iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Powen Shiah @powen.net · 20/09/2026

Today was my first time voting in a German election! #ltwberlin #BerlinWahl2026

Selfie standing in front of a plywood wall with a small paper sign with an arrow pointing left (also at my head) that says “Wahllokal”

Powen Shiah @powen.net · 01/09/2026

I’m really looking forward to speaking next week at #ÖffentlichesGestalten (an amazing event series I always love attending) and talking about what we’re doing at @sovereign.tech to secure and maintain the open software components that make up our shared digital infrastructure.

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 01/09/2026

Sorry, can’t make it tomorrow!

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clairikine @clairikine.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Here’s a reminder that your EU friends who live in Berlin and aren’t German can only elect their district assemblies, & your friends who have neither citizenship can’t vote here at all! If you’re thinking of sitting out the Berlin government election next month, please reconsider! Thank you!!!

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Sovereign Tech Agency @sovereign.tech · 27/08/2026

Join the team! We are looking for a Director of Technology to lead and shape the Sovereign Tech Agency’s technology and research strategy. 1/6

"We’re hiring! Director of Technology" job announcement for Sovereign Tech Agency, featuring a photo of four colleagues conversing outdoors on a sunny day. Text at the bottom reads "Join our team!”

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Dara Lind @daralind.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

I’ve been thinking about the America I’m proud of and that I want to celebrate tomorrow, and it’s things like hip-hop and blue jeans and sending a man to the moon and this.

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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

I do not think there is sufficient appreciation for how catastrophic yesterday’s decision in Slaughter is for this country. As Justice Sotomayor said in her dissent and she intoned from the bench yesterday, “today the majority reshapes our Govt.”

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Angus Johnston @angus.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Justice Jackson: "Justice Thomas's telling elides the entire point of the Second Founding: The Reconstruction Amendments were an anticaste, antisubordination reset for the Nation, not a mere spot treatment for the dark stain of slavery."

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 16/06/2026

If you're wondering what's going on, since we just posted an opening for a new Communications Lead at the @sovereign.tech, I'm not going anywhere. When we fill this position, I'll be moving into a new role as Chief of Staff, applying the experience, context, & insight I've been honing in comms… 1/

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 16/06/2026

Thanks to Adriana, Fiona, Luisa, my comms-comrade Theresa (and all the other coworkers) for everything so far and all that is still to come. 9/end

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 16/06/2026

Public service scratches that itch in a way I didn't expect. Many words to say: I'm excited to work with a new colleague for comms to take the Sovereign Tech Agency to the next level, and also to a new chapter as Chief of Staff. 8/

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 16/06/2026

invisibly holding up the digital world. We see each other at events like #FOSDEM, and I'm looking forward to #UNOpenSourceWeek in a few days! I've also gotten to indulge a lifelong curiosity about how things actually work: public procurement, German ministries, the Bundestag. 7/

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 16/06/2026

and clean water, something governments are expected to build and maintain quietly in the background. Not just a provocative title! Somewhere along the way, this stopped feeling only like a job, and also like being part of a community. A global group of people who care about the infrastructure 6/

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 16/06/2026

Last year I developed the talk “Open Source is a Sewer,” previewing it at #FOSSBackstage before giving it at #MonkiGras (thanks @redmonk.com & @monkchips.com!) & #OpenSourceSummitEU. The premise: open digital infrastructure deserves the same treatment as physical infrastructure, like sewage 5/

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 16/06/2026

We launched the Sovereign Tech Challenge (“Contribute Back”) in my first month, took the #SovereignTechFellowship from concept to pilot, to now 14 new fellows, and just last month brought the #SovereignTechStandards into the world. 4/

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 16/06/2026

w/multiple programs & a team that's grown several times over. Somewhere in that evolution, naming things (programs, the org itself, even job titles) has been its own kind of work. Figuring out how to describe what we do to the outside world has, again & again, helped bring clarity internally too 3/

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 16/06/2026

to more areas in the organization. It feels like a good moment to look back on the last 3+ years. I joined when we were still the #SovereignTechFund, a single program with a handful of people (two of us as team members 5 & 6 started back in May 2023). Today we're the #SovereignTechAgency 2/

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 16/06/2026

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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 06/06/2026

And it says *100% AI written* with "high confidence." It is 100% wrong. I say... AI detector tools are about as reliable as AI writing tools.

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 29/05/2026

I forgot to keep announcements in this thread. We've had one @demsabroad.bsky.social #Kreuzberg Kiez meetup in 2026; now announcing the next one on 10 June 2026 at Golgatha biergarten in Viktoriapark. See you there, RSVPs appreciated! www.democratsabroad.org/stacyhyer/kr... #americansabroad #berlin

Several people seated outdoors at a biergarten, the background is blurred and no faces are visible. On the table is a hand-written in chalk reservation sign for "1900 Democrats Abroad"

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 29/05/2026

I'm definitely not one to poke fun at people's names (too much childhood trauma there and on-going mispronunciations) but scrolling through all 60+ candidates definitely worth it for some surprises like these folks. #californiaprimary2026

candidate ballot listing for LIVINGFORGOD ANDCOUNTRY DEMOTT Logistical Professional / Chaplain Party Preference: None

Candidate ballot listing for BARACK D. OBAMA SHAW Business Owner Party Preference: Democratic

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 29/05/2026

It's one of those times of year where I fax my ballot back to California to vote! Choosing from 60+ candidates for governor in the primary is hard (plus all the political offices that get way less news coverage) but as they say, #democracy is not a spectator sport.

screenshot of the voter oath and ballot return form for california's June 2, 2026 primary election. the word fax is visible in the upper right corner

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 19/05/2026

I've met so many interesting people, seen fascinating talks and panels, and, of course, used it to reconnect with friends and contacts who I might not have gotten to see otherwise. I'm around in Berlin this week, so please get in touch if you're in town and want to meet up. #rp26

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 19/05/2026

What can I say? I'm *not* at #republica this year. It feels pretty weird, as it was one of the first big events I attended in Berlin when I moved here in 2014. I've been there in person every year since then (except 2020) and even got to give a talk last year.

Ten photos of me/selfies from 2014-2025 at re:publica

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 24/03/2026

What does ULA stand for?

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

i know the situation in kansas right now is dangerous and terrifying. that said, i'm hoping to speak to someone who's had their license invalidated. i will do absolutely everything to protect your anonymity and maintain your safety. i can be reached securely via signal at marisakabas.04

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 19/02/2026

It feels like a special time to be here. There’s a bit of the German “between the years” (Christmas to New Year) vibe: stuff is randomly closed, people are traveling. But folks are out doing stuff with their families: I went to Huashan 1914 Creative Park and there was a line for everything!

Huashan 1914 Creative Park 華山1914文化創意產業園區 with lots of pedestrians in the photo, looking and taking pictures at stores and sights.

Large image of Godzilla on the side of a building near Huashan 1914 Creative Park

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 19/02/2026

Monday (LNY eve) was dinner at my aunt’s house - food photo in previous post with the extended family. Tuesday during the day we went to a temple, which lots of folks do, it’s not family tradition I grew up with though. It was super busy, lots of people in line for food and other rituals.

Crowded scene at the entrance of a Buddhist temple in Shilin/Beitou on the first day of the new year. The pillars of the main building are visible in the background

Dragon dance being performed around a pool at the temple. The zig zags of the orange dragon are reflected in the water. People are sitting on the steps down to the water.

A concrete walkway framed by gray concrete pillars which people are walking between. Red round lanterns are strung down the middle of the walkway above the heads of the people.

A multi-colored artistic horse cut-out of which only the head is visible, with red, blue, and green sections. People are somewhat visible behind the horse figure.

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 19/02/2026

I feel so lucky to be able to spend some time in Taipei with my family. If you’d told me in 2023 that I’d get to celebrate the next 3 Lunar New Years in Taiwan with my parents, I wouldn’t have believed it. Growing up, we never came - didn’t work w/U.S. school breaks and expensive of course).

Photo of a table full of different Chinese and Taiwanese foods served family-style on a table with yellow cloth, including scrambled eggs with shrimp, grilled salmon, dumplings, and various vegetables, and Taiwanese meatballs

View at night up toward a temple in Shilin in Taiwan, which is lit for Lunar New Year, and there are bright rows of red lanterns along the stairs leading up to the entrance.

Overhead shot of a very crowded market in an alley in Taiwan. Vendors line both sides of the semi-covered street, and the space is filled with people doing their shopping before Lunar New Year.

Night photo of a cherry tree with dark pink blossoms growing over a white wall.

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Morgan Fahey @morganfahey.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

In which @alexanderchee.bsky.social writes beautifully (as always) about the way Heated Rivalry has become a fragment shored against the ruin of almost everyone's mental health, and the artistic and narrative joys of both its universality and its specificity. open.substack.com/pub/querent/...

open.substack.com

I Would Start A War In Your Arms

A Heated Rivalry Notebook

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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 17/01/2026

9/ In exchange for a norm for severely limiting what it does do with its military, the US gets to live on a planet where most countries operate on the assumption that the US military isn't a direct threat to them. That has a myraid of benefits far outweighing potential plunder or territorial gain.

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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 17/01/2026

10/ No amount of frozen islands in the Atlantic or bombing runs on Mexican border cities are worth turning the world into a place where everyone is paranoid about imminent US aggression and behaving accordingly. /end

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 17/01/2026

The last time I was in the U.S. most security lines had cameras that they used to do this, which I guess maybe gets around the faceblindness? (I've lived in Germany long enough now that I always declined and forced them a human to do it)

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sarah jeong @sarahjeong.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

preview says 3, as of now the headline is updated to 6

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 13/01/2026

Sorry I didn’t mean to imply you didn’t understand. Meant to offer context/commentary on the usage of the term when I have to do it

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 13/01/2026

We use that term too (public funds) because we use procurement to pay for work on critical open source projects. Confuses the startup/VC adjacent folks though, since no shares or equity changed hands

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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

This means the VA won't cover abortions EVEN in the case of rape, incest, or serious threat to the health of the patient. The DOJ memo was authored by Josh Craddock, one of the chief legal advocates for fetal personhood, i.e. imposing a nationwide abortion ban through the courts.

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Anil Dash @anildash.com · 22/12/2025

They know we were stripped of our citizenship, had our towns burned down, had our businesses destroyed, our houses of worship desecrated and attacked. And they know who did it 100 years ago & who’s doing it now.

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The name "Popular Science" doesn't mean we shift our coverage depending on public opinion. It means we cover relevant subjects that are rigorously researched, reliable, and grounded in reality. And trans lives are grounded in reality. We see y'all. No matter what. www.popsci.com/science/tran...

popsci.com

First-of-a-kind study shows encouraging data for trans kids who socially transition

Ninety-four percent of participants in a new study stood firm in their trans identity after five years, and "detransitioning" is rare.

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Ida Bae Wells @nhannahjones.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

There is actual racial discrimination occurring and people are suffering but sure, let’s focus on the musings of a bunch of elite white men posting from their elite positions about how they are the primary victims of racial discrimination in this country. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

propublica.org

Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump

Since Trump returned to office, the Education Department’s civil rights office has not resolved a single racial harassment investigation. It sends a message that “people impacted by racial discriminat...

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Adrian Daub @adriandaub.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Just for shits and giggles, the top five reasons this story is as fake as the executions recorded in Dr. Wolf's dissertation: Number 1: What the fuck is "a dean in the department"? How many deans were in this department? Follow up question: How many of them did it take to screw in a lightbulb?

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Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

“They’re denying that any of her birth certificates, which are from Laurel, Maryland, her records of immunization, medical records — they’re denying the authenticity of them. It is something I’ve never encountered.” www.huffpost.com/entry/us-cit...

huffpost.com

Trump Administration Says Maryland Woman's Birth Certificate Is Fake In Dystopian Move

Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales was arrested on Sunday. ICE won’t release her despite extensive documentation of her citizenship, her attorneys told HuffPost.

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Musa Okwonga @okwonga.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

It’s not necessary to keep highlighting the qualities of exceptional immigrants as a reason for them to be treated well by their governments. We don’t have to be on our best behaviour to receive a basic level of human decency: that‘s why they’re called “human rights”, and not “human privileges”.

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Gabriel Zucman @gabrielzucman.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

It has become received wisdom in Brussels and Washington that there is a new “euro-sclerosis”: that the EU economy is lagging the US This view is wrong A little primer on the measurement of productivity – and why reports of the economic death of Europe are greatly exaggerated🧵

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Powen Shiah @powen.net · 12/12/2025

You deserve all the medals -- and maybe a silent spa day or whatever your pampering of choice is 🏆

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