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Alan Jackson

@akjackson.bsky.social
1.7K followers 400 following 5.5K posts

Retired geophysicist, pro bono data science, writer of letters to the editor, troublemaker. www.ajackson.org/Blog

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Alex Spahn 🌋🌪️☄️ @spahn711.bsky.social · 15h
Sunset photoshoot with these white-faced ibises! Despite the moderately-terrifying red eyes, these birds are stunning when the sun hits their iridescent feathers just right. #Birds #Photography
A white-faced ibis wading in shallow water among large green lily pads. The bird features a long, downward-curving beak, dark plumage on its head and neck, and iridescent green and golden-bronze feathers covering its back and wings under warm sunlight.A white-faced ibis wading in shallow water with its beak open as it tosses food(?) in the air. The bird features a long, downward-curving beak, dark plumage on its head and neck, and iridescent green and golden-bronze feathers covering its back and wings under warm sunlight.A white-faced ibis wading in shallow water as it picks up food(?) out of the water, with the water still dripping from the end of its beak. The bird features a long, downward-curving beak, dark plumage on its head and neck, and iridescent green and golden-bronze feathers covering its back and wings under warm sunlight.
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Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 15h
Police violently drag Hispanic grandmother across rough ground-injuring both arms. Witnesses yell she has a serious heart condition & was just released from hospital. Cops kneel on her chest anyway. "They dragged her like a doll," brother said. Incident occurred in Batesville, Texas
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Micah @rincewind.run · 21h
remember after citizens united when everyone pretended super pacs wouldn't coordinate with politicians and would be truly independent entities? that was a fun five minutes
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Alan Jackson @akjackson.bsky.social · 10h
For Christ's sake how stupid was that judge?
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 15h
One thing I find endlessly funny about the rise of AI is that it has revealed that there is a large number of people who believe that the reason they wrote essays at school or university is their teachers were desperately waiting for them to provide a definite answer to “Lear: what’s up with him?”
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Kate in Pittsburgh ⚾️ @katechase.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Outside of my usual, but we’re seeing a lot of plague fear posts so I’m linking this interview with @angierasmussen.bsky.social where she explains how not freaked out almost everyone on the planet needs to be over what’s happening with the Russia lab situation. www.cnn.com/2026/10/04/e...
cnn.com
Dozens quarantined after researcher at Russian plague laboratory dies of ‘unknown’ infection | CNN
Dozens of people were reported to be in isolation after a Russian laboratory worker at an institute dedicated to studying the plague and other infectious diseases died of an undisclosed illness.
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John Beacom @johnbeacom.bsky.social · 13h
The 2026 Physics Nobel Prize to Francis Halzen is well deserved! I wrote the attached explainer for the public from the perspective of someone who has worked in this field and known Francis for decades. I welcome helping sharing it. Congratulations to Francis and all! medium.com/@beacom.7/ho...
medium.com
How Neutrinos, Which Barely Exist, Just Ran Off with a Nobel Prize — Again!
John Beacom (Ohio State University), with no assistance from AI
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Zeke Hausfather @zekehausfather.com · 13h
This year's El Niño continues its climb into uncharted waters; Niño3.4 region anomalies are now at a 3.4C above normal (how fitting!), higher than any prior El Niño event on record. September monthly Niño3.4 anomalies also set a record at 2.9C (beating 2015 and 1877's 2.75C).
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Alan Jackson @akjackson.bsky.social · 13h
Currently most of the west half of Houston. Competitive with Uber, but no cologne, I can pick music, and no chatty driver.
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Alan Jackson @akjackson.bsky.social · 19h
Did my first Waymo today. Pretty impressive.
View from inside Waymo vehicle showing no driver and touch screens.
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Mid terms are November 3rd 2026. Go register voters. @usrbinr.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
my county attorney! thank you and super proud of you @abbiekamin.bsky.social
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Alan Jackson @akjackson.bsky.social · 22h
You believe him? History would say that he is lying. Get the receipts.
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Alan Jackson @akjackson.bsky.social · 22h
Reading Chernow's "Grant" I realized that my teachers had lied to us about reconstruction.
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Alan Jackson @akjackson.bsky.social · 22h
Years ago I had a New Orleans colleague who had a bumper sticker during the Edwards/Duke governor's race that said "Vote for the crook. It's important".
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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
That Hemingway quote about hunting men is alarmingly common in police culture. I've seen it on police union merch and on t-shirts and other swag at SWAT competitions and policing conferences.
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Alan Jackson @akjackson.bsky.social · 22h
When that fails they will invoke "National Security".
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 06/10/2026
BREAKING: For the first time in 10 months, the U.S. admitted a refugee who is not a white South African. In September, the U.S. admitted 3,386 white South Africans and two Afghans (in D.C.) In FY 2026, the U.S. has admitted a total of 16,287 white South Africans, five Afghans, and nobody else.
rpc.state.gov
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 06/10/2026
The breast cancer center appealed thousands of Blue Cross reimbursements for being too low. At trial, the insurer revealed that it had never considered any of the appeals — and that they were pointless: “An appeal is not available to review an underpayment.” (Published April 2025)
propublica.org
“Slow Pay, Low Pay or No Pay”: Trial Reveals How Insurers Try to Wield Power Over Doctors
Blue Cross authorized mastectomies and breast reconstructions for women with cancer but refused to pay the full doctors’ bills. A jury called it fraud and awarded the practice $421 million.
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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
A lot of what’s happening doesn’t seem to be spreading anymore by mainstream media. A tree that stood for an estimated 150–250 years was destroyed today to make way for Trump’s border wall.
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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Nearly four decades before she published her famous exposé of the Southern plantation system, English actress (& train aficionado) Fanny Kemble visited & wrote about the nation’s first commercial train, the Massachusetts Granite Railway. That & much more in today’s post! 🗃️ @hcrichardson.bsky.social
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Alan Jackson @akjackson.bsky.social · 23h
Recently read your book, and loved it. Recommended it to my local councilman.
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Michael Pollack @michaelcpollack.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Thanks so much for having me, Anna! This was a great crowd and a really fun event.
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Svetovid @svetovid.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Well, that's a hell of a thing to leave next to a statue of Joan of Arc.😏
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Ruth Siddall @pavementgeology.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Could this be the most important building in London this century? I think so! It’s a return to using stone structurally to build a 10 storey tower and hugely reducing the carbon impact of building. By Groupwork and Webb Yates engineers, Petra Heights on Finchley Road is monumental in so many ways 🧵
A view of the Finchley Road. A parade of shops housed in an early 20th Century terrace is on the left and next to these is a block composed of two towers constructed in a square grid pattern using beams of red coloured stone. Next to this spectacular building is a boring ‘council architect’ late 29th century residential block.
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Ginny Hogan @ginnyhogan.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
we’re ready for ya, JD!
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 06/10/2026
What is the IceCube neutrino observatory? Neutrinos are elusive particles that rarely interact, but can create flashes of light when they do. Most neutrino detectors are giant water tanks surrounded by light detectors. IceCube is kilometer-long strings of detectors embedded in the Antarctic ice.
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AltSpaceForce 🚀🇺🇲 @altspaceforce.altgov.info · 05/10/2026
DARVO is an acronym for Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim & Offender. Deny: The offender flatly denies that the wrongdoing, abuse, or incident ever happened. Attack: The offender goes on the offensive, attacking the credibility, character, or mental state of the person doing the confronting.
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 23h
From Physics Today (physicsworld.com/a/francis-ha...): ‘When asked what he will do for the rest of today, Halzen replied “I’m working on a proposal. I hope this prize will help get it approved.”’
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 06/10/2026
The government *still* isn’t tracking how often immigration agents detain U.S. citizens. We are. 500+ Americans have been handcuffed, held at gunpoint or held against their will in Trump’s second term. Our tally is almost certainly an undercount. THREAD (content warning: violence) ⬇️
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Alan Jackson @akjackson.bsky.social · 23h
I can't vote for any Republican who does not publicly distance themselves from the MAGA cancer that has engulfed the party. Corruption is bad, but bigotry and fascism are worse.
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Alan Jackson @akjackson.bsky.social · 23h
This is BS. He used Pakistani law, which is based on Sharia law. The whole sharia law thing is still a stalking horse to engage bigots and distract them from real issues..
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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
NEW FROM PP The Trump admin keeps denying immigration agents are grabbing Americans, so we tracked it 500+ Americans detained 70+ kids, some cuffed or zip-tied 60+ held after filming 36+ held for day+ w/o access to lawyer ~12 deported (yes, deported) projects.propublica.org/american-cit....
projects.propublica.org
More Than 500 U.S. Citizens Have Been Detained, Including Handcuffed or Held at Gunpoint, in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown — ProPublica
The government doesn’t track how often immigration officers detain U.S. citizens. So ProPublica did. We’ve found more than 500 Americans who were held against their will during this Trump administrati...
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Alan Jackson @akjackson.bsky.social · 23h
Back when we had Preston Smith and Dolph Briscoe as governors, I would vote for either the Socialist Workers party candidate or La Raza Unida. Just as a protest vote, since they won easily.
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Ele Willoughby @minouette.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The 12yo likes specificity so it declaring this Ctenophore Day Pacific Sea Gooseberry Appreciation Day! Little Pleurobrachia bachei are shimmering transparent comb jellies like grape-sized spheres with a pair of ~14 cm long feathery tentacles and live along the west coast of North America.
vichighmarine.ca
Sea Gooseberry - vic high
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Michelle says: Be kind. Always. ❤️ @snarkysillysad.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Atelopus barbotini the purple pink toads: #AGoodPlace
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Gabriel Malor @gabrielmalor.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Fed. judge accuses ICE agents of "apparently perjurious testimony," fabrication of evidence, false statements, fundamental misconceptions about ICE agents' authority, and more. Case involves the accidental arrest of a U.S. citizen who had to get stitches. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
So, the thought is that after issuing a fraudulent arrest warrant stating that petitioner’s information was part of the system when it was not and indicating that he could be biometrically identified even though they had not collected the information to make a positive match, Cuni attempted to reconcile these falsehoods by subsequently collecting the information, adding it to those systems and, after issuing the warrant, searching the databases again to “find” him.
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Elizabeth Anne, PhD @lacksauthority.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
never the wrong time for this classic
Screenshot of a tweet by @RobbtKraft reading “scientist: "does everyone here know what Watson and Crick discovered?" 
me from back of room: "Rosalind Franklin's notes"”
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Alan Jackson @akjackson.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I think that immune amnesia needs to be emphasized more. To me, that is the scariest issue. But it's rarely emphasized.
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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
RFK Jr. thinks that getting measles is no big deal, and points to the low death rate to support this asinine opinion. Besides the fact that these deaths are preventable, he ignores hospitalizations and immune amnesia, which can erase immunity to other pathogens that people have already built up.
cidrap.umn.edu
Measles outbreaks could leave thousands vulnerable to infectious diseases for years
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Laura Helmuth @laurahelmuth.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Earth’s getting rounder. (Ice at the poles squishes the planet so it bulges at the equator; as glaciers melt, there’s less flattening.) agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Mapping Global GNSS Vertical Velocities to Solid Earth Figure Change
Develops a geometric framework to infer changes in solid Earth figure from global GNSS-derived vertical velocity fields Reveals an accelerated decrease of solid Earth flattening linked to increas...
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RFK Brain Worm Jr. @planetofdinosaurs.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Hear me out. All police misconduct cases paid out of police pension funds. Because as a citizen I'm really sick of public funds being used to pay these AND having to worry about a cop doing something shitty to me because they have no accountability.
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Alan Jackson @akjackson.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Oh I have held my nose so many times in the voting booth.
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Alan Jackson @akjackson.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Yeah I've said for years that the Democrats really screwed up not paying attention to people losing their jobs due to offshoring. "Unemployed? Here's an Excel class. Good luck."
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Alan Jackson @akjackson.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Odds that he is lying? 9:1
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ACLU @aclu.org · 06/10/2026
Adela Vázquez wore many hats. She worked for trans people to receive compassionate HIV/AIDS prevention and care; founded Las AtreDivas (the Daring Divas), a drag group that provided sex education; and took a chosen family under her wing. We applaud Adela's contributions as a queer, Latine advocate.
Photo of Adela Vazquez wearing an adorned top, with the words "Latine Heritage Month" above her. Below her it says "Photography Credit: Xeenuh. Wiki Commons." A quote reads: "'No, my dear. I’m going to be a bitch till the day I die, I’m going to do my nails, I’m going to do my hair, whatever the fuck I want to do. Don’t tell me to dress like a boy.'
 – Adela Vázquez. Transgender activist and performer." ACLU logo. Vibrant and colorful background and border.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 05/10/2026
El-Sayed on Fox: "There is this argument you try to make often is that the best way to take this problem on is more war. How has that worked out for us? The war in Iraq which this channel spent years and years pressing -- has that made us safer? Are we more safe because of the war in Iran?"
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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 05/10/2026
The fact this is was completely avoidable and preventable...what the fuck America. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
New York Declares State of Emergency Over Measles Outbreak
New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in response to rising measles cases on Monday, as infections skyrocket nationwide.
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wharf rat @nhwharfrat.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Us: "they're trying to kill all of us" Them: "okay, but why can't you just hear them out?" it's the audacity of it all that's infuriating
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Fava Bean @fava.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Republicans are classic abusers. This is just another abusive fuckwad telling his victims to try to "calm down" and "be nicer" to avoid setting off another attack.
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Ellie Squirrel @sewimperfect.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
They always tell people from marginalized groups to turn the other cheek when they are literally punching them in the face. I read his take, and I appreciated that the journalist pushed back. How do you find common ground with someone who doesn't think you have the right to exist?
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