iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mala Kumar @authormala.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

Go @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social ! What a wonderful day to be a progressive South Asian in NYC! This is the boost we need with the recent rise of the far right Desi in America.

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Bywater Books @bywaterbooks.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Bywater Books has been named the 2024 Foreword INDIES Publisher of the Year! Please join us in celebrating this amazing honor from Foreword Reviews. #ForewordINDIES #PrideMonth #LGBTQBooks

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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 11/04/2025

If you have a dictionary that you don't show love Oh, yes, son, we're talking to you.

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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

Again, worth at the last considering the possibility that he’s a malevolent idiot who has no idea what he’s doing.

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Ryan Boyd @ryanboyd.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Hey is it good to build a society where lonely people turn to chatbots?

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Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett @crockett.house.gov · 01/04/2025

Disruption is all they seem to understand—so that’s exactly what they’re getting. For 14 hours, @booker.senate.gov has been on the Senate floor, speaking truth within the rules. This cannot be business as usual when our democracy’s on the line. Thank you, senator.

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

NEW: A federal judge in Massachusetts has granted a temporary restraining order barring the Trump administration from deporting any person to a country they are not a national of (so-called 'third country removals') without written notice and an opportunity to apply for protection from that country.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS _______________________________________ ) D.V.D., et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) Civil Action No. v. ) 25-10676-BEM ) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND ) SECURITY, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) _______________________________________) TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER MURPHY, J. This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff D.V.D., M.M., E.F.D., and O.C.G.’s Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunctive Relief. Having considered the motion and related filings, the Court ORDERS as follows: 1) Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order is GRANTED in part. 2) Defendants, and all of their officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys, successors, assigns, and persons acting in concert or participation with them are hereby ENJOINED and RESTRAINED from: a) Removing Plaintiffs D.V.D., M.M., and E.F.D. from the United States to a third country, i.e., a country other than the country designated for removal in the prior immigration proceedings, UNLESS and UNTIL Defendants provide Plaintiffs D.V.D., M.M. and E.F.D., and their respective counsel, with written notice of the third country to where they may be removed, and UNTIL Defendants provide a meaningful opportunity for Plaintiffs D.V.D., M.M. and E.F.D. to submit an

application for protection, including withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C.
§ 1231(b)(3) and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) to the
immigration court, and if any such application is filed, UNTIL Plaintiffs D.V.D.,
M.M., and E.F.D. receive a final agency decision on any such application;
b) Removing any individual subject to a final order of removal from the United States
to a third country, i.e., a country other than the country designated for removal in
immigration proceedings, UNLESS and UNTIL Defendants provide that
individual, and their respective immigration counsel, if any, with written notice of
the third country to where they may be removed, and UNTIL Defendants provide
a meaningful opportunity for that individual to submit an application for CAT
protection to the immigration court, and if any such application is filed, UNTIL that
individual receives a final agency decision on any such application.
3) No security bond is required under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c).
4) This Order shall remain in effect until the Court rules on Plaintiffs’ motion for a
preliminary injunction.
5) The Court’s previous order, Dkt. 12, remains in effect.
So Ordered.
/s/ Brian E. Murphy
Brian E. Murphy
Dated: March 28, 2025 Judge, United States District Court

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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

What people in every part of higher education need to understand is that Republicans now want to do to universities what they’ve tried to do to labor unions: erase them from the institutional landscape. The question is how much you want to collaborate in your own destruction.

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Jenny Cohn @jennycohn.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

“One young man sobbed when a guard pushed him to the floor. He said, ‘I’m not a gang member. I’m gay. I’m a barber.’ I believed him. *** He “began to whimper,” as his head was roughly shaved, “folding his hands in prayer as his hair fell.” He “asked for his mother & cried as he was slapped again.”

time.com

What the Venezuelans Deported to El Salvador Experienced

Exclusive photos of the arrival of Venezuelan detainees deported from the U.S.

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Tanya O'Carroll @tanya.eurosky.social · 22/03/2025

Case closed! 🤩💥🚀. In settling my case, Meta has agreed to stop processing my personal data for direct marketing purposes. In non-legalese, that means I will no longer be shown surveillance-ads on Facebook. www.thetimes.com/article/ae70...

thetimes.com

One mother’s win over Meta will change social media for everyone

Britons will be able to opt out of targeted advertising after Tanya O’Carroll’s David-and-Goliath battle with Meta

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Mala Kumar @authormala.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Oh great, per LibGen, my second novel - What It Meant to Survive - is one of the pirated books Meta used to train Llama 3 😡😡😡

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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 19/03/2025

We reported on this a few days ago, but I want to point out this headline because this is where we are at. A bill in Arkansas would ban gender affirming HAIRCUTS for transgender youth. HAIRCUTS. This is a straight up North Korea state sanctioned hairstyle proposed law for youth.

lgbtqnation.com

GOP bill could ban hairdressers from giving gender-nonconforming haircuts to minors - LGBTQ Nation

The bill would allow anyone to sue someone who affirms a young person's transition, and it specifically mentions hairstyles.

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Mala Kumar @authormala.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Mahmoud Khalil graduated from SIPA, which has graduated heads of state and other high level politicians, diplomats, and civil society leaders. Whatever the Trump Administration thinks it’s doing, they have created a new political star.

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Mala Kumar @authormala.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Grateful Canada is willing to host this American for a book event. Come out on April 10th, Toronto! Let’s talk about intersectionality and respect for sovereignty. 🇨🇦 Get your feee ticket: www.eventbrite.ca/e/what-it-me...

eventbrite.ca

WHAT IT MEANT TO SURVIVE - Mala Kumar (with Pree Rehal)

Join us for the Toronto launch of WHAT IT MEANT TO SURVIVE by Mala Kumar! In conversation with Pree Rehal.

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Mala Kumar @authormala.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

I made a video about why the private sector won’t replace US government funding. Feel free to like and share with those people in your life who still don’t get why privatization in all aspects of life won’t work. youtu.be/AUHr0IgPKO8?...

youtu.be

Why Private Sector Solutions Won't Replace US Government Funding

YouTube video by Mala Kumar

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

Holy crap. The DOJ is arguing that the President can unilaterally deport anyone he wants without ANY statutory authority, just on his inherent authority as President over national security. That is a terrifying claim to make and not one that has ever been recognized before in US history.

Beyond the statute, the President’s inherent Article II authority is plainly
violated by the district court’s order. As a function of his inherent Article II authority
to protect the nation, the President may determine that TdA represents a significant
risk to the United States, that it is intertwined and advancing the interests of a foreign
government in a manner antithetical to the interests of the United States, and that its
members should be summarily removed from this country as part of that threat.

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Steven T. Dennis @steventdennis.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

Waiting until after Democrats caved on the CR, Trump issues a late night order to eliminate 7 agencies “to the maximum extent” allowed by law, including the organization running the Voice of America, the agency that helps fund museums and libraries in all 50 states, and so on. Order in alt text:

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Purpose. This order continues the reduction in the elements of the Federal bureaucracy that the President has determined are unnecessary.

Sec. 2. Reducing the Scope of the Federal Bureaucracy.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the non-statutory components and functions of the following governmental entities shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, and such entities shall reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law:
(i) the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service;
(ii) the United States Agency for Global Media;
(iii) the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution;
(iv) the Institute of Museum and Library Services;
(v) the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness;
(vi) the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund; and
(vii) the Minority Business Development Agency.
(b) Within 7 days of the date of this order, the head of each governmental entity listed in subsection (a) of this section shall submit a report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget confirming full compliance with this order and explaining which components or functions of the governmental entity, if any, are statutorily required and to what extent.
(c) In reviewing budget requests submitted by the governmental entities listed in subsection (a) of this section, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget or the head of any executive department or agency charged with reviewing grant requests by such entities shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law and except insofar as necessary to effectuate an expected termination, reject funding requests for such governmental entities to the extent they are inconsistent with this order.

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

American politics makes a lot more sense when you realize that the GOP is afraid of pissing off the GOP base, and the Dems are afraid of pissing off the GOP base, but neither party is afraid of pissing off the Dem base.

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Mala Kumar @authormala.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

I’m so over constantly blaming the state of American politics on messaging, as though this is all a marketing campaign. Democrat Senators, oppose the budget bill. Then have the National Committee build real community programs instead of only asking for money. The messaging will follow.

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Jacqueline Sweet @jsweetli.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Betar USA says today “expect naturalized citizens to be picked up within the month.”

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Mala Kumar @authormala.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

youtu.be

Why Private Sector Solutions Won't Replace US Government Funding

YouTube video by Mala Kumar

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Mala Kumar @authormala.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

I wrote a blog post about the demise of international aid, the tech industry’s obsession with scaling, and my second novel. Read it here: thenewcntxt.com/07-issue-03

thenewcntxt.com

07 issue 03 — THE NEW CONTEXT

cargo.site

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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

So: — DHS (who conducted this detention) did not answer questions & said we should ask the White House — Columbia didn’t answer whether they knew in advance about campus DHS or ICE activity, or if they shared info about the detained individual or other students with authorities

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

This is flatly illegal. The plain text of the law says that any person who works for any 501(c)(3) nonprofit is eligible. There is ZERO authority for limiting eligibility based on the work such nonprofit does. They WILL lose the lawsuit. Even so, this is making so many people’s lives harder.

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Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

This "immediate cancellation" violates the law. If the Admin thinks Columbia has violated Title VI by being deliberately indifferent to antisemitic harassment, it has to give Columbia a chance for a hearing first, make findings on the record, & wait 30 days. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03...

nytimes.com

The Trump administration cancels $400 million in grants and contracts to Columbia University.

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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 07/03/2025

The Guardian is reporting that Trump is openly violating a court order, and has transferred multiple transgender women to men's facilities. We know in Florida, transgender women are having their hair shorn, feminine items confiscated, and pulled off medication. This is inhumane and illegal.

theguardian.com

Trans women transferred to men’s prisons despite rulings against Trump’s order

Incarcerated trans women report being groped by male guards and suicidal thoughts: ‘I’m punished for existing’

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John Skiles Skinner @skiles.blue · 04/03/2025

Imagine DOGE opens your mail and finds your household electric bill. To eliminate this cost, they burn your house down without warning. Then they total up the bills that, as a homeless person, you will never again pay. On its website, DOGE boasts about the money it has saved you.

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Filipe Campante @filipecampante.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

I don't think there's precedent for this level of open corruption at the federal level, certainly not in the last 100+ years.

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Mala Kumar @authormala.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

Maybe it’s because the international development experts of the US government who have seen this abroad were fired that this is not painfully obvious: DOGE is a thinly veiled front for government corruption. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

18F staffers- who were summarily fired en masse overnight- issue statement expressing shock, bewilderment: "18F was doing exactly the type of work that DOGE claims to want – yet we were eliminated."

18f.org

We're not done yet | 18F

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Better Things Are Possible @internethippo.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

We finally fixed illegal immigration (nobody wants to come here anymore)

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Mark Cuban @mcuban.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

If you worked for 18F and got fired, Group together to start a consulting company. It’s just a matter of time before DOGE needs you to fix the mess they inevitably create. They will have to hire your company as a contractor to fix it. But on your terms. I’m happy to invest and/or help

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Alt18F @alt18f.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

18F was doing exactly the type of work that DOGE claims to want – yet we were eliminated shortly after midnight. Read our letter to the American people: 18f.org

18f.org

We're not done yet | 18F

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Mala Kumar @authormala.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

They told us in international development to adapt and use technology, and we DID! It hasn’t been perfect, but we tried and had a lot of success. We told the tech industry not to forget the humanities and lessons history taught us, but they largely ignored us. Now we’re here.

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Tony Zaret @tonyzaret.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

True story: I was working at a Men’s Beer and Video Games company. A liberal with blue hair came in and demanded we put woke pronouns in the beer so I made a citizen’s arrest and deported they-them to CommieFornia. Then 135-year-old World War I veteran tried to thank me, and I said no, thank YOU.

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Mala Kumar @authormala.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Did Rubio Tweet this as he was crying in the Oval Office?

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Mala Kumar @authormala.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

I think I am on to something here…

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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Five alarm fire. www.politico.com/news/2025/02...

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Mala Kumar @authormala.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Join me in Portland with @amysampleward.bsky.social next Thursday, 6 March for an event about my second novel, What It Meant to Survive. Feel free to come and vent about the state of America. www.broadwaybooks.net/event/2025-0...

broadwaybooks.net

Mala Kumar in conversation with Amy Sample Ward

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Kara Swisher @karaswisher.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

I heart Tina Smith.