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fred-decker.bsky.social

@fred-decker.bsky.social
255 followers 97 following 2.6K posts

Freelance writer, interested in almost everything (but I repeat myself). Was the kid who read encyclopedias for fun, now am the grownup who reads academic papers and follows smart people online.

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fred-decker.bsky.social @fred-decker.bsky.social · 4h
Huh. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Who is Daniel Robson? Canadian websites take down articles by suspected AI-generated writer | CBC News
Several Canadian websites have taken down articles published under the name Daniel Robson, saying the writer's identity cannot be verified and was likely generated by AI.
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David Sobotta @ocracokewaves.bsky.social · 14h
He does have the magic touch when it comes to bankrupting businesses.
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 9h
Cowboys past and present are: Black, Indigenous, Latino, immigrant, queer, trans, radical, female (and the ones in rodeos rely on rodeo clowns to keep them safe). And that pro-democracy pro-Constitution patriots despise this dimwitted pile of hatreds. I've met cowboys and you, sir, are no cowboy.
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Tyler Olsen @tyolsen.bsky.social · 10h
thetyee.ca
The Definitive History of Canada’s Residential School Shame | The Tyee
Ten years ago, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its landmark report. Everyone should read it.
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 10h
I've always said "the pro-Israel American right-wing only supports Israel so they have a place to deport Jews," but I never thought they would make it quite so literal. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/n...
nytimes.com
A Hasidic Jew Protested Against an Israeli Flag. He May Be Deported. (Gift Article)
Yehonatan Ovadia, who opposed the mounting of the flag in a small New York town, belongs to a Hasidic branch that is anti-Zionist. He is now in ICE custody.
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Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 9h
Really wish RFK Jr and his crew of MAHA influencers would stop peddling raw milk
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 8h
Every single member of this administration sees themselves, first and foremost, as a Content Creator™ It's like they staffed an administration with homeschooled aliens who learned about humanity through mainlining TikTok accounts. Just unbelievable levels of sweaty dorkiness.
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Aster ID @aster.id · 15h
The modern research ecosystem of online tools and communities is controlled by for-profit companies. But we think that researchers should be the priority - not the product. So, we're announcing Aster ID: not-for-profit Atmosphere account hosting for researchers.
blog.aster.place
Announcing Aster - a home for researchers on the open web
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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 11h
I hope everyone reads this, thinks about it and then shares it. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
democracydocket.com
A few hundred noncitizen votes are a national scandal. But when states reject hundreds of thousands of ballots from eligible voters, it’s business as usual
One state rejected ballots because some voters failed to include their mother’s maiden name on the back of the return envelope.
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Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 12h
There is a moment at the very very end of Abdul El-Sayed's podcast with Ezra Klein (book recommendation section) where he talks about the idea of "speaking truth to pain" and this will be staying with me for an extremely long time. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/o...
But there’s also something about truth to pain. We talk a lot about truth to power, but I think it’s actually a lot harder to speak truth to pain. I say that as someone who went to medical school, realizing that in a lot of our politics right now, we’ve got to get a lot better at speaking truth to pain if we’re going to get through some of these challenges that we have.

What does “truth to pain” mean?

It’s one thing to look power in the eye and say: You’re wrong about this. But there’s a way in which pain is very difficult to reason with. Because when somebody is in their pain, they’re in their trauma. They see that pain, and they may not see what’s causing it.

I remember just very explicitly being in a trauma ward with a gunshot wound patient and watching this big guy with his hand on his gunshot wound. All the folks are trying to pull his hand off his pain, that point of his gunshot wound, this clear vulnerability.

And this emergency room doctor had the presence of mind to be like: Everyone, stop. And she looks him in the eyes, and she’s like: I get that really hurts, and I’m so sorry that you’re here. You don’t want to be here. We don’t want you to be here. But if you don’t let us fix this, you could die. So I’m going to take your hand, and I’m going to move it off, OK? Because I need to get there so that you can live.

She was speaking truth to pain. He understands he’s at the hospital, he needs care, but he also doesn’t want anybody to touch the wound. Which is a natural thing. And I think it is a really great metaphor for how we think about a lot of these challenges we talked about today.
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Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️‍⚧ @charliejane.bsky.social · 11h
People always mix up Jonathan Swift and his sister Taylor
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 11h
"Super Intelligence"
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Maladroithe @maladroithe.bsky.social · 11h
Oregonians I’m going to need you to lock in and keep Drazan out of the governors seat consider it a personal favor to me
opb.org
OPB poll shows Oregon governor’s race virtually deadlocked
The poll shows Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan with a slim lead over Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek, though it was within the survey’s margin of error.
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Casey Explosion @caseyexplosion.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The Heritage Foundation laid out how they were going to rescind Title IX, the law that prohibits sex discrimination in education, by first targeting trans people's participation in sport. Capitulating on the human rights of transgender people is catastrophically falling at the first hurdle.
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404 Media @404media.co · 14h
BREAKING: The Trump administration is using a grant program from the 1980s to force cities around the US to funnel their ongoing collection of Flock, Axon, and other ALPR data into large federal surveillance centers that fall under the White House’s jurisdiction, 404 Media has learned
404media.co
How Cities Are Forced to Funnel License Plate Data to a Massive Federal Surveillance Program
How the federal government built a massive database of license plate reader data through an anti-drug trafficking program.
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Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 16h
Not a great sign when your 12-person private fundraiser includes someone who hates you enough to leak damaging audio
The audio of Mr. Paxton was shared with The Times by an attendee who recorded him speaking at a private fund-raiser in Washington attended by roughly a dozen people. The person, who opposes Mr. Paxton’s campaign and provided the recording to The Times, was granted anonymity because Mr. Paxton’s remarks were private.
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Saeed Jones @theferocity.bsky.social · 12h
This will be a thread of essays I recommend to students in my creative nonfiction workshop:
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 12h
Four-byline alert: “.. Meta claimed that $4.1 billion of stock options exercised by Mr. Zuckerberg counted as a research expense ..” @nytimes.com $META www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/t...
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Aidan O’Brien @aidanobrien.bsky.social · 12h
Viktor Orban travelled to Belfast yesterday, appearing alongside the Northern Irish anti-abortion group Precious Life, "celebrating" preventing Belfast City Hall from joining"International Safe Abortion Day" Precious Life's former director, Jim Dowson, is a far-right extremist with ties to Hungary.
Catholic Arena
@CatholicArena
Viktor Orban was in Belfast last night at City Hall

Precious Life and other prolife groups were celebrating after successfully preventing City Hall from being lit up to celebrate 'International Safe Abortion Day' 

📸 Precious LifeAnti-abortionist resigns from job
Anti-abortion poster The anti-abortion campaign has come in for criticism

The leader of the controversial anti-abortion group Precious Life is reported to have quit his job because of his views.

Jim Dowson, 33, who has admitted previous involvement with hard-line loyalist groups in the west of Scotland, was told he should curb his activities or face dismissal. Notorious far-right extremist returns to Scotland to fund growing anti-immigration protests
Jim Dowson has spent the last 20 years fundraising for the far-right in ­Scotland, Northern Ireland, Hungary and the US.
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 12h
Maybe time for those who don't experience this directly to return to this thread (which I posted when PTSD was being weaponized to relieve Graham Platner of responsibility for his actions).
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Brant Reeves @bireeves95.bsky.social · 14h
Pathetic…..
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 13h
Thank you @ilhanmn.bsky.social ♥️
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Katie Drummond @katie-drummond.bsky.social · 14h
Today, @wired.com is publishing Choke Points, an 18-month investigation into how Israel’s network of checkpoints, gates, and roadblocks is reshaping daily life for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. A thread on the reporting, and what we found:
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Zoë wants a calzonë ⚧️ 🏳️‍⚧️ 🍉 @dahlingzoe.bsky.social · 13h
arXiv is close to the best thing that the physics community has given academia in the last 40 years, and it's ludicrous for people to whine about "bad preprints" Also, more personally, no institution at any level has handled the trans name change more gracefully than arXiv and SPIRES.
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Gwen C. Katz @gwenckatz.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
That's a $96,318 fine for being raped.
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fred-decker.bsky.social @fred-decker.bsky.social · 13h
One of my biggest hobbyhorses. Pasteurization, sanitation and vaccines reduced childhood mortality by degrees of magnitude, and now they're all under attack for fun and profit. Fuck all of these grifters.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 14h
Pete Hegseth removing tenure protections shows precisely why they are needed. He wants to silence dissent by being able to fire anyone who questions his vision of the military. www.militarytimes.com/news/pentago...
militarytimes.com
Hegseth halts tenure appointments for civilian faculty at military academies
Military academies will no longer appoint civilian faculty to tenured positions as Hegseth says it can contribute to “academic stagnation.”
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 17h
“.. Mr. Paxton responds: ‘So to be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers. Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good.’” @nytimes.com #TXsen www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/u...
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 14h
Christa Pike was first sexually abused when she was just two years old. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
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Paul Fairie @paulisci.bsky.social · 14h
I'm glad we're finally outsourcing the horrible bits of life like making plans with friends so we can have more time to consume ads.
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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 16h
An entire massive industry that has the potential to cause tremendous damage and destruction by their own admission completely unregulated because they have Trump and the Republican Party in their pocket. bsky.app/profile/atru...
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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
i thought about this old tweet tonight and how nothing has ever aged better
@Merman_Melville • Jan 24, 2019
Being a billionaire must be insane. You can buy new teeth, new skin. All your chairs cost 20,000 dollars and weigh 2,000 pounds. Your life is just a series of your own preferences. In terms of cognitive impairment it's probably like being kicked in the head by a horse every day
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Patrick Monahan @pattymo.com · 30/09/2026
The “super intelligence” thing is useful in the sense that if someone calls AI that you know you are dealing with a TURBO bozo
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fred-decker.bsky.social @fred-decker.bsky.social · 13h
Okay, this is brilliant. (The US adaptation doubtless would have higher levels of Contestants Chewing Each Others' Legs Off or similar.)
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Peggy Blair @peggyjblair.bsky.social · 16h
I too know of a homeless man whose wife's ashes were taken when his tent encampment was torn down. They have also lost library cards and ID that is vital ... as well as the new sleeping bags and tents that strangers (like us) had purchased for them.
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Jess Piper @piperformissouri.bsky.social · 16h
If you’re not from Missouri, you may not know that Eric Schmitt got his start in MAGA politics by suing public schools for mask mandates while their teachers died during a pandemic. The really strange thing? He never sued his own kids’ school for their mask mandate. He’s a piece of Schitt.
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Kathleen Romig @kathleenromig.bsky.social · 15h
SSA is falling far short of its splashy goal of 200M mySocialSecurity accounts. This raises questions of how well leadership understands the needs of people who use SSA services & how well their tools serve them. Too bad they fired their customer experience staff! www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
nextgov.com
SSA’s lead had set a goal of 200M online accounts this year — experts say that might prove challenging
The Trump administration recently achieved 105 million online accounts, and lawyers are increasingly encouraging clients to make them as more services go digital.
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fred-decker.bsky.social @fred-decker.bsky.social · 14h
Just in time for Truth and Reconciliation day. Ugh. Denialism is on the rise, and a (presumably) well-meant but bad supreme court decision from a decade ago means that Canada will destroy thousands of survivors' testimonies about residential schools. thenarwhal.ca/trc-resident...
thenarwhal.ca
Canada plans to destroy thousands of residential school testimonies. These women think survivors should have a choice
The 38,000 testimonies are the largest body of evidence about children’s experiences in these institutions. Journalist Connie Walker and lawyer Kimberly Murray say losing it would mean losing history — both painful and illuminating
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Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 16h
On this day in 1990, the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights was unveiled in Ottawa by the Dalai Lama. Designed by Montreal artist Melvin Charney, it features the words "Equality", "Dignity" and "Rights" in English, French and 73 Indigenous languages. 📸 Wikicommons
A large abstract concrete monument with multiple vertical slabs and an open archway, situated in a grassy park area. In the background, there is a historic stone church with arched windows, a modern tall building, and some trees. The scene appears to be in an urban setting with a street, traffic lights, and a few cars visible. The sky is overcast.
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I got one of those. Do not get into their greedy maw. Just sorting out my Anthropic settlement stuff now. (It's complicated, at least if you're me.)
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Drew McKevitt @drewmckevitt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
It's a bit of a bummer that the story today has been "look at this absolute doofus of a senator" and not "Jack Smith once again credibly accuses the president of many serious crimes"
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Stan Oklobdzija @stano.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
My first exposure to this guy was hearing him on Ezra Klein's podcast and being surprised that a computer scientist would say such things. Then, I googled him and learned he was not only *not* a computer scientist, but had never finished high school. Everything made a lot more sense after that.
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Bree (half of Kit Rocha) @mostlybree.kitrocha.com · 29/09/2026
I have definitely reframed this in my head because of my lack of object permanence. If I block someone I will forget they existed within like 37 seconds but it has become clear they will often die mad about it. Forgetting they were ever there is the true flex, I win every time. lol
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
strongly agreed. fines and criminal penalties should not merely communicate a finger wag but actually change the strategic situation of a would-be white collar criminal
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 29/09/2026
Riley Gaines, famous for turning her 5th place tie with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas into a far-right career agianst transgender people, has officially had her lawsuit against the NCAA thrown out by a judge today. The judge found no evidence for her claims. Subscribe to support our journalism.
erininthemorning.com
Riley Gaines' Title IX Lawsuit Against The NCAA Struck Down After Judge Finds "No Evidence" Of Funding Claims
Gaines’ attorneys argued her civil rights were violated because she competed against a transgender athlete.
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geoffrey @parsnip.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
to be fair i do think republican men not knowing they exist is a valid way to Protect Women's Sports
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The USA Singers @theusasingers.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Mf’er is like Batman.
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ArgellaStone @argellastone.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I support Rahm Emanuel running for President because he might distract the wrecker caucus online long enough that they fail to ratfuck the actual eventual winner because they were so obsessed with making sure he failed to reach 5% in New Hampshire.
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Jess Piper @piperformissouri.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Imagine being the worst Senator from Missouri when your only competition is Josh Hawley…
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The Onion @theonion.com · 29/09/2026
Cornell Vows That Rapists Will Be Forced To Write Much Longer Essays In The Future theonion.com/cornell-vows...
Cornell Vows That Rapists Will Be Forced To Write Much Longer Essays In The Future
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