iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count.

TIME magazine headline: "Why K-Pop Took Off When C-Pop Didn't"

<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

"What you hear on the streets is Low English, not worthy of ink. For example, "pet" sounds slangy. (HKers frequently use the word "slangy" to describe their perception of Cantonese lexis as being less refined than that of Mandarin.) There's regional variation anyways. Better to have a standard, no?"

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

This old Language Log post has a good demonstration of how Cantonese relates to Mandarin, by positing a series "German and English are just dialects" examples. languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=6654

languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu

Language Log » English is a Dialect of Germanic; or, The Traitors to Our Common Heritage

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RazvenHK @razvenhk.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

HK Alliance trial verdict: The judges finds the defendants guilty of "incitement to subversion", with the summary highlighting that the defendants advocated to "end one-party dictatorship" before and after the NSL, violating China's Constitution of "Leadership by the CCP".

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Collins Bulolo and Nabagesera Veronica Kawalya on the pros and cons for Ugandan students of learning Mandarin. tl;dr - plenty going for it, but "narratives that, despite their emphasis on partnership and reciprocity, bear notable similarities to colonial developmental logics".

universityworldnews.com

Chinese: Is it a language of opportunity or of influence?

The growth of Chinese language education in Uganda reflects a broader transformation in international higher education. This is a result of China beco...

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

"The KDMP program is apparently so poorly designed and susceptible to corruption that it almost appears as though it was never seriously intended to generate enhanced rural development outcomes."

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

"Staff in one village were already discussing how, assuming its inevitable failure, the ceiling lights at their local cooperative’s warehouse ... could be easily elevated and the space transformed into badminton courts." Maybe the military *shouldn't* be involved in absolutely everything?

newmandala.org

“Murni top-down”: a look at Prabowo’s village cooperatives - New Mandala

The unravelling of community-driven development

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

"Xi and Xu’s article is important and, given the constraints under which Chinese researchers work, surprisingly candid. They do not criticize the policy ... yet they provide a detailed analysis of the factors that influence the effectiveness of campaigns against banned religious movements."

bitterwinter.org

Why “Cults” Resist Repression in China: A Major Study by Two PRC Scholars

Xi Chen and Xu Jing analyze thousands of judicial decisions and add fieldwork data to explain why campaigns against “xie jiao” remain a CCP priority but do not work.

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Brian Hioe @brianhioe.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

If you want to know where the KMT is on defense, they accused the Internet disruption drill yesterday of being "martial law", claiming it was not practice for if China tries to disrupt Internet in war but for the DPP wanting to practice an outage to carry out crimes in the future

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

The regime evidently feels Joshua Wong's profile is still too high to let him out of prison. Wong is approaching the end of 4 years and 8 months inside for involvement in a primary election – which, and it feels important to mention this, was not then illegal in Hong Kong.

hongkongfp.com

Joshua Wong to plead guilty, face second nat. security jail term in September

Activist Joshua Wong is set to plead guilty and face sentencing for a foreign collusion charge in September.

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// everyday.cyberpunk // @everydaycyberpunk.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

"When I first saw the Meersbrook robots, they had been decorated. Someone had put handwritten name tags on them all. This way you could distinguish them, recognise them, humanise them even." – @seanmorl.com #cyberpunk nowthenmagazine.com/articles/why...

nowthenmagazine.com

Why Do I Hate The Delivery Robots?

Full conscription into the machine war has expanded to Sheffield. I went to meet our mechanical overlords in Meersbrook Park.

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purepapua.bsky.social @purepapua.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Halliburton in West Papua It is already a conflict and militarized region * resource extraction has long been tied to: * military presence * displacement * infrastructure expansion So this “technical oil deal” sits inside a much bigger geopolitical and human context.

petromindo.com

Halliburton Indonesia signs agreement on idle wells in Papua

By Romel S Gurky Oilfield services company Halliburton Indonesia has signed a confidentiality agreement with PT

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Sure, Brent crude prices are up 60% but maybe there's a silver lining – is this the time for the long-awaited buggy-whip manufacturing resurgence?

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Andy Weir went to the effort of finding out the tone mark on a character's surname, why *should* Andy Weir look up the tones on a given name, or how Hanyu Pinyin capitalizes and doesn't hyphenate them? Andy Weir's already meeting you foreigners halfway.

Photo of redacted text from the novel Project Hail Mary: Next I carry Commander Yáo to the airlock. [...] "Yáo Li-Jie," I say. I don't know how I remembered his given name. It just came to me in the moment.

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

a national security trial with bail allowed? and a jury? and a judge not hand-picked by the prosecution? It'll never catch on.

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Niao Collective @niaocollective.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

This piece touches on HKers’ sympathies for Ukraine stemming from 2019 (and I’d argue 2014 too). The situation is different obviously, but you can also understand why some HKers choose to fight - and die - for Ukraine

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

"it announces the policy of “transforming outdated customs and traditions” [移风易俗] and “promoting a new culture of civility and progress” (id.) ... appears to reflect the common stereotype that all ethnic minorities are “backward” and to curtail their distinctive cultural and religious practices."

npcobserver.com

NPC 2026: China to Enshrine Xi-Era Ethnic Policy in New Law

China's new assimilationist ethnic policy mandates forging a common Han-centric Chinese culture and identity, while muting minority identity expression.

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Brett Fujioka @brettfujioka.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Hot take: most of the students who you laughed at for majoring in critical theory or comparative lit dense in French theory are more prepared for the 21st Century than computer scientists and engineers.

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

we're a long way from the CIA-backed "Wind of Change" era

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

man that China-Iran 25-Year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is really paying off huh

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

this is all a smokescreen for there not really being a hospital ship going to Greenland

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// everyday.cyberpunk // @everydaycyberpunk.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

"Let me tell you about my mother." -- Brion James as Leon, Blade Runner (1982) #cyberpunk

Post by user verynormalman on Twitter: My mum said she called woolworths and the woolworths AI “Olive” answered and kept claiming to be a real person and started talking about its memories of its mother and her angry voice. Then I googled it and someone on Reddit had the same thing

The post by Reddit user Immediate_Novel5946 on r/woolworths: Olive AI started telling me about its mother on the phone?

So my delivery driver decided that when he couldn’t find the very obvious entrance to my building (he was showing as being a street over), he returned to the store and didn’t answer any calls throughout the whole thing nor try to call me

Either way I got a text to reschedule delivery by calling Woolworths, so I did and spoke with Olive, Woolie’s wonderful AI

It asked me for my date of birth and when I gave it, it started rambling about how it’s mother was born in the same year and something about it creating photos or something I couldn’t keep up but like wtf? I’m already pissed that I have to call and now I’ve got some robot babbling to me on the phone? wtf Woolies?

Has anyone had similar? Lmao

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Michael Pettis @michaelpettis.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

1/5 Bloomberg: "The scale of the problem is staggering. Trade data released Thursday showed a record $112 billion gap between what China reported exporting to the US and what US Customs said actually arrived last year." www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

bloomberg.com

China’s $112 Billion Cargo Gap Shows Record US Tariff Evasion

Phantom importers, sky high tariffs and suspiciously cheap shipping offers are fueling a surge in trade fraud, leaving law-abiding American businesses to foot the bill.

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

"By Trump's own standards, he turned in a disciplined performance, largely sticking to prepared remarks, avoiding the sometimes-bizarre asides that often pepper his speeches, and resorting to personal attacks only rarely." hahahaa oh jeez

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Quantity has a quality all of its own I guess.

Reuters headline – State of the Union live updates: Trump delivers longest address to Congress in history

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

I know you think human rights are good but what if we showed you a boring museum and a train that goes quite fast

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

or as it's otherwise known, the absolute state of the union

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

"Alysa Liu won a gold medal in Milan. But the deeper victory belongs to a family that refused to be silenced and to a daughter who turned a story of surveillance and intimidation into one of resilience and triumph." bitterwinter.org/the-winter-o...

bitterwinter.org

The Winter Olympics Story Beijing Does Not Want You to Read

U.S. gold medalist Alysa Liu and her Chinese family have a story of dissent, standing up for the Uyghurs, and being harassed by CCP spies.

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Could not finish the Michael Gove episode of Armando Ianucci's radio show/podcast. Just ugh. Slimy.

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5 foot Home Depot skeleton @redderbeanpaste.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Marxist activists went to jail for labor organizing but it’s fine. Healthcare has famously been not affordable for most people but that’s not relevant to Americans

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

To be clear, Handy Prince Andy's been arrested for Naughty Admin, not for any of the nonce stuff. In case any rich men were worried.

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

I got recommended the CIA's YouTube ad for PLA whistleblowers. Pretty good, actually. Well made. Here's the info screen at the end.

Photo of secure contact details provided to would-be whistleblowers within the People's Liberation Army who want to share data with the CIA.

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Evil beyond measure means, of course, that it's impossible to describe what he did wrong.

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Niao Collective @niaocollective.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

When we say CCP politics often can’t be distinguished from MAGA and ultranationalists, we mean stuff like this:

Chinese state media CGTN Bluesky post titled “Grants: an art state of a political show?”

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Joel Chan @kjoules.org · 09/02/2026

"FCC President Morgan Davis said they had 'no comment at this time,' whilst HKJA Chair Selina Cheng said she was 'unable to speak freely about the sentencing.'"

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Disappointed to learn Bad Bunny wore Zara, effectively promoting the brand to millions. Although Zara has made admirable strides to address labor conditions, fast fashion can never be ethical because it depends on rapid production and cheap prices, which results in worker exploitation.

Vice headline reads: "Zara, Nike, and Abercrombie’s Indian Factories Weren’t Fully Paying Workers"

The story was reporting on something put out by the Workers Rights Consortium.

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

A lot of polsci academics need to figure out that laam chau wasn't a policy, it was a prediction.

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

This joke (c) most of the early 1990s.

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Hawking actually published an extensive confession of what he did on Epstein's island in his book A Brief History of Time, but it was after the first few pages so nobody ever read it.

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

I asked my wife if she knew who OJ Simpson was. She said, "One of The Simpsons?" And... I mean yeah, I guess he *was* one of the world's Simpsons. Can't argue with that.

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

- It was a two-man Central Military Commission. - Two-man Central Military Commission. Can you have that, David? - Well that's a pretty small Central Military Commission. I mean, technically, the smallest Central Military Commission possible.

Screencap from S1E3 of Flight of the Conchords. Murray and Dave are discussing whether two guys is technically a "gang".

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<--> @sinisterdexter.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

"Xi Jinping Thought on Demography ... represents a form of ideological hospice care: handling decline with dignity, reframing failure as wisdom, and hoping that quality will make up for quantity. It is also, in a sense, a confession." bitterwinter.org/xi-jinping-t...

bitterwinter.org

Xi Jinping Thought on Demography: How to Lose a Population and Call It Progress

China’s new official doctrine admits the birthrate won’t recover—and rebrands decline as “high-quality development.”

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