Reposted by Andrew FarrandTimothy E. Kaldas @tekaldas.bsky.social · 5hArresting the entire newsroom of journalists at Matsadaash is an alarming escalation in the Egyptian goverment's attacks on press freedom. Egypt already had the distinction of being one of the world's worst jailers of journalists. TIMEP joins the call for the release of these brave reporters. 0129
Reposted by Andrew FarrandWilliam B. Fuckley @opinionhaver.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Very Greek tragedy thing about LLMs is that they simulataneously provide clear evidence that writing is extremely important to cognition while they also cause people to stop doing it. 1139443
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 25/09/2026You think your job is hard? Be thankful you're not the new president of post-war Syria. This is a daunting rundown of the challenges the country faces. Internationals could and should do much more to help. (Where is Turkey, after helping topple Assad?) 040
Reposted by Andrew FarrandMcSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 19/09/2026"Could the Shit Machine END WORLD HUNGER? It’s NOT IMPOSSIBLE in the most LITERAL SENSE, which is all the justification we need to invest an AMOUNT OF MONEY that would OTHERWISE BY ITSELF END ACTUAL WORLD HUNGER." buff.ly/K5t1rGhmcsweeneys.netWe Must Create the Shit Machine“For as long as humans have created SHIT with our BODIES AND BUTTS, we have been asking this FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION: What if there was a COMPUTER that could AL... 05319
Reposted by Andrew FarrandJason Kint @kint.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Eye popping. Court just unsealed Summary Judgment motions in New York Times v OpenAI / Microsoft. Easy to see why the AI companies had so many redactions (pink). Their own people wrote the lede for NYT, the "largest theft of labor in human history"... "more and more substitutive..." /1 4253422317
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Looks like AI alignment progress is coming along just great... 😦 www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/t... 010
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 13/09/2026The Ayatollah hasn't been seen or heard since his appointment. Many senior officials in Iran aren't even sure he's really alive. In this power vacuum, some are seizing initiative – including launching the attacks that scuttled the peace deal. 🎁:nytimes.comHow Iran’s Hard-liners Blew Up the Peace Deal with Trump (Gift Article)Opponents derailed the agreement with a clandestine effort to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz, regime insiders say. Iran’s president was furious when he found out. 200
Reposted by Andrew FarrandDon Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 13/09/2026A recurrent theme in this excellent story about China’s progress is that people there regard Trump as essential to their success, including his ability to drive scientific talent from the US www.newyorker.com/magazine/202... 361742737
Reposted by Andrew FarrandNikki Columbus @nikkicolumbus.bsky.social · 11/09/2026This February 2002 New Yorker essay by James B. Stewart—a sweeping look at the life of Rick Rescorla, who saved thousands of lives on 9/11 and then died when the first tower fell—remains one of the greatest pieces of writing I have ever read: www.newyorker.com/magazine/200...newyorker.comThe Courageous Life and Death of Rick Rescorla, a 9/11 HeroThe Vietnam veteran helped save hundreds of lives on September 11th, before he was swallowed by the South Tower collapse. “For Rick Rescorla, this was a natural death,” his best friend said—a hero’s e... 044
Reposted by Andrew FarrandJane Coaston @janecoaston.bsky.social · 11/09/2026so many of the stories of that day were just normal people faced with something totally abnormal. 723451
Reposted by Andrew FarrandShibley Telhami @stelhami.bsky.social · 11/09/2026"The terrorist attacks consumed U.S. resources and attention, and left the country unable to address the bigger threats to its economy and global leadership" www.wsj.com/world/sept-1...wsj.comSept. 11 Changed the World Order. But Not for the Reason We May Think.The terrorist attacks 25 years ago consumed U.S. resources and attention, and left the country unable to address the bigger threats to its economy and global leadership. 054
Reposted by Andrew FarrandMark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 09/09/2026I don't understand why more people don't connect Trump calling Somalis "garbage" with the Hutus calling the Tutsis "cockroaches" and the Nazis calling the Jews "vermin." We know where it starts, and we know where it ends. 291400369
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Annoying Euro-centric framing, but the risk is real: "E3G forecasts that Algeria will experience an 87% drop in revenue and Nigeria more than 60%. Algeria in particular was 'one to watch' said Walker, with its position near the borders of Europe and almost total reliance on the EU for its exports."theguardian.comGlobal move away from oil could lead to conflict and migration, experts sayResearchers urge governments to help worst afflicted countries, such as Nigeria and Algeria, which rely on oil revenues for public services 010
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 08/09/2026There are complex local dynamics behind this, but also one big global/regional implication: Iran has opened a new front in the war and it now threatens another key choke point of global energy and trade. 001
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 06/09/2026They learn slavish fawning at the Court of Trump and they reflexively do the same to strongmen abroad. Disgraceful. 010
Reposted by Andrew FarrandMike Dettinger @mdettinger.bsky.social · 06/09/2026The UN General Assembly voted 164 votes to 1 to adopt a resolution to encourage members to use the “Equal Earth” projection rather than the commonly used Mercator map. Of course, the one no vote was Trump’s USA. How much more embarrassment must we endure? www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0... 3185
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Voters notice when they lose rights (e.g. end of Roe). Let's hope they notice when they lose public goods too. 121
Reposted by Andrew FarrandMike Murphy @mjamurphy.bsky.social · 05/09/2026People in ancient Sumer used a base-60 system for maths which they could count to on their fingers. It's the reason we use 60 for minutes and seconds, and why we measure angles up to 360. 1457
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 04/09/2026A small irony of the (legitimately scary) Hugging Face attack: Like humans, AI agents who decide to cheat sometimes end up going to far greater lengths than if they'd just followed the rules. 000
Reposted by Andrew FarrandNothings Monstered @nothingsmonstrd.bsky.social · 02/09/2026How to visit an art museum with someone who isn't used to visiting art museums: 172829924
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 04/09/2026The only silver lining is that this will be another physical manifestation of Trumpism – another mud pit eyesore at the heart of the capital – come the midterms, and many voters hate these. 000
Reposted by Andrew FarrandDave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Following the UNEP overshoot report, here's one of the more competent summaries on what should *actually* be done to rein in warming.euronews.comThe world is on track to overshoot 1.5°C – but there’s a pathway outA major new UN report details the risks of overshooting 1.5°C of warming – and how we can limit them. 24919
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Worth remembering that we have no tool for "the job of future CO₂ removal" at scale. We'll just have to wait a long time (think *generations*) for the forests and oceans to undo what we've done. 000
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 02/09/2026"We have arrived in a new age of disorder. We must prepare ourselves, which begins with being honest about the seriousness of the moment we’re in, and accepting that our fragile system is faltering. ... And that any future of cooperation will have to look different."nytimes.comOpinion | A New World Order Is Coming. We Aren’t Ready. (Gift Article)We must be honest about the seriousness of the situation we’re in. 010
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 30/08/2026Bashar al Assad sits in Moscow, on house arrest, eating his borscht for what must feel like the 1000th day in a row, feeling extremely jealous of Niger's junta right nowapnews.comInside the 24-hour mutiny that threatened Niger’s ruling junta and how Russian forces intervenedNiger’s capital, Niamey, appears calm after aggrieved soldiers staged a mutiny against the ruling military junta. 000
Reposted by Andrew FarrandBradley P. Moss @bradmossesq.bsky.social · 28/08/2026These people had protected status. They lived here legally. They worked, they paid taxes. They made lives. Raised families. Now we’ve dehumanized them. Ripped away that protection and told them to get out. This is a stain on the soul of this Nation. 440107123483
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 28/08/2026static.klipy.comSuccession Logan Roy: You Are Not Serious PeopleAlt: Succession Logan Roy: You Are Not Serious People 000
Reposted by Andrew FarrandDave Jones @cleanpowerdave.bsky.social · 27/08/2026OUT TODAY: The take-off in African solar that official statistics can’t yet see 2026 is on track for +45% in solar installations, setting new records in 36 countries. New methodology reveals 3/4 of growth is distributed solar, much of which is missing from official data..🧵 512364
Reposted by Andrew FarrandDavid Roberts @volts.wtf · 27/08/2026Genuinely abundant, cheap, accessible energy has vastly more liberatory potential than AI, for vastly more people -- especially more poor people. Which, I guess, is your answer. 171797474
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 27/08/2026OpenAI discovered by sheer dumb luck that its agents had perpetrated the Hugging Face hack. The agents showed numerous emergent behaviors and "beliefs" that should worry us all. The alignment problem looms larger than ever. 110
Reposted by Andrew FarrandDavid Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 05/03/2026The perfect headline doesn’t exi…engadget.comGoogle pledges roughly three hours of its annual profit to fight climate changeGoogle and others are committing $100 million to combat climate change. 3075352184
Reposted by Andrew FarrandPresent & Correct @presentcorrect.bsky.social · 22/10/2023“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” – Dolly Parton 01901816
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Not coincidentally, this also applies to every senior official in the Trump administration. 010
Reposted by Andrew FarrandDavid Roberts @volts.wtf · 23/08/2026I hope everyone caught this Lancet study confirming that Elon Musk & DOGE are responsible for genocidal levels of suffering & death.thelancet.comEvaluating the impact of two decades of USAID interventions and projecting the effects of defunding on mortality up to 2030: a retrospective impact evaluation and forecasting analysisUSAID funding has significantly contributed to the reduction in adult and child mortality across low-income and middle-income countries over the past two decades. Our estimates show that, unless the a... 5435201808
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 22/08/2026"Washington’s misadventure was not an aberration so much as the ultimate expression of the inherent vice of its Middle East strategy." Cannot recommend highly enough @abuaardvark.bsky.social's latest dissection of the US's destructive role, and narrowing choices, in today's Middle East. 051
Reposted by Andrew FarrandGreg Pak @gregpak.net · 22/08/2026Trump is not just the worst president, but the worst US citizen of my entire lifetime. A world historical failure of humanity and morality. He and his wicked entourage have burdened us with the task of repairing his damage and eradicating his evil legacy for the rest of our lives. 201873363
Reposted by Andrew FarrandDingus Ex Machina @akatzel.bsky.social · 22/08/2026We measure time in Scaramuccis, and value in ballrooms. 1654
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 19/08/2026"Clean energy additions will rise by a record 45 gigawatts this year, according to S&P Global Energy — equivalent to the average electricity demand of Turkey. The increase is roughly 25 per cent higher than the previous record set in 2024."ft.comClean energy booms under Donald Trump despite effort to undercut renewablesCapacity will rise by a record 45GW this year, according to S&P Global Energy 0115
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Cloudberries, Rollladen, Finnish saunas, Japanese toilets and rice cookers, ...notnottalmud.substack.comthings you can't buy in the USA (and why)it's more than cuban cigars! 010
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Before spreading breathless claims of AI's expanding hacking prowess, maybe journalists should ask how true the tales really are. Otherwise they risk just participating in the AI labs' marketing. This piece from today's FT would have benefited from more skepticism:giftarticle.ft.comAI hasn’t gone rogue. It’s worse than thatRecent cyber attacks reflect what the technology was trained to do but safeguards are falling short 000
Reposted by Andrew FarrandAmanda Kolson Hurley @amandakhurley.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Experts urge schools to keep teaching writing in the age of AI, not even because of its importance per se but because it’s essential to developing habits of mind: “Writing is a technology for thinking” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/u...nytimes.comWhat Do Students Lose When They Stop Writing? (Gift Article)Educators are worried that many students can no longer write essays without A.I. And it’s costing more than just grammar skills. 414952
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 17/08/2026WSJ's latest Iran war update, based partly on reporting from Arab Gulf sources who sound *very* worried that this war will be longer and nastier than even they previously thought, as Iran digs in for extended war of attrition. 1114
Andrew Farrand @afarrand.bsky.social · 17/08/2026"The cartel can adjust its taps with surgical precision, but if the underlying plumbing of the destination market is being systematically re-routed, the intervention yields diminishing returns." 043
Reposted by Andrew FarrandFlingjore @flingjore.com · 17/08/2026Ceuta border crisis fallout triggers grocery rationing and safety lockdowns as a 70,000-person surge follows Moroccan pushback over Pegasus spyware leaks. Over 140 die while 8,000 remain stranded in the Spanish enclave.npr.orgWhat really happened in Ceuta? Why we may never find outA heavy police and army deployment prepare at the border between Morocco and Spain on August 15, 2026 in Fnideq (Castillejos), Morocco. Adri Salido/Getty Images Europe 061