Reposted by Esther KaplanRebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Time for this classic again. 155164105538
Reposted by Esther KaplanYair Wallach @yairwallach.bsky.social · 23/09/2026The Knesset barred today the only two Palestinian led parties from running in the coming election. According to an overwhelming majority in the Knesset, the constitutional meaning of a Jewish State is a state where Palestinian citizens cannot run for parliament. 22978325
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026The White House told Politico it had revoked its press passes bc the news org had violated standards by using anonymous sources — then cited an article based on a press call where reporters were told to cite an anonymous “senior administration official.” www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...washingtonpost.comThe White House banned Politico, citing anonymous sources. It provided the quotes.In a letter defending its ban of Politico, the White House critiqued a report based on a press call it conducted, where reporters were told not to name the speaker. 000
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 16/09/2026What’s the smallest number of civilians 40,000 one-ton bombs will kill? www.nytimes.com/2026/09/15/u...nytimes.com 020
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 09/09/2026This WSJ chart is so striking because it’s basically a list of red states and swing states. www.wsj.com/economy/trad... 1256
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 08/09/2026"A week and a half before October 7, 2023, UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed called Netanyahu and spoke with him for 45 minutes. In that conversation, MBZ warned that Hamas' leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, was planning a major operation against Israel." www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...haaretz.comNetanyahu got an explicit warning before Oct. 7. He didn't brief security chiefsIn September '23, UAE President bin Zayed called Netanyahu to deliver a harsh warning. Netanyahu did nothing. An extensive investigation, conducted for a new book, reveals the PM's failures surroundin... 33219
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Please don't miss this deep, authoritative, richly reported story by the great Eric K. Arnold on Oakland's hyphy movement, 20 years after the breakout hit "Tell Me When To Go." With iconic photos by D-Ray, some of them never previously published. oaklandside.org/2026/08/28/t...oaklandside.orgThe summer of hyphy, 20 years laterGhost riding, turf dancing, stunna shades, and scraper bikes. In 2006, Oakland birthed a movement. 121
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Oof, this is a bad loss. Just days ago Stars and Stripes was one of the first to break the USS Abraham Lincoln storystripes.comUSS Abraham Lincoln families press Navy leaders over sailors’ mental healthFamily members say the roughly 5,000 service members aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have endured food and water shortages and little time off. 01811
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 14/08/2026This is a terrible development for transparency that will enable fraud and organized crime thehill.com/business/602...thehill.comTreasury Department repeals Biden-era reporting requirement for US businessesThe Treasury Department on Tuesday officially repealed a requirement for American companies and individuals to report beneficial ownership information to its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, o… 000
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 14/08/2026This M. Gessen piece is so moving and so devastating www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/o...nytimes.comOpinion | What’s Happening in Kansas Should Alarm Us AllIs Kansas just the beginning? 000
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 30/07/2026Honestly, this perfectly encapsulates the administration’s level of awareness about the continent. Thanks to @emilybass.bsky.social “State Department Map Mislabels African Countries at AIDS Conference” www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/u...nytimes.comState Department Map Mislabels African Countries at AIDS ConferenceNigeria, a coastal country in western Africa, was landlocked in the Sahara, among other errors. The department said it had been “hastily altered.” 000
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 18/07/2026I just have to say, as an Oakland public school parent, how much Stephen and Ayesha Curry deserve this award and how deeply their presence is felt in the district. youtu.be/v8n0X2JFK-syoutu.beSteph Curry receives Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian AwardYouTube video by ESPN 120
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Truly horrifying. How smart of AP to go looking for family court records. 010
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 17/07/2026This is a fun one if you need a timeline cleanse. From the great @chroniclesofazu.bsky.social and @sbmaneyphoto.bsky.social oaklandside.org/2026/07/16/c...oaklandside.org16 hours in an Oakland dive barVery few Oakland establishments open before noon. Club 2101 in Dimond is one of them. For patrons, it’s a second home. 020
Reposted by Esther KaplanCatherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 18/06/2026"Activities such as speeding, walking a dog not on a leash, or fishing without a valid license may now serve as the basis for the government filing a civil denaturalization complaint in federal courts." From new TRAC report on rising denaturalizations. tracreports.org/reports/774/ 471039558
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 16/06/2026“Marketers chose the ‘thwack’ slogan after consulting an AI tool for suggestions, Shinsegae Group said” — a highly insensitive AI-induced political bungle that has so far cost Starbucks at least $1.4 million. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...theguardian.comStarbucks Korea to temporarily shut all stores for history lesson after bungled coffee promotionThe closures, so employees can watch a recorded lecture, will cost the company an estimated 2.1bn won ($1.4m) in sales 000
Reposted by Esther KaplanNick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · 10/06/2026EXCLUSIVE: Top Pentagon Official Admits Boat Strike May Have Killed Victims of Human Trafficking If this boat was running drugs, why was it loaded with so many people? theintercept.com/2026/06/10/t...theintercept.comTop Pentagon Official Admits Boat Strike May Have Killed Victims of Human TraffickingIf this boat was running drugs, why was it loaded with so many people? 19639682018
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 09/06/2026Just making sure to go after every clause in the First Amendment, it seems 000
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 04/06/2026Many more such votes to come, I suspect. www.latimes.com/environment/...latimes.comIn a first for the country, voters in Monterey Park ban data centersResidents of Monterey Park voted overwhelmingly to ban data centers, making the San Gabriel Valley city the first in the nation to do so by public vote. 000
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 03/06/2026defector.com/punk-ass-los... The Defector, ladies and gentlemen: "Unremarkable dweeb Nick Bilton has been the executive producer of 60 Minutes for less than a week, and he has already written his name into the history books as one of the media industry's most pathetic bosses."defector.comPunk-Ass Loser Nick Bilton Fires Scott Pelley For Daring To Ask Him Questions | DefectorUnremarkable dweeb Nick Bilton has been the executive producer of 60 Minutes for less than a week, and he has already written his name into the history books as one of the media industry’s most pathet... 030
Reposted by Esther KaplanL.A. TACO @lataco.bsky.social · 02/06/2026We lend our voices to the 150 detainees, including hunger strikers at the Adelanto processing center and read their letter in the “Petition of Writ” that we received from @chu.house.gov. Here are their words. (2 parts) PART 1 7379199
Reposted by Esther KaplanAcyn @acyn.bsky.social · 28/05/2026Campos: While I want to thank CBS news for funding this generous gift towards my education, I want to acknowledge how the recent direction of the outlet stains the legacy of Mike Wallace, the namesake of this scholarship. 481223785519
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 24/05/2026Honestly I think we’re well past the point when we can successfully take this all in 000
Reposted by Esther KaplanAllison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 18/05/2026BREAKING: The judge in the $1.7B slush fund suit has dismissed the case, but she says THERE IS NO SETTLEMENT OF RECORD. As I said earlier, the media must stop reporting that this slush fund is a settlement. It's just plain THEFT. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... 505180167368
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 20/05/2026AI is smart enough, I guess, but have you ever tried putting a small seed in some soil, adding water, and then a few days later it somehow becomes a seedling? 030
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 17/05/2026@natalieorenstein.bsky.social and Eli Wolfe got their hands on these text messages and have been reporting them out for a few days. Now Oaklandʻs top-ranking official after the mayor has resigned. oaklandside.org/2026/05/17/j...oaklandside.orgCity Administrator resigns after crass texts about female employeesMayor Barbara Lee announced Sunday that Jestin Johnson is stepping down after three years. 000
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 11/05/2026This is a harrowing read, and so much more comprehensively documented than the NYT’s multi-bylined Dec. 2023 story about sexual assault by Hamas. Why are we reading this one on the opinion pages? www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/o...nytimes.comOpinion | The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians 001
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 03/05/2026“What we’ve seen in the last year is the military repeatedly carrying out illegal orders. The attacks on the alleged drug boats in the Pacific, the raid to seize Maduro in Venezuela, the war on Iran, have all been illegal – yet the military carried them all out.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... 030
Reposted by Esther KaplanFreedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 01/05/2026It’s World Press Freedom Day this Sunday. Traditionally, that’s when we call out foreign regimes for targeting journalists. But this year, the call is coming from inside our own (White) house instead.freedom.pressThis World Press Freedom Day, American journalists are under attackThe U.S. government has declared open season on the news media. May 3 is a reminder to fight back 312969
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 27/04/2026This is the first really thoughtful exploration of Cole Allen I’ve read. Thanks for this @kenklippenstein.bsky.social 000
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 23/04/2026I’m sorry, McClatchy is slapping human bylines onto machine content? That’s not only a betrayal of their reporters. It’s a betrayal of their readers 110
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 22/04/2026I’m struggling to understand the theory of the case. Everyone knew SPLC used infiltrators to expose extremists. This was arguably why their research had so much credibility — including in the eyes of their sometime law enforcement partners, the FBI. Impossible donors were unaware. 000
Reposted by Esther KaplanClara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 10/04/2026Huge bomb just went off in CA gov race (sorry the @sfchronicle.com doesn’t seem to have gift link so far as I can find, but they’ve clearly been reporting this out for a long time) www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art... 2713329
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 02/04/2026The College Board has pushed AP expansion for decades, making APs standard on college apps. But the program is riven with racial bias. In Oakland, the racial disparities are so stark, many schools are turning to a college prep alternative. oaklandside.org/2026/04/02/o...oaklandside.orgSkyline High School has 17 AP classes. Castlemont has 0. OUSD has a serious college prep gapWhite and Asian students take AP classes at twice the rate of their Black and Latino peers. And while one Oakland school has 17 course options, many others have zero. 001
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 24/03/2026Community colleges get way less in per-pupil funding than public universities. But they're wildly successful engines of social mobility. 1/ oaklandside.org/2026/03/23/e...oaklandside.orgThe education of Marquitta EddingsCalifornia community colleges get far less state funding than Universities of California or Cal States. Yet they’re powerful engines of economic mobility. 121
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 18/03/2026So the concept is to suck up vast amounts of scarce water anduse so much energy that we accelerate climate change, in exchange for…um…this. 010
Reposted by Esther KaplanThe Guardian @theguardian.com · 17/03/2026‘Trump is aiming for dictatorship’. That’s the verdict of the world’s most credible democracy watchdog | Martin Gelintheguardian.com‘Trump is aiming for dictatorship’. That’s the verdict of the world’s most credible democracy watchdog | Martin GelinSweden’s V-Dem Institute warns that the US is no longer a liberal democracy. And autocracy is creeping across Europe too, says writer Martin Gelin 761352739
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 13/03/2026In the west, we somehow accept these visual gashes across our cities we call "freeways," clogged with traffic, that wall off communities, make walking and biking more difficult, and waste precious land. What if we didn't? oaklandside.org/2026/03/12/o...oaklandside.orgHow could Oakland raise billions in revenue? New report suggests removing freewaysThe highway impact report found Oakland forgoes $23.9 billion in development and $181 million a year in property taxes thanks to urban land swallowed up by freeways. 032
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 12/03/2026“Every ‘miracle’ in computing would inevitably, eventually, become every woman’s nightmare.” 010
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 11/03/2026This honestly encapsulates the whole enforced consent AI regime 010
Esther Kaplan @estherbrooklyn.bsky.social · 07/03/2026Such a fun conversation with the brilliant cultural critic Jeff Chang about Bruce Lee's time in Oakland. oaklandside.org/2026/03/06/w...oaklandside.orgWalking Bruce Lee’s Oakland with Jeff ChangChang, the hip hop historian and cultural critic, has written a vivid history of the martial arts legend and his worlds. He takes us on a tour of Lee’s days in Oakland. 010