PopStarLab
Rowland, David James @drdrowland
Sadoine, Mayuri @MayuriSadoine
Schwarz, Ulrich Sebastian @UlrichSchwarz
Tyka, Mike @mtyka
Wallace, Mark I @markianwallaceGitHub Biophysicists
Biotremology
López Díez, Juan José @TremonetaClimate Science
Brettschneider, Brian @Climatologist49
Campbell, Micheline @michcampbell
Cobb, Kim @coralsncaves
Gironella, Fritzi G @fagg
Gleick, Peter @petergleick
Gowan, Evan J @DrEvanGowan
Hawkins, Ed @ed_hawkins
Hayhoe, Katharine @kathhayhoe
Ilyina, Tatiana @TatianaIlyina
Karmalkar, Ambarish @akarma
Labe, Zach M @ZLabe
LeGrande, Allegra Nicole @atthenius
Marelle, Louis @louismarelle
Mottram, Ruth @Ruth_Mottram
Pollice, Robert @robpollice
Rahmstorf, Stefan @rahmstorf
Thoman Jr, Richard L @AlaskaWx
Van de Velde, Jorn @jornvdvClimatology
Barnes-Keoghan, Ian @ibk
Dupont, Claire @Cladupont
Lucht, Wolfgang @W_Lucht
Wagner, Gernot @gwagner@ClimateMigration Follows & boosts Climate Science experts
Engineering
Aldrich, Chris @chrisaldrich
Barba, Lorena A @labarba
Berry, Carlotta A @drcaberry
Ellison, Doug @doug_ellison
Gill, Kevin M @kevinmgill
Hale, Steven J @drstevenhale
Hashemi, Nicole @NicoleHashemi
Hulse, Daniel @Daniel_Hulse
Hurkat, Skand @skandhurkat
Kruger, Justin D @jdavidnet
Subramanian, R @subu_caps• AeroSpace Engineers
Cothern, Kyle @Risknc
Dubos, Gregory @astroptere
Ellison, Doug @doug_ellison
Hutt, Jason T @jathhutt• Chemical Engineers
Krawczyk, Paweł @kravietz
McNeill, V Faye @vfmcneill
Meekins, Benjamin H @meekinslab• Environmental Engineers
Haas, Charles @ProfCharlesHaas
Parent, Essi @essi
Scriven, David @David_Epithet
Walker-Franklin, Imari @calimari• Software Engineers
Brooker, Marc @marcbrooker
Emir, Burak @burakemir
Famelis, Michalis @mfamelis
Hubbard, Philip @philiphubbard
Mueller-Roemer, Johannes S @JSMuellerRoemer
Pavlic, Theodore P @tedpavlic
Ralph, Paul @paulralph
Sacerdote, David @dsacer
Santander-Vela, Juan de Dios @juandesant
Zaslavsky, David @diazona• Systems Engineers
Bean, Keri @PlanetaryKeri
Reck, Rebecca M @RebeccaEE
Santander-Vela, Juan de Dios @juandesant
Van Bossuyt, Douglas Lee @douglasvbFedi.Directory Engineering
Trunk EngineeringEnvironmental Science
Brander, Susanne M @smbrander
Büchau, Yann @nobodyinperson
Feldwick, Mark @MarkIngs
Glückler, Ramesh @rglueckler
Gusmão, Felipe @fgusmao
Hart-Davis, Damon @DamonHD
Jehn, Florian Ulrich @florianjehn
Jones, Oliver AH @Dr_Oli_Jones
Killam, Daniel @dantheclamman
Mann, Michael E @MichaelEMann
Manuel, Ivan Ruiz @IvanRManuel
McKinney, Zeke J @ZekeMD
Osborn, Mark @MicrobialLife
O'Shea, Bethany @DrBethRocks
Parent, Essi @essi
Pomeranz, Justin PZ @PZ_ecology
Pyle, Greg @gregpyle
Ruiz Manuel, Ivan @IvanRManuel
Sigmund, Gabriel @GabrielS
Sims, Kerry @DrKerryS
Sultana, Farhana @farhanasultana
Tate, Brandon K @brandontate
Torkelson, Jaclyn @DesertAndReef
Walker-Franklin, Imari @calimari
Weintraub, Michael N @mnweintraub
Zourek, Leonard @leonardzourekTrunk Environmentalists
Environmental Toxicology
Feldwick, Mark @MarkIngs
Hammer, Sjúrður @sjurdur
Pyle, Greg @gregpyle
Reichman, Suzie M @SuzieReichman
Whitehead, Andrew @andrewwhiteheadEpidemiology
Alwan, Nisreen A @nisreen
Bassani, Diego G @dgbassani
Bastian, Hilda @hildabast
Basu, Arindam @arinbasu1
Baxter, Nancy @enenbee
Bazaco, Michael @MCBazacoPhD
Bergstrom, Carl T @ct_bergstrom
Bolker, Ben @bbolker
Borrell, Luisa N @lborrell
Chiong, Winston @winstonchiong
D'Angelo, Nico @nicod
Fagherazzi, Guy @gfaghe
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Fontenelle, Leonardo Ferreira @lffontenelle
Funk, Sebastian @sbfnk
Ghafari, Mahan @mghafari
Gonsalves, Gregg @gregggonsalves
Handel, Andreas @andreashandel
Hernan, Miguel @MiguelHernan
Hill, Edward M @EdMHill
Hyde, Zoë @DrZoeHyde
Jamal, Alainna J @alainnajj
Kinney, Gregory L @mycotropic
Kline, David @DavidKline
Kucharski, Adam @adamjkucharski
Ley, Sylvia @sylvialey
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Mekaru, Sumiko @Sumiko_Mekaru
Moss, Rob @rob_models
Murray, Eleanor J @epiellie
Newman, Kira L @KiraNewmanMDPhD
Pearce, Neil @nepearce
Peiper, Nicholas C @doctorpipes
Polis, Chelsea B @cbpolis
Salemi, Jason L @JasonSalemi
Schrom, John @johnschrom
Sesay, Cecirahim @cecirahim
Smith, Tara C @aetiology
Tennant, Peter WG @pwgtennant
Thelwall, Simon @simonthelwall
Tobin, Martin D @martin_tobin
Wakeham, David @wakehamAMR
Wallace, Katrine @EpidemiologistKat
Walsh, Michael @EpiDoctor• Genetic Epidemiology
Hodcroft, Emma @firefoxx66
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Retchless, Adam C @adamr
Tobin, Martin D @martin_tobin• Wildlife Epidemiology
Shriner, Susan A @SusanAShrinerFedi.Directory Epidemiology
Evolutionary Science
Albert, Victor A @PlantEvoGenomics
Anderson, Chris @c_n_anderson
Arnold, Sarah EJ @sejarnold
Aylward, Frank O @foaylward
Barber, Matthew F @bioBarber
Barker, Michael S @MikeBarker
Benham, Phred M @TheSaltySparrow
Bergstrom, Carl T @ct_bergstrom
Blazanin, Michael @mikeblazanin
Bolker, Ben @bbolker
Clarke, John T @jclarkepaleo
Constantinides, Bede @bede
Corman, Victor Max @vmcorman
Davison, Angus @snailman
Débarre, Florence @flodebarre
Delph, Lynda @LyndaDelph
Eisen, Jonathan @phylogenomics
Enquist, Brian J @bjenquist
Fisher, Diana O @Diana_mammalecology
Ghafari, Mahan @mghafari
Gogarten, Jan F @communities
Grau-Bové, Xavier @xgrau
Gregory, T Ryan @TRyanGregory
Hakala, Sanja @SanjaHakala
Hancock, John M @jmhancock
Hartberg, Yasha @yasha
Iwaniuk, N Andrew @brainsevolve
Jarochowska, Emilia @Emiliagnathus
Kane, Emily A @TheKaneLab
Katzourakis, Aris @ariskatzourakis
Kellie, Dax J @daxkellie
Kennard, Andrew @askennard
Knell, Robert J @robknell
Knudson, Alexander H @Knudson_H
Koene, Joris M @jkoene
Kovács, Ákos T @EvolvedBiofilm
Kristensen, Nadiah Pardede @nadiah
LeBoeuf, Adria @Adria
Leighton, Gavin M @GMcLeanLeighton
Lenski, Richard @RELenski
Louvel, Guillaume @GullumLuvl
Lukas, Dieter @DieterLukas
McCutcheon, John @mcsymbiont
Meuthen, Denis @DenisMeuthen
Moreau, Corrie S @CorrieMoreau
Neher, Richard @richardneher
Nelson, Chase W @chasewnelson
Osmond, Matthew @mmosmond
Ralph, Peter L @petrelharp
Schreiber, Sebastian @SebastianSchreiber
Ross-Ibarra, Jeffrey @jrossibarra
Schürch, Roger @schuemaa
Sheard, Catherine @sheardcat
Shropshire, Dylan J @ShropshireJD
Simon, Alexis @alxsim
Slotte, Tanja @tanjaslotte
Sponheimer, Matt @spon
Stajich, Jason @hyphaltip
Strepsipzerg, Max Aubry @StrepsipZerg
Szala, Anna @anna
Tzovaras, Bastian Greshake @gedankenstuecke
Vlieger, Leon @inqbiol
Warrington, Miya H @MiyaWarrington
White, Rhys Thomas @Rhys
Yoder, Jeremy B @jbyFedi.Directory Evolutionary Biology
FoodScience
Hammann, Simon @simonhammann
Kupferschmidt, Kai @kakapeGenomics
Albert, Victor A @PlantEvoGenomics
Aninta, Sabhrina Gita @sagitaninta
Bayer, Philipp @PhilippBayer
Benham, Phred M @TheSaltySparrow
Breitbart, Mya @virome_girl
Clare, Elizabeth L @ProfBatGirl
Coassin, Stefan @stncsn
Constantinides, Bede @bede
Davison, Angus @snailman
Eisen, Jonathan @phylogenomics
Fisher, Simon E @ProfSimonFisher
Friedberg, Iddo @iddux
Gebhard, Christian @basepair
Grau-Bové, Xavier @xgrau
Gregory, T Ryan @TRyanGregory
Guhlin, Joseph @josephguhlin
Gunter, Chris @girlscientist
Hamilton, Bruce A @bahome
Hancock, John M @jmhancock
Johnsson, Martin @mrtnj
Katzourakis, Aris @ariskatzourakis
Kieser, Silas @silask
Konda, Prathyusha @prats
Lenski, Richard @RELenski
Louvel, Guillaume @GullumLuvl
MacLean, Dan @danmaclean
McCutcheon, John @mcsymbiont
Mäklin, Tommi @themaklin
Maurizio, Paul L @paul
Meesters, Christian @rupdecat
Mutalik, Vivek K @vivek_mutalik
Neher, Richard @richardneher
Nelson, Chase W @chasewnelson
Pembleton, Luke W @lwpembleton
Phinney, Brett S @UCDProteomics
Porter, Teresita M @DNAdataPhile
Racimo, Fernando @FerRacimo
Ross-Ibarra, Jeffrey @jrossibarra
Salter, Susannah J @zannah_du
Schuster-Böckler Benjamin @bensb
Stajich, Jason @hyphaltip
Tobin, Martin D @martin_tobin
Viñuela, Ana @AnaVinuela
Vlieger, Leon @inqbiol
Walmarth, Phillip A @pwilmart
White, Rhys Thomas @Rhys
Yoder, Jeremy B @jby
Zakour, Nouri Ben @genomissGitHub Palaeogenomicists
Library & Information Systems
Brown, Leah @leahdriel
Chalifour, Joshua @owlyph
Cockett, Rowan @rowan
Costas Comesana, Rodrigo @rodrigocostas
DeRosa, Robin @actualham
Deschaine, Anne @aehdeschaine
Dudek, Jonathan @jo_dudek
Eickhoff, Carsten @carsten
Fedorak, Lisa @FedorakIndexing
Gerdes, Thomas @ThomasGerdes
Goldberg, Julie @Julie
Hauschke, Christian @hauschke
Hedreen, Rebecca @delibrarian
Horton, Laurence @laurencehorton
Karcher, Sebastian @adam42smith
Keegan, Brian C @bkeegan
Levine, Kendra K @kklevine
Macgregor, George @g3om4c
Monnin, Jenn @msjennmo
Nazarovets, Serhii @serhii
Nyhan, Kate @kdnyhan
Odell, Jere D @jaireeo
Ramshaw, Veronica @verolynne
Schomberg, Jessica @schomj
Seifried, Rebecca M @rmseifried
Shirazi, Roxanne @roxanneshirazi
University of Groningen Library @Bibliothecaris
Ward, Kestrel @KestrelSWard
Wuttke, Ulrike @uwuttke
Ziegler, Sophie @SophieTrunk Librarians
Medicine
Alwan, Nisreen A @nisreen
Argyropoulos, Christos @ChristosArgyrop
Bakke, Håkon Kvåle @BakkeHK
Barber, Carolyn @cbarbermd
Barnkob, Michael B @mikebarnkob
Basu, Arindam @arinbasu1
Baxter, Nancy @enenbee
Bhattacharyya, Roby @roby
Briscoe, Joshua @jcbriscoe
Casas Ciria, Francisco Javier @cientounero
Corman, Victor Max @vmcorman
Crystal, Ruth Ann @catchthebaby
Delaney, Brendan C @bcdelaney1
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Flores, Anthony R @pedIDDoc
Fontenelle, Leonardo Ferreira @lffontenelle
Funk, Sebastian @sbfnk
Gebhard, Christian @basepair
Halama, Niels @halama_immuno
Jamal, Alainna J @alainnajj
Johansen, Michael @mike_johansen
McKinney, Zeke J @ZekeMD
Mohr, Emma @Mohr_lab
Newman, Kira L @KiraNewmanMDPhD
Nguyễn, Bích-Mây @bicmay
Pollara, Gabriele @gpollara
Schwartz, Ilan S @GermHunterMD
Steinbach, Daniel @danielsteinbach
Stone, Judy @drjudystone
Tomasson, Michael H @tomasson
Topolsky, Ivan @dryak
Trebach, Joshua D @jtrebach• Critical Care
Barthélémy, Romain @rombarthelemyFedi.Directory Health and Medical
followlists.online Anaesthetist/Anesthesiologist Critical Care
followlists.online Infectious Diseases & #IDMastodon
followlists.online Medical AI
GitHub Medical AI
Trunk MedicineNeuroScience
Agrawal, Niket @niketagrawal
Aly, Mariam @mariam
Barbour, Boris @BorisBarbour
Bellec, Pierre @pierre_bellec
Brembs, Björn @brembs
Cardona, Albert @albertcardona
Case, Sami @samilcase
Chiong, Winston @winstonchiong
Desrochers, Theresa M @DesrochersLab
Duvelle, Éléonor @elduvelle_neuro
Elsilä, Lauri @laurielsila
Garside, Danny @da5nsy
Gellersen, Helena M @helenagellersen
Hall, Megan C @ScienceisWhere
Haun, Andrew M @amhaun
Hoffman, Kari L @karihoffman
Hofmann, Ulrich G @kraweel65
Hyseni, Fjola @fjola
Iwaniuk, N Andrew @brainsevolve
Jékely, Gáspár @jekely
John, Yohan J @DrYohanJohn
Kachlicka, Magdalena @mkachlicka
Kanev, Jacob @jkanev
Karashchuk, Lili @lili
Karmarkar, Uma R @uma_karma
Leterrier, Christophe @christlet
Lindsay, Grace W @Neurograce
Miller, Earl K @ekmiller
Moleman, Peter @MolemanPeter
Negwer, Moritz @moritz_negwer
Ngiam, William XQ @will_ngiam
Olsen, Rosanna @RosannaOlsen
O’Mara, Shane @shaneomara
Popescu, Gabriela K @PopStarLab
Schultz, Simon R @neuralengine
Seuntjens, Eve @EveSeuntjens
Sinha, Manisha @manisha
Sutterer, Matthew J @mjsutterer
Thakur, Dhananjay P @dhananjaythakur
Timberlake, Ben @ByBenTimberlake
van Bree, Sander @sandervanbree
Wu, Wayne @attninactionGitHub Neuroscience
Pharmacology
Bartos, Piia @piiabartos
Case, Sami @samilcase
Elsilä, Lauri @laurielsila
Faradilla, Meutia @meutiafaradilla
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Konrad, David @dbkonrad
Moleman, Peter @MolemanPeter
Rutz, Adriano @adafede
Wilkins, Justin J @justinwilkinsPharmacometrics
Smith, Mike K @MikeKSmith
Wilkins, Justin J @justinwilkinsPhysiology
Caspar, Kai R @nomascus
Glazier, Amelia @ameliaglazier
Hoffman, Kari L @karihoffman
Olson, Christopher R @ChristophROlson
Schumacher, Michael A @schumacher
Tomasson, Michael H @tomasson
Umbers, Kate DL @kateumbers
Wayne, Nancy L @nancylwaynePsychiatry
Anderson, Chase TM @ChaseTMAnderson
Briscoe, Joshua @jcbriscoe
Eckert, Anna-Lena @eckertal
Lam, Raymond W @DrRaymondLam
Lee, Kangjoo @kangjoolee
Reeder, Michael @admin
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Hill, Edward M @EdMHill
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Cardinael, Rémi @remicardinael
Moorberg, Colby J @ColbyDigsSoil
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Schwerdtner, Ulrike @UliSchwerdtnerTaxonomy
Brabant, Craig @mutillidae
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Musetti, Luciana @DrLu_Musetti
Plazi Species @plazi_speciesToxicology
Feldman, Ryan @EMPoisonPharmD
Trebach, Joshua D @jtrebachVeterinary Medicine
Firth, Clair @Buxton_Vienna
MacPhee, Daniel J @dmacphee
Mekaru, Sumiko @Sumiko_Mekaru
Nordquist, Rebecca @renordquist
van Vlie, Arnoud @dutchscientist
Voss, Sarah J @Sarah_J_Voss
Wakeham, David @wakehamAMRMore extensive lists on Mastodon can be found exploring the following
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The Guardian | Ryanair ‘confident’ it will avoid jet fuel shortage but warns of future fare rises by Lauren Almeida
AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.
Ryanair said it is increasingly confident that it will avoid a jet‑fuel shortage this summer despite Middle‑East tensions, but warned that passengers who wait to book later in the year could face higher fares as airlines keep prices broadly flat compared with last summer. CFO Neil Sorahan noted that recent fare drops of a mid‑single‑digit percentage reflect strong demand and longer booking windows, while the airline’s record €2.26 billion profit is tempered by uncertainties over fuel costs, rising EU environmental taxes and wage pressures, prompting a suspension of its 2027 guidance. Ryanair has hedged about 80 % of its fuel needs to April 2027 and flagged an expected €300 million rise in environmental taxes, and it is currently negotiating an extended contract for CEO Michael O’Leary that would allow him to buy 10 million shares at market price pending ambitious profit or share‑price targets. Shares fell roughly 4 % in early trading, continuing a broader decline this year.
#Ryanair #NeilSorahan #EU #airlineindustry #DanCoatsworth #MichaelOLeary
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Happy Caturday!!
Ted Gordon, born Louisville, KY 1924
The images in today’s post are from the Smithsonian collection of cat art.
On to today’s news:
Are NBC and MSNBC trying to compete with Fox News? Are they preparing for a Trump victory in November? The networks recently hired Ronna [Romney] McDaniel, recently deposed Chair of the Republican National Committee and proven liar and insurrectionist, as a commentator. To say this is an unpopular move with viewers is an understatement. There are reports that other networks competed to hire McDaniel, and NBC/MSNBC “won.” BTW, there have been no comments on this hire by Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes or Lawrence O’Donnell. Do they plan to have her on their shows?
John Knefel at Media Matters: NBC News hires Ronna McDaniel, who played a key role in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to NBC News.
NBC News has hired former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel to serve as an on-air commentator, meaning that NBC News just hired a key figure in former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, according to NBC News.
McDaniel left the RNC after losing Trump’s favor, only to be welcomed into the warmer waters of television punditry. NBC News’ Carrie Budoff Brown announced the hiring of the former RNC chair to the network, writing in a memo to staff, “It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team.”
What, exactly, are NBC News and MSNBC getting with “a voice like Ronna’s?” Let’s turn to the network’s own coverage for answers.
On June 21, 2022, NBC News published a story under the headline “Trump team orchestrated ‘fake electors’ to try to overturn election, Jan. 6 committee details.” The piece described the then-latest findings of the House January 6 committee and spelled out McDaniel’s role in the scheme. As NBC News reported, Trump called McDaniel and connected her with John Eastman, one of the architects of the subversion plot.
“Essentially he turned the call over to Mr. Eastman who then proceeded to talk about the importance of the RNC helping the campaign gather these contingent electors in case any of the legal challenges that were ongoing changed the result of any of the states,” McDaniel said, according to NBC News.
CNBC reported on another of McDaniel’s statements to the committee, acknowledging her and the RNC’s direct participation in the fake elector plot. McDaniel said that the RNC’s role was “helping them reach out and helping them assemble them, but my understanding is the campaign did take the lead and we just were helping them in that role.”
Or, in the words of MSNBC’s Steve Benen: “Ronna McDaniel acknowledged that the Republican National Committee helped put the slates of fake electors together.”
Click the link to read the rest.
Oliver Darcy at CNN: NBC hires former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, who has demonized the press and refused to acknowledge Biden was fairly elected.
NBC News on Friday announced that it had hired Ronna McDaniel, the former Republican National Committee chair who has repeatedly attacked the network and its journalists, assailed the news media as “fake news” and promoted false claims around the 2020 vote, as an on-air commentator ahead of the 2024 presidential election….
Benson B. Moore, born Washington, DC 1882-died Stuart, FL 1974
During her time as chair, McDaniel repeatedly attacked the press, which has become increasingly popular in Republican circles over the last several years as Donald Trump demonizes journalists and news institutions.
McDaniel echoed many such attacks, labeling the press as “fake news” and calling the media “corrupt.” At times, she even targeted NBC News and MSNBC with dishonest attacks.
In 2019, for instance, McDaniel accused Richard Engel, NBC News’ chief foreign correspondent, of “actively cheering for an economic downturn.”
“How can NBC let him keep his job when he’s made his bias so clear?” McDaniel asked.
McDaniel has a lengthier history attacking the progressive cable news channel MSNBC, which she will appear on in her new role. In recent years, she has repeatedly attacked the channel for “spreading lies” and blasted those she described as the network’s “primetime propagandists.”
One more commentary from Tim Murphy at Mother Jones: What a Coup! NBC News Just Hired Ronna McDaniel.
While ex-strategists or party chairs ending up with TV deals is hardly unprecedented, Trump’s attacks on the media don’t have a parallel in modern US politics. He has called the press the “enemy of the people” and accused them of “treason.” A close ally has already signaled that Trump would use the powers of his office to crack down on critical outlets, if he wins a second term. Spending seven years running interference for a fascistic fraudster who holds the First Amendment in roughly the same terminal contempt with which he regards women and low-flow toilets is not the kind of thing that should qualify you for a new career in journalism.
But McDaniel did more than shill for the president. She played an important role in public and behind the scenes in Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election—and with it, two and a half centuries of constitutional governance. That should be a clear red line for employers in the truth-telling business. In November 2020 story in Politico, just a few months before the Capitol insurrection, Tim Alberta offered a glimpse of how McDaniel abetted Trump’s lies about the election and allowed her party organization to amplify them in even more absurd ways:
McDaniel told multiple confidants that she doubted there was any scalable voter fraud in Michigan. Nevertheless, McDaniel told friends and fellow Republicans that she needed to stay the course with Trump and his legal team. This wasn’t about indulging him, she said, but rather about demonstrating a willingness to fight—even when the fight couldn’t be won.
This is why McDaniel has sanctioned her employees, beginning with top spokesperson Liz Harrington, to spread countless demonstrable falsehoods in the weeks since Election Day. It’s why the RNC, on McDaniel’s watch, tweeted out a video clip of disgraced lawyer Sidney Powell claiming Trump “won in a landslide” (when he lost by more than 6 million votes nationally) and alleging a global conspiracy to rig the election against him.
Mom and Dad, by William H. Johnson, born Florence, SC 1901-died Central Islip, NY 1970
McDaniel pushed to delay the certification of the presidential results in Michigan, and helped the Trump campaign assemble fake electors, a key part of its plot to throw the Electoral College certification into chaos. This is not standard-issue party-chair stuff. This was a historically dishonest conspiracy. And it is hardly a secret to anyone: As Media Matters noted on Friday, you can read about a lot of this at NBC News itself.
And that’s sort of the larger point here. NBC News is filled with professional journalists doing good work. Many of them have documented in exhausting (or actually quite lively and entertaining) detail the ways in which Trump and his helpers have corroded American democracy. McDaniel, on the other hand, was a major player in a political project that’s antithetical to that mission. Trump’s GOP was and is built on delegitimizing the people and institutions that might otherwise check it—Congress; the judiciary; the electorates of Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. Foremost among the institutions Trump wants to blow up is legacy political media, and its critical, fact-checked information stream. The goal is to erode trust in the press. I’m not sure why the suits at NBC News think it’s in anyone’s best interest to hire someone to do that work for Trump.
How important is it to keep MSNBC from becoming Fox News? At The New York Times, Ruth Ingielnik reports: Republicans Who Do Not Regularly Watch Fox Are Less Likely to Back Trump.
Republicans who get their news from nonconservative mainstream media outlets are less likely to support Donald J. Trump than those who follow conservative outlets. And sizable numbers from the first group say they think Mr. Trump acted criminally, according to a recent New York Times/Siena College poll.
This division could affect his standing among Republicans in the general electorate — a decidedly different group from G.O.P. primary voters. That is in line with research that shows that changing the media habits of Fox News consumers may actually change their views.
One hundred percent of the Republicans in our poll who said they got their news from Fox News or other conservative sources said they intended to support Mr. Trump in the general election. This stands in contrast to Republicans whose main media sources are outlets like CNN and major news organizations: Seventy-nine percent of them plan to vote for Mr. Trump, and 13 percent said they planned to vote for President Biden.
And across many measures, mainstream media Republicans are less supportive of Mr. Trump. They are 20 percentage points less likely than conservative media Republicans to say they are enthusiastic about Mr. Trump as the party’s nominee and more than 30 percentage points less likely to say Mr. Trump’s policies have helped them personally.
Despite the perception that most Republicans watch Fox News, the share of Republicans who said they got their news from sources like CNN and major newspapers was similar to the share who said they primarily consumed conservative media — roughly 30 percent in each case.
These Republicans differ from consumers of conservative media primarily in terms of their ideology: They were much more likely to describe themselves as politically moderate. Nikki Haley had about 30 percent support among these Republicans and 4 percent among conservative media consumers (the poll was taken before Ms. Haley dropped out of the race).
If they watch NBC/MSNBC, they will now hear from insurrectionist and propagandist Ronna McDaniel.
by Neil Leifer, born 1942
In other news, there was a massive terrorist attack in Moscow. The U.S. tried to warn Russia it was coming, but Putin ignored it.
The New York Times: Gunmen Kill at Least 60 at Moscow Concert Hall, Russian Officials Say.
Several camouflage-clad gunmen opened fire at a popular concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow on Friday night, killing about 60 people and wounding more than 100, Russian authorities said, making it the deadliest attack in the capital region in more than a decade.
Hours after the mayhem began, the Russian national guard said its officers were still looking for the attackers. State media agencies reported that there had been up to five perpetrators….
For many Russians, the massacre at a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow on Friday night brought to mind shootings and bombings across the country in recent decades, events that the authorities often described as terrorism.
The authorities linked many of those attacks to Russia’s wars against Chechen separatists in the 1990s and 2000s. Those conflicts helped enable the rise of Vladimir V. Putin, who over his two decades in power has sought to project an image of being tough on terrorism.
New York Times: U.S. Warned About Possible Moscow Attack Before Concert Hall Shooting.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued a security alert on March 7, warning that its personnel were “monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts.” The statement warned Americans that an attack could take place in the next 48 hours.
The warning was related to the attack on Friday, according to people briefed on the matter. But it was not related to possible Ukrainian sabotage, American officials said, adding that the State Department would not have used the word “extremists” to warn about actions ordered from Kyiv.
Pro-Kremlin voices immediately seized on the U.S. Embassy’s warning to paint America as trying to scare Russians.
America officials are worried that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia could seek to falsely blame Ukraine for the attack, putting pressure on Western governments to identify who they think may be responsible. Mr. Putin frequently twists events, even tragic ones, to fit his public narrative. And he has been quick to accuse Ukraine of acts of terrorism to justify his invasion of the country.
U.S. officials said Mr. Putin could do that again after Friday’s attack, seeking to use the loss of life to undermine support for Ukraine both domestically and around the world.
On March 19, the Russian leader called the U.S. Embassy statement “obvious blackmail” made with “the intention to intimidate and destabilize our society.” But he had yet to comment directly on the attack Friday.
And that is exactly what Putin did, according to The Guardian: Moscow concert hall attack: Putin tells Russians Ukraine linked to attack which killed 133, claims denied by Kyiv officials – live updates.
But CNN reports that: ISIS claims responsibility for attack at Moscow-area concert venue that left at least 60 dead.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for an attack at a popular concert hall complex near Moscow Friday after assailants stormed the venue with guns and incendiary devices, killing at least 60 people and injuring 145.
Still Life with Cat, by Franklin C. Watkins, born New York City 1894-died Bologna, Italy 1972an from color transparency
The terror group took responsibility for the attack in a short statement published by ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq on Telegram on Friday. It did not provide evidence to support the claim.
Video footage from the Crocus City Hall shows the vast complex, which is home to both the music hall and a shopping center, on fire with smoke billowing into the air. State-run RIA Novosti reported the armed individuals “opened fire with automatic weapons” and “threw a grenade or an incendiary bomb, which started a fire.” They then “allegedly fled in a white Renault car,” the news agency said.
State media Russia 24 reported the roof of the venue has partially collapsed.
The fire had been brought largely under control more than six hours later. “There are still some pockets of fire, but the fire has been mostly eliminated,” Moscow governor Andrey Vorobyov said on Telegram.
The deadliest terror attack on Moscow in decades, Friday’s assault came less than a week after President Vladimir Putin won a stage-managed election by an overwhelming majority to secure another term in office, tightening his grip on the country he has ruled since the turn of the century.
With attention focused on the country’s war with neighboring Ukraine, Putin had trumpeted a message of national security before Russians went to the polls.
Back in the USA, there are a couple of interesting stories involving Leonard Leo, former head of the Federalist society and staunch supporter of Donald Trump and the 2025 Project.
Huge funding from influential conservative donor networks is flowing into groups affiliated with a conservative venture aimed at creating a Republican “government-in-waiting,” including over $55 million from groups linked to conservative activist Leonard Leo and the Koch network, according to an Accountable.US review shared exclusively with NBC News.
Launched by the Heritage Foundation in April 2022, Project 2025 is a two-pronged initiative to develop staunch conservative policy recommendations and grow a roster of thousands of right-wing personnel ready to fill the next Republican administration. With former President Donald Trump now the GOP’s presumptive 2024 nominee, the effort is essentially laying the groundwork for a potential Trump transition if he wins the election in November.
With contributions from former high-level Trump administration appointees and an advisory board that has grown to over 100 conservative organizations, proponents describe Project 2025 as the most sophisticated transition effort that has existed for conservatives. The initiative includes a manifesto devising a policy agenda for every department, numerous agencies and scores of offices throughout the federal government.
Since 2021, Leo’s network and groups that have gotten funding from it have funneled over $50.7 million to the groups advising the 2025 Presidential Transition Project as part of its “Project 2025 advisory board,” according to tax documents reviewed as part of the analysis by Accountable.US, a progressive advocacy group. That sum includes donations from The 85 Fund, a donor-advised nonprofit group that funnels money from wealthy financiers to other groups, and the Concord Fund, a public-facing organization, which are part of Leo’s network of organizations that seek to influence policy.
According to its 2022 annual return, the 85 Fund gave more than $2.55 million collectively to seven organizations advising Project 2025, including the Heritage Foundation, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the American Legislative Exchange Council and the Independent Women’s Forum.
In 2021, the 85 Fund gave $2.1 million to the same organizations, less the Heritage Foundation, while the Concord Fund collectively gave $4.32 million to nonprofit groups including Susan B. Anthony List, Independent Women’s Voice and Heritage Action for America.
Read the rest at NBC News.
This is from top notch reporter Heidi Przybyla at Politico: What happens when an AG dares to investigate Leonard Leo’s network.
Allies of Leonard Leo have mounted a monthslong offensive against the man investigating the judicial activist’s network: Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb.
Since news of the probe broke last August, the GOP chairs of powerful congressional committees launched their own investigation of Schwalb’s investigation; conservative media wrote articles criticizing Schwalb on unrelated crime issues — based on a social media post from a top Leo lieutenant; and a group of his Republican law enforcement peers sent letters warning Schwalb to stand down.
Mary Elizabeth Francis, by John F. Francis, born Philadelphia, PA 1808-died Jeffersonville, PA 1886
Leo is the Federalist Society co-chair who has been called former President Donald Trump’s “court whisperer” for helping to choose and advocate for his Supreme Court nominees. His aligned network of tax-exempt nonprofits is also a major contributor to Project 2025, an initiative seeking to create a “government in waiting” for another Trump term.
The white-hot pressure campaign targeting Schwalb attests to the growing range of Leo’s influence. Beyond its work in promoting the conservative legal movement, his billion-dollar network of nonprofits has funded conservative media, Republican attorneys general and the campaign funds of leading congressional figures….
Schwalb has been probing Leo since he received a complaint about whether Leo-aligned groups violated tax laws governing nonprofit organizations, as POLITICO reported last August. Tax-exempt groups in Leo’s network have spent millions of dollars on his for-profit consulting business, CRC Advisors.
But since news of the probe became public, its legal basis has been challenged by 12 GOP attorneys general who are current or former members of the Republican Attorneys General Association. The Concord Fund, one of the Leo network’s primary nonprofits, and its predecessor, the Judicial Crisis Network, have long been RAGA’s biggest funder, directing $20 million to it since 2014, according to annual tax filings.
Meanwhile, GOP Reps. James Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and James Comer, who heads the House Oversight Committee, on Oct. 30 announced a probe of Schwalb’s Leo investigation, saying it was politically motivated. According to a federal disclosure form dated Oct. 20, the Concord Fund had hired a Virginia lobbying firm to handle issues related to “oversight” and “law enforcement,” matters over which Jordan and Comer have jurisdiction.
Read the rest at Politico.
Things aren’t going that well for far right members of the House, however. Politico: Johnson’s margin drops to one vote as Gallagher heads for early exit.
Speaker Mike Johnson is about to drop to a one-vote majority, as retiring Rep. Mike Gallagher has decided he will exit the House as soon as next month, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
In a statement shortly after this story published, Gallagher said he planned to leave April 19.
“I’ve worked closely with House Republican leadership on this timeline and look forward to seeing Speaker Mike Johnson appoint a new chair to carry out the important mission of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.
Wisconsin law dictates that Gallagher’s seat — in a solidly red district — will stay empty for the rest of his term. Departing before April 9 would have triggered a special election.
The Wisconsin Republican announced earlier this year that he would not seek reelection, after he received blowback for voting against impeaching Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. His allies, however, say he was long jaded by the antics of the House following the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
It’s bad timing for Johnson, who is now potentially facing a vote on his ouster in the coming weeks. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed the so-called motion to vacate on Friday, over Johnson working with Democrats to pass a massive spending bill, but it’s unclear when she’ll try to force the vote on the floor. At the moment, no other Republicans have said they support her motion.
Gallagher’s decision to not finish out the term also further fuels conference concerns over its trajectory headed into the November election.
“It’s tough, but it’s tough with a five-seat majority, it’s tough with a two-seat majority, one is going to be the same. We all have to work together. We’re all going to have to unite if we’re going get some things done,” Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said shortly after Gallagher announced his early exit.
When Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado announced his early exit, he said he knew of three more House members who were on the verge of quitting. If that happens, control of the House could switch to the Democrats.
That’s all I have for you today. What do you think? What other stories are you following?
https://skydancingblog.com/2024/03/23/extra-lazy-caturday-reads-3/
#2025Project #FoxNews #ISIS #KenBuck #LeonardLeo #MikeGallagher #MikeJohnson #MoscowTerrorAttack #MSNBC #NBC #VladimirPutin
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Finally Friday Reads: How Goes the War
“DEFCON 1!!!” John Buss, @repeat1968
Good Day, Sky Dancers!
Glancing through the headlines in traditional and social media reminds us that there is nothing normal about life in the United States these days. Economic news is surreal, as historical, economic, and constitutional mistakes like tariffs are back in the headlines. Plans for a potential war with Iran sit on the resolute desk somewhere. Don’t even get me started on jaw-dropping weirdness still happening among the jerks and incompetents sitting in Cabinet offices. I guess it’s just another normal yet insane week in Trumplandia.
It may be hard to choose the read to start out with, but the rest will be equally shocking today, believe me. Just minutes ago, the Supreme Court made the obvious decision to strike down most of Trump’s tariffs in a 6-3 vote. This is from the New York Times. Live Updates: Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Sweeping Tariffs. In a major setback for President Trump’s economic agenda, the court ruled that he could not invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to set tariffs on imports. (I’ve gifted the full article for you to read.)
The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that President Trump exceeded his authority when he imposed sweeping tariffs on imports fromnearly every U.S. trading partner, a major setback for his administration’s second-term agenda.
The court’s 6-3 decision has significant implications for the U.S. economy, consumers and the president’s trade policy. The Trump administration had said that a loss at the Supreme Court could force the government to unwind trade deals with other countries and potentially pay hefty refunds to importers.
Mr. Trump is the first president to claim that a 1970s emergency statute, which does not mention the word “tariffs,” allowed him to unilaterally impose the duties without congressional approval.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the statute does not authorize the president to impose tariffs.
“The president asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope. In light of the breadth, history, and constitutional context of that asserted authority, he must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it,” the chief justice wrote.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Brett M. Kavanaugh dissented, with Justice Kavanaugh warning that any refund process could be a substantial “mess.”
The United States “may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid” the tariffs, he wrote, “even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others.”
The court’s ruling, backed by justices from across the ideological spectrum, was a rare and significant example of the Supreme Court pushing back on Mr. Trump’s agenda. Since he returned to the White House, the court’s conservative majority had overwhelmingly issued emergency orders allowing the president to carry out his policies on a temporary basis. But the decision on Friday will have a more lasting impact.
Early last year, Mr. Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to set tariffs on imported goods from more than 100 countries. He said his goal was to reduce the trade deficit and spur more manufacturing in the United States. Since then, he has used the tariffs to raise revenue and to pressure other countries in trade negotiations.
A dozen states and a group of small businesses, including an educational toy manufacturer and a wine importer, sued over the tariffs, saying the president had unlawfully infringed on Congress’s power under the Constitution to impose taxes. The businesses, which rely on imported goods, argued in court filings that the tariffs had disrupted their operations and led to higher prices for consumers and cutbacks in staffing.
In court filings and social media posts, the president and his advisers cast the outcome of the Supreme Court case as critical to his trade and foreign policies, making clear he would see defeat as a personal rebuke. Without the emergency power, the solicitor general had warned the justices, there would be economic ruin akin to the Great Depression, in addition to an interruption of trade negotiations and diplomatic embarrassment.
This is from Talking Points Memo‘s Layla A. Jones.
The Supreme Court blocked President Donald Trump’s signature economic and foreign policy Friday morning in a fractured 6-3 split decision.
Trump cannot use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to override Congress’s power of the purse, using the emergency declaration to levy widespread global tariffs, the majority held. The decision will now likely require an end to those tariffs, and could trigger the return of tariff revenue collected by Customs and Border Protection and deposited into the U.S. Treasury.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, which was joined in part by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Kagan filed a concurring opinion, joined by Sotomayor and Jackson, while Jackson filed her own concurring opinion. Gorsuch and Barrett also filed concurring opinions.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito dissented, with Thomas filing one dissenting opinion and Kavanaugh filing another, joined by Thomas and Alito.
“Based on two words separated by 16 others in [a section of] of IEEPA — ‘regulate’ and ‘importation’ — the President asserts the independent power to impose tariffs on imports from any country, of any product, at any rate, for any amount of time,” Roberts wrote. “Those words cannot bear such weight.”
The majority opinion ultimately agrees with the main argument of the plaintiffs, a slate of small businesses suing the government on the grounds that Trump’s IEEPA tariffs are illegal. Tariffs are a tax, the plaintiffs had argued, and taxing authority rests solely with Congress.
Speaking of authorities that rest solely with Congress, Trump is still brooding about declaring War on Iran. This is from Michelle Goldberg writing for the New York Times. “This Is How an Autocrat Goes to War.”
On Wednesday, Axios’s well-sourced reporter Barak Ravid warned, “The Trump administration is closer to a major war in the Middle East than most Americans realize. It could begin very soon.” America has undertaken the largest air power buildup in the region since the Iraq war. Outlets including The New York Times have reported that the military has given Trump the option to strike as soon as this weekend.
Not only has Congress not authorized such a war, it has barely even debated it. The administration has not bothered to explain, either to Congress or the American people, why it might bomb Iran or what it hopes to achieve. “There haven’t been any briefings about a military strategy,” said the Democratic representative Ro Khanna, who is working with his Republican colleague Thomas Massie to force a vote on an antiwar measure.
Most reporting indicates that the White House is planning for a campaign far more intense and sustained than last year’s bombing of Iran or the abduction of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. But we don’t know if Trump and his team are after regime change, and if they are, what they think comes next. This is how an autocracy goes to war, without even a pretense that the consent of the governed matters.
At the center of the conflict between America and Iran is Iran’s nuclear program, which Trump claims he destroyed eight months ago, at the close of Israel’s 12-day war. Back then, a report from the Defense Intelligence Agency found that America’s bombing campaign set Iran’s program back by less than six months. But to this day, a page on the White House website proclaims, “Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated — and Suggestions Otherwise Are Fake News.” The administration apparently feels no need to justify a potential war to end a program that it claims it already eliminated.
The administration is also reportedly demanding that Iran curtail its ballistic missile program and end its support for regional proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. It is unclear whether these demands are serious or simply a negotiating tactic, but they seem to be red lines for Iran.
“I don’t know whether it’s pretextual or genuine,” Rob Malley, Joe Biden’s special envoy for Iran, said of the Trump administration’s conditions. Given that Iran was probably bound to refuse, he said, the Trump team’s position could be “simply part of a Kabuki game to be able to say, ‘We tried diplomacy.’”
So far, the administration has scarcely bothered to elaborate the reasoning behind these demands. After all, Iran’s missiles, and the militias it supports, threaten Israel far more than they do the United States. If you take the administration’s stance at face value, it’s hard to square it with Trump’s America First campaign rhetoric.
If Trump isn’t bad enough, he has a cabinet that’s equally incompetent and dangerous. This is yet another New York Times headline. “Labor Secretary’s Husband Barred From the Department After Sexual Assault Reports. At least two female staff members said Dr. Shawn DeRemer had touched them inappropriately at the agency in Washington.”
The husband of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has been barred from the department’s headquarters after at least two female staff members told officials that he had sexually assaulted them, according to people familiar with the decision and a police report obtained by The New York Times.
The women said Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, had touched them inappropriately at the Labor Department’s building on Constitution Avenue. One of the incidents, during working hours on the morning of Dec. 18, was recorded on office security cameras, the people said. The video showed Dr. DeRemer giving one of the women an extended embrace, and was reviewed as part of a criminal investigation, one of the people said.
In January, the women’s concerns about Dr. DeRemer, 57, were raised as part of an internal investigation by the department’s inspector general into alleged misconduct by Ms. Chavez-DeRemer and her senior staff, one of the people said.
On Jan. 24, Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department filed a report about forced sexual contact in December at the Labor Department, according to their report, which was viewed by The Times.
The police report is the only one from the last three months associated with the Labor Department’s address, a police spokesman said, adding that the Police Department’s sexual assault unit is investigating.
After the women described the incidents to investigators, Dr. DeRemer was barred from entering the Labor Department’s premises, according to people familiar with the decision, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the allegations and ongoing investigations surrounding the department.
“If Mr. DeRemer attempts to enter, he is to be asked to leave,” a building restriction notice viewed by The Times said.
Mika reacts
Then there is this embarrassing, let me rephrase that to gross, televised moment from the HHS Secretary. This is from The Independent. “Even Fox News hosts struggling to make sense of RFK Jr’s and Kid Rock’s workout video, ‘Listen, somebody needs to tell RFK Jr. it’s okay to wear shorts. I mean, bro, don’t be upset about your legs,’ Fox News military analyst Johnny Jones said.” This is reported by Graig Graziosi.
Why did Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and aging rap-rocker Kid Rock release a sweaty, shirtless workout collab video? Not even Fox News is sure.
During an episode of The Five on Wednesday, the panel members were left scratching their heads during a discussion of the bizarre video.
In a clip posted to X, Kennedy and Kid Rock, both shirtless, take turns riding on a stationary bike and doing pushups in what looks like a sauna. At one point, Kid Rock flips the middle finger to the camera. A title screen, inexplicably featuring a great white shark, tells us this is Kennedy and Kid Rock’s “Rock Out Work Out.”
The video is apparently intended to promote the DHHS secretary’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.
Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld watched the video and asked his co-panelists, “This raises a question: who rubs off on who?”
“You would think, ‘Oh, my God. RFK Jr is hanging out with Kid Rock. Oh, poor RFK Jr. is going to end up drinking. He’s going to be drinking again. He’s going to be womanizing again.’ And then what happens? You see Kid Rock at the gym,” Gutfeld said. “He’s like, you know, working out and cold plunge—it’s like RFK was a bad influence on Kid Rock. Who would have seen that coming?”
Fox News military analyst Johnny Jones pointed out that the DHHS secretary wore blue jeans throughout his entire workout.
“Listen, somebody needs to tell RFK Jr. it’s okay to wear shorts. I mean, bro, don’t be upset about your legs. I don’t care what they look like. Take it from me, nobody needs impressive legs. You look great with your shirt off. Throw the shorts on so we don’t all go, ‘Wow, that’s weird.’”
Esquire’s coverage was brutal. “The Republican Party Is So Tacky Now. The party of Lincoln has been reduced to RFK Jr. and Kid Rock’s “workout” video. Are they really okay with that?” This analysis was written by Dave Holmes.
As you know by now, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got together with Woodstock ’99 standout Kid Rock to produce a short video promoting nutrition, exercise, and bathing with your pants on. The “Rock Out WORK OUT” video was filmed at Kid Rock’s home gym and sauna, and it is scored to his 1998 single “Bawitdaba,” so just when you start to realize that your tax dollars funded this video, you have to face the fact that some of your tax dollars have gone directly to Kid Rock, which is a lot to sit with. Like you, I spent much of yesterday trying not to see it. But it turns out to be a pretty good barometer of where we are as a country and a culture in February 2026, and if I have to lose 90 seconds to this goddamn thing, then so do you. Pour yourself a glass of whole milk and let’s dive in.
The video opens with Kennedy and Kid, shirtless and flexing, in front of the taxidermic bear you were already sure existed in Kid Rock’s home gym. A quick camera pan reveals that this bear is wearing a checkered fedora, suggesting that it was shot while onstage with its ska band, which hardly seems sporting. From there is a montage that includes an American flag, a shark, a fighter jet, a bald eagle, and an explosion, so what we know right off the bat is two things: One, they’re going to be throwing everything at the wall here, and two, NFTs must really be over, because this would be the perfect place to slide one in.
A highlight reel shows Secretary Kennedy and American Bad Calves running through some basic exercises in the workout room, and then it’s right to the sauna, where Kennedy keeps his jeans on and Rock does a set of push-ups so comically weak it awakens the sadistic gym teacher inside us all. Seriously: I want to bully him, and I own Liza with a Z on Blu-ray. What is happening here? As if anticipating this response, Kid Rock flips off the camera. That’s the message of American public health in 2026: Get active, eat real food, and fuck you.
Kennedy dips himself in the cold plunge, in the jeans which you have to imagine are sodden with sweat from the Assault bike session he just did in the sauna. The hygienic ramifications are too hideous to consider, so you focus your attention on the decor of Kid Rock’s home fitness center, which is identical to what you’d see in one of those Hammer & Nails salons for men, where they surround you with rough-hewn wood and tables made out of wagon wheels so you can get a pedicure and it won’t make you gay.
Kennedy gets out of the cold plunge and walks his wet ass through a sitting area, dripping his Kennedy juice all over the Navajo rug. “Where’s Kid?” he asks, a valid question only after we have answered the question “Why is Kid?” Well, Kid is in some kind of hot-tub room, flexing his biceps with a look on his face that is unmistakably 10 percent apologetic. Kennedy shakes his head. Kid, in his own hot tub? He can’t believe it!
The economy remains sluggish, with high prices. This is from CNBC. Jeff Cox reports that “Fourth-quarter U.S. GDP up just 1.4%, badly missing estimate; inflation firms at 3%.”
U.S. growth slowed more than expected near the end of 2025 as the government shutdown impacted spending and investment, while a key inflation metric showed high prices are still a factor for the economy, according to data released Friday.
Gross domestic product rose at an annualized rate of just 1.4%, according to the Commerce Department, well below the Dow Jones estimate for a 2.5% gain.
Consumer spending increased at a slower pace for the period while government spending tumbled sharply in a quarter marked by the record-length shutdown. The department estimated that the shutdown subtracted about 1 percentage point from growth, though it added that the exact impacts “cannot be quantified.”
For the full year in 2025, the U.S. economy grew at a 2.2% pace, down from the 2.8% increase in 2024.
“The Federal government shutdown clearly sent the economy careening off its strong growth path in the fourth quarter which is a one-off that won’t be repeated in early 2026,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds.
It doesn’t take an economist to know that Trump and his lackeys have no idea what they are doing.
Anyway, I hate being the bearer of bad news, but other than the SCOTUS decisions, that’s what’s out there.
What’s on your Reading, Action, and Blogging list today?
#FARTUSMafiaState #BobbyKennedyJr #CadetBonespurSIranWar #Incompetence #KidRock #SupremeCourt #TrumpTarriffs #Trumpers -
Finally Friday Reads: How Goes the War
“DEFCON 1!!!” John Buss, @repeat1968
Good Day, Sky Dancers!
Glancing through the headlines in traditional and social media reminds us that there is nothing normal about life in the United States these days. Economic news is surreal, as historical, economic, and constitutional mistakes like tariffs are back in the headlines. Plans for a potential war with Iran sit on the resolute desk somewhere. Don’t even get me started on jaw-dropping weirdness still happening among the jerks and incompetents sitting in Cabinet offices. I guess it’s just another normal yet insane week in Trumplandia.
It may be hard to choose the read to start out with, but the rest will be equally shocking today, believe me. Just minutes ago, the Supreme Court made the obvious decision to strike down most of Trump’s tariffs in a 6-3 vote. This is from the New York Times. Live Updates: Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Sweeping Tariffs. In a major setback for President Trump’s economic agenda, the court ruled that he could not invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to set tariffs on imports. (I’ve gifted the full article for you to read.)
The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that President Trump exceeded his authority when he imposed sweeping tariffs on imports fromnearly every U.S. trading partner, a major setback for his administration’s second-term agenda.
The court’s 6-3 decision has significant implications for the U.S. economy, consumers and the president’s trade policy. The Trump administration had said that a loss at the Supreme Court could force the government to unwind trade deals with other countries and potentially pay hefty refunds to importers.
Mr. Trump is the first president to claim that a 1970s emergency statute, which does not mention the word “tariffs,” allowed him to unilaterally impose the duties without congressional approval.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the statute does not authorize the president to impose tariffs.
“The president asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope. In light of the breadth, history, and constitutional context of that asserted authority, he must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it,” the chief justice wrote.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Brett M. Kavanaugh dissented, with Justice Kavanaugh warning that any refund process could be a substantial “mess.”
The United States “may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid” the tariffs, he wrote, “even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others.”
The court’s ruling, backed by justices from across the ideological spectrum, was a rare and significant example of the Supreme Court pushing back on Mr. Trump’s agenda. Since he returned to the White House, the court’s conservative majority had overwhelmingly issued emergency orders allowing the president to carry out his policies on a temporary basis. But the decision on Friday will have a more lasting impact.
Early last year, Mr. Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to set tariffs on imported goods from more than 100 countries. He said his goal was to reduce the trade deficit and spur more manufacturing in the United States. Since then, he has used the tariffs to raise revenue and to pressure other countries in trade negotiations.
A dozen states and a group of small businesses, including an educational toy manufacturer and a wine importer, sued over the tariffs, saying the president had unlawfully infringed on Congress’s power under the Constitution to impose taxes. The businesses, which rely on imported goods, argued in court filings that the tariffs had disrupted their operations and led to higher prices for consumers and cutbacks in staffing.
In court filings and social media posts, the president and his advisers cast the outcome of the Supreme Court case as critical to his trade and foreign policies, making clear he would see defeat as a personal rebuke. Without the emergency power, the solicitor general had warned the justices, there would be economic ruin akin to the Great Depression, in addition to an interruption of trade negotiations and diplomatic embarrassment.
This is from Talking Points Memo‘s Layla A. Jones.
The Supreme Court blocked President Donald Trump’s signature economic and foreign policy Friday morning in a fractured 6-3 split decision.
Trump cannot use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to override Congress’s power of the purse, using the emergency declaration to levy widespread global tariffs, the majority held. The decision will now likely require an end to those tariffs, and could trigger the return of tariff revenue collected by Customs and Border Protection and deposited into the U.S. Treasury.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, which was joined in part by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Kagan filed a concurring opinion, joined by Sotomayor and Jackson, while Jackson filed her own concurring opinion. Gorsuch and Barrett also filed concurring opinions.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito dissented, with Thomas filing one dissenting opinion and Kavanaugh filing another, joined by Thomas and Alito.
“Based on two words separated by 16 others in [a section of] of IEEPA — ‘regulate’ and ‘importation’ — the President asserts the independent power to impose tariffs on imports from any country, of any product, at any rate, for any amount of time,” Roberts wrote. “Those words cannot bear such weight.”
The majority opinion ultimately agrees with the main argument of the plaintiffs, a slate of small businesses suing the government on the grounds that Trump’s IEEPA tariffs are illegal. Tariffs are a tax, the plaintiffs had argued, and taxing authority rests solely with Congress.
Speaking of authorities that rest solely with Congress, Trump is still brooding about declaring War on Iran. This is from Michelle Goldberg writing for the New York Times. “This Is How an Autocrat Goes to War.”
On Wednesday, Axios’s well-sourced reporter Barak Ravid warned, “The Trump administration is closer to a major war in the Middle East than most Americans realize. It could begin very soon.” America has undertaken the largest air power buildup in the region since the Iraq war. Outlets including The New York Times have reported that the military has given Trump the option to strike as soon as this weekend.
Not only has Congress not authorized such a war, it has barely even debated it. The administration has not bothered to explain, either to Congress or the American people, why it might bomb Iran or what it hopes to achieve. “There haven’t been any briefings about a military strategy,” said the Democratic representative Ro Khanna, who is working with his Republican colleague Thomas Massie to force a vote on an antiwar measure.
Most reporting indicates that the White House is planning for a campaign far more intense and sustained than last year’s bombing of Iran or the abduction of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. But we don’t know if Trump and his team are after regime change, and if they are, what they think comes next. This is how an autocracy goes to war, without even a pretense that the consent of the governed matters.
At the center of the conflict between America and Iran is Iran’s nuclear program, which Trump claims he destroyed eight months ago, at the close of Israel’s 12-day war. Back then, a report from the Defense Intelligence Agency found that America’s bombing campaign set Iran’s program back by less than six months. But to this day, a page on the White House website proclaims, “Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated — and Suggestions Otherwise Are Fake News.” The administration apparently feels no need to justify a potential war to end a program that it claims it already eliminated.
The administration is also reportedly demanding that Iran curtail its ballistic missile program and end its support for regional proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. It is unclear whether these demands are serious or simply a negotiating tactic, but they seem to be red lines for Iran.
“I don’t know whether it’s pretextual or genuine,” Rob Malley, Joe Biden’s special envoy for Iran, said of the Trump administration’s conditions. Given that Iran was probably bound to refuse, he said, the Trump team’s position could be “simply part of a Kabuki game to be able to say, ‘We tried diplomacy.’”
So far, the administration has scarcely bothered to elaborate the reasoning behind these demands. After all, Iran’s missiles, and the militias it supports, threaten Israel far more than they do the United States. If you take the administration’s stance at face value, it’s hard to square it with Trump’s America First campaign rhetoric.
If Trump isn’t bad enough, he has a cabinet that’s equally incompetent and dangerous. This is yet another New York Times headline. “Labor Secretary’s Husband Barred From the Department After Sexual Assault Reports. At least two female staff members said Dr. Shawn DeRemer had touched them inappropriately at the agency in Washington.”
The husband of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has been barred from the department’s headquarters after at least two female staff members told officials that he had sexually assaulted them, according to people familiar with the decision and a police report obtained by The New York Times.
The women said Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, had touched them inappropriately at the Labor Department’s building on Constitution Avenue. One of the incidents, during working hours on the morning of Dec. 18, was recorded on office security cameras, the people said. The video showed Dr. DeRemer giving one of the women an extended embrace, and was reviewed as part of a criminal investigation, one of the people said.
In January, the women’s concerns about Dr. DeRemer, 57, were raised as part of an internal investigation by the department’s inspector general into alleged misconduct by Ms. Chavez-DeRemer and her senior staff, one of the people said.
On Jan. 24, Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department filed a report about forced sexual contact in December at the Labor Department, according to their report, which was viewed by The Times.
The police report is the only one from the last three months associated with the Labor Department’s address, a police spokesman said, adding that the Police Department’s sexual assault unit is investigating.
After the women described the incidents to investigators, Dr. DeRemer was barred from entering the Labor Department’s premises, according to people familiar with the decision, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the allegations and ongoing investigations surrounding the department.
“If Mr. DeRemer attempts to enter, he is to be asked to leave,” a building restriction notice viewed by The Times said.
Mika reacts
Then there is this embarrassing, let me rephrase that to gross, televised moment from the HHS Secretary. This is from The Independent. “Even Fox News hosts struggling to make sense of RFK Jr’s and Kid Rock’s workout video, ‘Listen, somebody needs to tell RFK Jr. it’s okay to wear shorts. I mean, bro, don’t be upset about your legs,’ Fox News military analyst Johnny Jones said.” This is reported by Graig Graziosi.
Why did Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and aging rap-rocker Kid Rock release a sweaty, shirtless workout collab video? Not even Fox News is sure.
During an episode of The Five on Wednesday, the panel members were left scratching their heads during a discussion of the bizarre video.
In a clip posted to X, Kennedy and Kid Rock, both shirtless, take turns riding on a stationary bike and doing pushups in what looks like a sauna. At one point, Kid Rock flips the middle finger to the camera. A title screen, inexplicably featuring a great white shark, tells us this is Kennedy and Kid Rock’s “Rock Out Work Out.”
The video is apparently intended to promote the DHHS secretary’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.
Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld watched the video and asked his co-panelists, “This raises a question: who rubs off on who?”
“You would think, ‘Oh, my God. RFK Jr is hanging out with Kid Rock. Oh, poor RFK Jr. is going to end up drinking. He’s going to be drinking again. He’s going to be womanizing again.’ And then what happens? You see Kid Rock at the gym,” Gutfeld said. “He’s like, you know, working out and cold plunge—it’s like RFK was a bad influence on Kid Rock. Who would have seen that coming?”
Fox News military analyst Johnny Jones pointed out that the DHHS secretary wore blue jeans throughout his entire workout.
“Listen, somebody needs to tell RFK Jr. it’s okay to wear shorts. I mean, bro, don’t be upset about your legs. I don’t care what they look like. Take it from me, nobody needs impressive legs. You look great with your shirt off. Throw the shorts on so we don’t all go, ‘Wow, that’s weird.’”
Esquire’s coverage was brutal. “The Republican Party Is So Tacky Now. The party of Lincoln has been reduced to RFK Jr. and Kid Rock’s “workout” video. Are they really okay with that?” This analysis was written by Dave Holmes.
As you know by now, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got together with Woodstock ’99 standout Kid Rock to produce a short video promoting nutrition, exercise, and bathing with your pants on. The “Rock Out WORK OUT” video was filmed at Kid Rock’s home gym and sauna, and it is scored to his 1998 single “Bawitdaba,” so just when you start to realize that your tax dollars funded this video, you have to face the fact that some of your tax dollars have gone directly to Kid Rock, which is a lot to sit with. Like you, I spent much of yesterday trying not to see it. But it turns out to be a pretty good barometer of where we are as a country and a culture in February 2026, and if I have to lose 90 seconds to this goddamn thing, then so do you. Pour yourself a glass of whole milk and let’s dive in.
The video opens with Kennedy and Kid, shirtless and flexing, in front of the taxidermic bear you were already sure existed in Kid Rock’s home gym. A quick camera pan reveals that this bear is wearing a checkered fedora, suggesting that it was shot while onstage with its ska band, which hardly seems sporting. From there is a montage that includes an American flag, a shark, a fighter jet, a bald eagle, and an explosion, so what we know right off the bat is two things: One, they’re going to be throwing everything at the wall here, and two, NFTs must really be over, because this would be the perfect place to slide one in.
A highlight reel shows Secretary Kennedy and American Bad Calves running through some basic exercises in the workout room, and then it’s right to the sauna, where Kennedy keeps his jeans on and Rock does a set of push-ups so comically weak it awakens the sadistic gym teacher inside us all. Seriously: I want to bully him, and I own Liza with a Z on Blu-ray. What is happening here? As if anticipating this response, Kid Rock flips off the camera. That’s the message of American public health in 2026: Get active, eat real food, and fuck you.
Kennedy dips himself in the cold plunge, in the jeans which you have to imagine are sodden with sweat from the Assault bike session he just did in the sauna. The hygienic ramifications are too hideous to consider, so you focus your attention on the decor of Kid Rock’s home fitness center, which is identical to what you’d see in one of those Hammer & Nails salons for men, where they surround you with rough-hewn wood and tables made out of wagon wheels so you can get a pedicure and it won’t make you gay.
Kennedy gets out of the cold plunge and walks his wet ass through a sitting area, dripping his Kennedy juice all over the Navajo rug. “Where’s Kid?” he asks, a valid question only after we have answered the question “Why is Kid?” Well, Kid is in some kind of hot-tub room, flexing his biceps with a look on his face that is unmistakably 10 percent apologetic. Kennedy shakes his head. Kid, in his own hot tub? He can’t believe it!
The economy remains sluggish, with high prices. This is from CNBC. Jeff Cox reports that “Fourth-quarter U.S. GDP up just 1.4%, badly missing estimate; inflation firms at 3%.”
U.S. growth slowed more than expected near the end of 2025 as the government shutdown impacted spending and investment, while a key inflation metric showed high prices are still a factor for the economy, according to data released Friday.
Gross domestic product rose at an annualized rate of just 1.4%, according to the Commerce Department, well below the Dow Jones estimate for a 2.5% gain.
Consumer spending increased at a slower pace for the period while government spending tumbled sharply in a quarter marked by the record-length shutdown. The department estimated that the shutdown subtracted about 1 percentage point from growth, though it added that the exact impacts “cannot be quantified.”
For the full year in 2025, the U.S. economy grew at a 2.2% pace, down from the 2.8% increase in 2024.
“The Federal government shutdown clearly sent the economy careening off its strong growth path in the fourth quarter which is a one-off that won’t be repeated in early 2026,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds.
It doesn’t take an economist to know that Trump and his lackeys have no idea what they are doing.
Anyway, I hate being the bearer of bad news, but other than the SCOTUS decisions, that’s what’s out there.
What’s on your Reading, Action, and Blogging list today?
#FARTUSMafiaState #BobbyKennedyJr #CadetBonespurSIranWar #Incompetence #KidRock #SupremeCourt #TrumpTarriffs #Trumpers -
It's #ThursdayFiveList time! This week the theme is:
"...things that are in the middle, things that are half of something or stuff being the center or centered. As usual, metaphors and broader meanings allowed."
In no particular order, here are my five:
Frank Zappa - Centerville - 200 Motels (1971)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddLyEVIBDJI&feature=youtu.beDavid Bowie - Width of a Circle - The Man Who Sold The World (1970)
https://youtu.be/SylP968mXY8Jefferson Airplane - Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon - After Bathing At Baxters (1967)
https://youtu.be/Z47ROTjznvkScreaming Trees - Caught Between - Uncle Anesthesia (1991)
https://youtu.be/LbpmkqwUBAUNeil Young - Words (Between The Lines of Age) - Harvest (1972)
https://youtu.be/59r5kNRaoLQ -
It's #ThursdayFiveList time! This week the theme is:
"...things that are in the middle, things that are half of something or stuff being the center or centered. As usual, metaphors and broader meanings allowed."
In no particular order, here are my five:
Frank Zappa - Centerville - 200 Motels (1971)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddLyEVIBDJI&feature=youtu.beDavid Bowie - Width of a Circle - The Man Who Sold The World (1970)
https://youtu.be/SylP968mXY8Jefferson Airplane - Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon - After Bathing At Baxters (1967)
https://youtu.be/Z47ROTjznvkScreaming Trees - Caught Between - Uncle Anesthesia (1991)
https://youtu.be/LbpmkqwUBAUNeil Young - Words (Between The Lines of Age) - Harvest (1972)
https://youtu.be/59r5kNRaoLQ -
It's #ThursdayFiveList time! This week the theme is:
"...things that are in the middle, things that are half of something or stuff being the center or centered. As usual, metaphors and broader meanings allowed."
In no particular order, here are my five:
Frank Zappa - Centerville - 200 Motels (1971)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddLyEVIBDJI&feature=youtu.beDavid Bowie - Width of a Circle - The Man Who Sold The World (1970)
https://youtu.be/SylP968mXY8Jefferson Airplane - Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon - After Bathing At Baxters (1967)
https://youtu.be/Z47ROTjznvkScreaming Trees - Caught Between - Uncle Anesthesia (1991)
https://youtu.be/LbpmkqwUBAUNeil Young - Words (Between The Lines of Age) - Harvest (1972)
https://youtu.be/59r5kNRaoLQ -
It's #ThursdayFiveList time! This week the theme is:
"...things that are in the middle, things that are half of something or stuff being the center or centered. As usual, metaphors and broader meanings allowed."
In no particular order, here are my five:
Frank Zappa - Centerville - 200 Motels (1971)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddLyEVIBDJI&feature=youtu.beDavid Bowie - Width of a Circle - The Man Who Sold The World (1970)
https://youtu.be/SylP968mXY8Jefferson Airplane - Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon - After Bathing At Baxters (1967)
https://youtu.be/Z47ROTjznvkScreaming Trees - Caught Between - Uncle Anesthesia (1991)
https://youtu.be/LbpmkqwUBAUNeil Young - Words (Between The Lines of Age) - Harvest (1972)
https://youtu.be/59r5kNRaoLQ