Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 08/01/2026This is murder.nytimes.comVideo: Federal Agent Fatally Shoots Woman in MinneapolisFederal officials claimed that the 37-year-old woman was trying to kill agents with a car in Minneapolis, while city and state officials disputed their account. 010
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 17/09/2025"“What Netanyahu is doing now in Gaza is outrageously brutal,” [former Prime Minister] Mr. Olmert said. “How can ministers at the highest level say all Gazans are Hamas and then herd them into camps? We are in a fight for the soul of Israel.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/w...nytimes.comNetanyahu and an Israel Without Restraint 031
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 17/09/2025Reflections on political violence: bapuvaitla.com/on-political...bapuvaitla.comOn political violence - bapu vaitlaConservative political organizer Charlie Kirk was killed last week. The internet is afire with fury and blame, and there’s a real risk that tensions could spiral out of control into more bloodshed. Re... 020
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 22/08/2025What is the point of all this? Who becomes safer?washingtonpost.comFamine confirmed in Gaza City region, global hunger monitor saysMore than half a million people in and around Gaza City are facing catastrophic conditions “characterized by starvation, destitution and death,” the IPC said. 110
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 16/08/2025The Trauma of Childhood in Gaza www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/w...nytimes.comThe Trauma of Childhood in Gaza 010
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 30/05/2025300k dead, of whom 200k are children. This is not only or primarily on Musk. This is on the thoughtlessness and cruelty of the Trump administration.nytimes.comOpinion | Elon Musk’s Legacy Is Disease, Starvation and Death 100
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 11/05/2025The left's core belief is interdependence. Is there equal potential to implement this ideal at that same intersection of phenomena? 030
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 11/05/2025The new right's core philosophical belief is the same as it ever was: the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must. What's different is their skill in shaping culture by exploiting the intersection of human cognitive biases, loopholes in democracy, and digital information networks. 140
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 04/05/2025www.nytimes.com/2025/05/04/w...nytimes.comIsrael’s Total Blockade of Gaza Has Created ‘Catastrophic’ Conditions, Doctors SayThe effect of Israel’s total siege has become “catastrophic,” doctors say. Food, water and medicine shortages are prompting a surge of preventable illnesses, and deaths. 011
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 19/04/2025Republicans in Congress, is letting children die what you signed up for?nytimes.comAs Famine Rages in Sudan, U.S. Aid Remains ScarceThe stark consequences of the rollback are evident in few places as clearly as in Sudan, where a brutal civil war has combined with a staggering humanitarian catastrophe. 010
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 15/04/2025The DPD will not release descriptions until they can validate them and ID the shooter. The DPD does not want to jeopardize its ability to investigate this crime by releasing a description and alerting suspects, potentially causing difficulty in locating suspects or destruction of evidence.) 10/10 000
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 15/04/2025(To answer a question asked frequently online: preliminary information suggests the shooting is not random, and thus the CIty does not believe that our community is at ongoing risk. No suspect has been detained, although the DPD has no reason to believe the suspect is in Davis currently. 9/10 100
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 15/04/2025If any parent needs help accessing these resources, please let me know. The City of Davis FB page will provide more updates as they come in. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns. 8/10 110
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 15/04/2025No child should have to experience such extremes of fear, helplessness, and confusion, especially in spaces that they trust to be safe. The Police Department has been in communication with the Davis Joint Unified School District, and DJUSD has put in place resources for families & students. 7/10 100
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 15/04/2025The possibility of trauma also extends to the thousands who were in Community Park at the time, and especially the young children nearby, including those playing in Little League games. Gun violence—indeed, any form of violence—is terrifying for all of us, but especially so for children. 6/10 100
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 15/04/2025There is also the question of trauma and mental anguish in the wake of such violence. I will strive to support the victims in any way that feels useful to them. 5/10 100
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 15/04/2025Three people were shot: two teenagers and a 24-year old. While the City do not release medical information without the consent of the victims, I will say that their physical condition is stable and they are recuperating. 4/10 100
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 15/04/2025I also want to thank all the first responders who acted quickly to stabilize the situation and help victims, including the Davis Police Department, Davis Fire Department, and all those who provided mutual aid, as well as the many individuals who stepped in to offer support. 3/10 100
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 15/04/2025I want to acknowledge the suffering of everyone who was affected by the violence on Saturday: the victims themselves, the many people—especially young children—who were at Community Park, and all others in town who feared for their safety or the safety of their loved ones. 2/10 100
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 15/04/2025This is a personal message. The views expressed are my own, and do not necessarily reflect those of City Council or the City of Davis. Above all, the job of an elected official is to protect the community. They don’t always succeed, as the tragic shooting on Picnic Day made clear. 1/10 110
Reposted by Bapu VaitlaAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 12/03/2025🚨 Everyone needs to call their Dem Senator right now. They are starting to cave. Tell them: 1. Vote NO on Cloture AND 2. Vote NO on the Republican spending bill. Don’t let them pivot to reconciliation. GOP doesn’t need Dem votes on that and they know it. TODAY is the showdown. 🤳🏽: (202) 224-3121 25515379218600
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 08/03/2025Gender-environment data can help shift power & advance #ClimateJustice. Join @aaptiinstitute & @Data2X for a deep dive into feminist data practices & climate resilience! 📅 March 17 |📍 Ford Foundation, NYC 🔗 RSVP by March 13: bit.ly/41x9JT7 010
Reposted by Bapu VaitlaCrystal Rogers, PhD @rogerslabucd.bsky.social · 04/03/2025Please join us in Sacramento on Friday, March 7 from 12-4 PM to Stand Up For Science! 06622
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 02/03/2025“Sell all you have and give to the poor” is in the Bible (Matthew 19:21). “Cut Medicaid so the rich can become richer,” as far as I know, is not. 110
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 02/03/2025Go @tobykiers.bsky.social go! Amazing work.nytimes.comHow Fungi Move Among UsUnderground fungal networks are “living algorithms” that quietly help regulate Earth’s climate. Now scientists know what makes them so efficient. 130
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 28/02/2025No more defenses of nationalism. When your decisions kill thousands of children, your worldview is reprehensible. 020
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 28/02/2025“People will die,” said Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi, executive director of the African Population and Health Research Center, “but we will never know, because even the programs to count the dead are cut.”nytimes.comU.S. Terminates Funding for Polio, H.I.V., Malaria and Nutrition Programs Around the WorldHere are some of the 5,800 contracts the Trump administration formally canceled this week in a wave of terse emails. 151
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 13/02/2025 “Competent white men,” Beattie wrote last October, “must be in charge if you want things to work. Unfortunately, our entire national ideology is predicated on coddling the feelings of women and minorities, and demoralizing competent white men.”nytimes.comOpinion | Trump Is on the Wrong Side of History by Design (Gift Article)The genius of the right-wing crusade against D.E.I. is that the term is amorphous enough that it can mean many different things to many different people. 121
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 07/02/2025Give credit where credit is due. UC Davis under Chancellor May's leadership has done a stellar job of building housing over the last seven years.davisenterprise.comUCD: Davis apartment vacancy rate continues to improveAverage rent increases modestly 020
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 04/02/2025Infuriating. Not only is this completely unjust, but I can't think of a more asinine foreign policy move to make as an incoming president.nytimes.comTrump Says Palestinians Have ‘No Alternative’ but to Leave Gaza: Live Updates 010
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 04/02/2025Absolutely love this. We're going to get there, step by step.nytimes.comProud Boys Lose Control of Their Name to a Black Church They Vandalized (Gift Article)A judge awarded the trademarked name and symbols to a Washington church to help satisfy a $2.8 million judgment against the far-right group. 010
Reposted by Bapu VaitlaLaurel Oldach @laureloldach.bsky.social · 04/02/2025This is a very useful catch-up primer on how the Trump administration is running NIH/NSF/CDC so far. Empathy for @dereklowe.bsky.social writing and rewriting repeatedly - the situation seems to change every half hour. www.science.org/content/blog...science.orgWhat's Happening Inside the NIH and NSF 082
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 03/02/2025Health care for all. Housing for all. Education for all. Transit for all. Clean air, water, and energy for all. Is that not coherent enough?nytimes.com‘We Have No Coherent Message’: Democrats Struggle to Oppose TrumpMore than 50 interviews with Democratic leaders revealed a party struggling to decide what it believes in, what issues to prioritize and how to confront an aggressive right-wing administration. 020
Bapu Vaitla @bapuvaitla.bsky.social · 28/01/2025This is beyond inhumane. "One study estimated that if PEPFAR were to end, as many as 600,000 lives would be lost over the next decade in South Africa alone." www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/h...nytimes.comTrump Administration Halts H.I.V. Drug Distribution in Poor CountriesPEPFAR’s computer systems also are being taken offline, a sign that the program may not return, as Republican critics had hoped. 154