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Ariel

@sycoraxpine.bsky.social
1.2K followers 3.7K following 2.7K posts

Reader, amateur beekeeper, theatregoer, prof, chicken enthusiast, perpetually novice aerialist, feeder of two cats and one small (human) dragon

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Ariel
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 9h
i also read his op ed on originalism in the WSJ and i would love to know how presidential criminal immunity emerges from the structure of the constitution, especially when the literal authors of that constitution insisted that a president could he tried and even straight up executed
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 22h
"De-Trumpification" has to be one of the top agenda items if Dems win power. All the lawlessness and every last one of his efforts to turn DC into an imperial capital should be undone.
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Philip Bump @pbump.com · 10h
ICE has detained more than 500 U.S. citizens.
projects.propublica.org
More Than 500 U.S. Citizens Have Been Detained, Including Handcuffed or Held at Gunpoint, in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown — ProPublica
The government doesn’t track how often immigration officers detain U.S. citizens. So ProPublica did. We’ve found more than 500 Americans who were held against their will during this Trump administrati...
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 14h
'The University of Nottingham has confirmed that it will close its music and languages departments as it presses ahead with more than 500 job cuts despite widespread opposition from staff and students.' A blight on East Midlands and UK higher education.
timeshighereducation.com
Nottingham confirms course closures with hundreds of jobs affected
Languages and music departments to close despite strikes and protests but university insists it has addressed staff concerns in revised plans
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NPR @npr.org · 21h
Activists have spent the last 70 days camped around and inside a cottonwood tree right along the border, the last of a grove estimated to be up to 250 years old. (via @kjzz.org) n.pr/4hKJ79B
n.pr
At least 10 arrested at Arizona-Mexico border as 250-year-old cottonwood tree cut down for wall
Activists have spent the last 70 days camped around and inside a cottonwood tree right along the border in the tiny town of Lochiel. The tree was the last of an old grove estimated to be up to 250 years old.
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Mike Drucker @mikedrucker.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Just saw someone say their AI runs their fantasy football team and I can’t stop laughing. Like, I’m sure everyone’s doing it or something but it’s very funny to me that pretending to be a team manager was so hard that you needed to pretend to pretend to be a team manager
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Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 19h
Can't believe I just have to accept this bloatware
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Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 20h
Can I write a letter to the laptop company asking for a non-copilot version of their product?
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Anil Dash @anildash.com · 05/10/2026
I can’t emphasize this enough — “AI” wasn’t born corrupt and toxic. For ~75 years, it was mathematicians and scientists doing interesting, thoughtful work and trying to solve problems, making only the usual human mistakes. What “AI” did to machine learning is as tragic as what it did to artists.
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Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 23h
Unbelievably egregious.
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 05/10/2026
In new guidance, the American Academy of Pediatrics says unpasteurized dairy is unsafe and offers no proven health benefits. They are calling for a ban on the sale and distribution of it.
washingtonpost.com
Pediatricians renew their call for a ban on raw milk
In new guidance, the American Academy of Pediatrics says unpasteurized dairy is unsafe and offers no proven health benefits.
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Doctora Malka Older @older.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
we fucking loved it, even when there was basically nothing on it, and let me tell you something else: we loved it because of human connection, human diversity, human creativity. WE DON'T NEED A SINGLE THING ANY OF THESE COMEMIERDAS HAVE MADE AND TRIED TO SELL US IN ORDER TO HAVE A GREAT INTERNET.
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James Andrew Smith @drsmith.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Over and over I am telling my engineering students: the more hands-on you are, the better you will be at weathering the AI storm. This requires turning away from the “applied science” flavours of engineering and to get back to traditional engineering that resulted in building stuff.
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Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
fun fact: The Treaty of Tripoli, 1796, Signed by Prez John Adams, includes: "As the government of the United States of America is *not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion*, as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of [Muslims].." Just saying.
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Maria Antoniak @mariaa.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Not even going to watch the video. I was literally on a committee for such reforms during my PhD at Cornell (why was a PhD student wasting time on this instead of well paid admin?). Admin is not interested and does not care. HR and Title IX are not our friends.
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Sarah Jane Cervenak @sjcerv.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I love this institute. I’ve had the honor of presenting and learning alongside amazing scholars of Black feminist thought. This is this beloved institute’s last year. I’ll miss it deeply. Grad students, you should apply ❤️🌺 (link is here: gendersexualityfeminist.duke.edu/black-femini...)
Orange flower with image of orange plant, green leaves, and pink flowers. In white font, the text reads

BLACK FEMINIST THEORY SUMMER INSTITUTE

Abundance

AUGUST 2-6, 2027

Kemi Adeyemi
Moya Bailey
Margo Natalie Crawford
Crystal Donkor
Uri McMillan
Petal Samuel
Marisa Solomon
Shatema Threadcraft
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WIRED @wired.com · 04/10/2026
With the threat of political violence at unprecedented levels, state and federal GOP candidates are openly sharing racist, pro-militia, anti-vaccine, sexist, antisemitic, and secessionist views.
buff.ly
These Extremists Are Running for Election in November
With the threat of political violence at unprecedented levels, state and federal GOP candidates are openly sharing racist, pro-militia, anti-vaccine, sexist, antisemitic, and secessionist views.
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Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The rise in dengue in the US was predicted a quarter century ago by #climate scientists in the first US National Climate Assessment. This article doesn't mention climate change. thehill.com/policy/healt...
thehill.com
Florida’s dengue outbreak reportedly largest US has seen in decades
A dengue fever outbreak in the state of Florida appears to have grown to the largest in the continental U.S. in decades, totaling 252 reported cases this year in the Sunshine State according to an …
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Chuck Wendig @chuckwendig.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
“GOTTA LEARN AI OR BE LEFT BEHIND.” Good. Fuck off! Leave me behind! Enjoy your artbarf rapture, your janky Temu future. I’ll be back here looking at real birds and writing weird, also real, books.
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Doctora Malka Older @older.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
we fucking loved it, even when there was basically nothing on it
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Since this summer, ICE has been arresting asylum applicants at airports. Many came legally, then applied for asylum. They have been here for years just stuck in a massive line, working and paying taxes while they wait. No prior admin would have arrested them. Their “overstay” is due to DHS delay.
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Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Here is some helpful info from WHO www.who.int/news-room/fa...
who.int
Plague
Fact sheets on plague: key facts, signs and symptoms, diagnosing, treatment and prevention
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Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Quarantining every single person who had contact with that woman is a very smart thing. And Public health works when we let it.
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Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Not a medical doctor, but a historian of medicine. Pneumonic plague is much more serious than bubonic plague. It's also much rarer. BUT, both are treatable with antibiotics if caught early. So, it's a scary story, but let's slow our roll a bit.
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Micah @rincewind.run · 04/10/2026
there is simply no replacement for “having personal attention from an actual teacher who cares”
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I Scare You Like Sound Dog @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 04/10/2026
*whispers* electorates across the Western world make very similar decisions because they’re governed by similar philosophies efforts to identify the “worst” work to occlude this fact.
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Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
As I’ve asked many times now, what constituencies does a university president represent? Because too often, the answer seems to not include anyone who works or studies at the university, and that seems like a problem.
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NYTimes: affirmative action for mediocre editors angry at MeToo @originalist.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
"Essentially, their careers are based on their appeal to the editors of the Atlantic, official publication of the donor class. Or look at Conor Friedersdorf of Thomas Chatterton Williams. And that's who all the "free speech" culture stuff is aimed at. Because the movement is donor/patron-driven."
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Part of why I don't like the AI-or-bust economy is the constant flopsweat of people on the news who say this HAS to work. Quit making everyone so anxious. Goddamn. If this is the next Google then why are you acting like this? I don't remember being told to buy an iPhone at gunpoint.
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Andre the Chemist @andrechemist.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I feel like the times my students spend on developing basic mathematical concepts — estimation, algebraic manipulation, dimensional analysis — lead to the some of the most valuable skills they develop in foundational chemistry courses
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Denis - The COVID Info Guy @thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"Just 5 Infections Responsible For More Than 2 Million New Cancer Cases Annually" 🦠H. pylori 🦠Human papillomavirus (HPV) 🦠Hepatitis B virus (HBV) 🦠Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) 🦠Hepatitis C virus (HCV)
sciencealert.com
Just 5 Infections Responsible For More Than 2 Million New Cancer Cases Annually
Cancer may seem like an inevitable part of life, but there are so many factors that can help reduce your risk.
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Deborah Teramis Christian 🌈 🎲 🇺🇦 @teramis.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
😡 We need to create laws that make intentional or neglectful unlawful detention explicitly illegal, so that these actions are not 'miscarriages of justice' or "enforcement overreach" but are recognized as overtly criminal actions, and *prosecuted* as such.
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Wizard's Tower Press @wtpress.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
On pre-order, our very Welsh Kickstarter project. They Are Still Here features stories of resistance and resilience in Welsh community, with a little help from our supernatural friends. wizardstowerpress.co...
The cover of They Are Still Here (Mae Nhw Yma O Hyd).

The image is of the sorceror, Gwydion, surrounded by wild animals (wolf, boar, deer) in a Celtic knotwork frame. Gwydion's hat is crowned with antlers. He carries an axe in his right hand and an oak twig in his left.

Art by Josh Arklin.
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Ariel @sycoraxpine.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
This is something that my partner and I (US-born, living in Canada) have been discussing the need for since (checks watch) 2016.
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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
This is such a crystalline expression of Trump’s worldview. The only motivation that matters is money. If you’ve got money, you keep people loyal by giving them “gifts.” If you don’t have much money, you may say you hold certain values, but really, it’s just a matter of finding each person’s price.
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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
It’s interesting how the standard bearer for the party whose message used to be “Democrats suck because they just buy votes by giving people free stuff” has decided the closing message for the midterms will just be “how many more checks do we have to send you in order to earn your vote?”
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Roland Pierik @roleo.eurosky.social · 08/09/2026
The number of cases of cervical cancer reported in Scotland among women given the HPV vaccine at 12-13 years of age is now zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
No cervical cancer cases in fully HPV-vaccinated women in Scotland
A study published by Public Health Scotland finds that the HPV vaccine is "highly effective".
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Dr Sam Hirst @romgothsam.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
And each trope, can we be rethought, refigured, played out in a thousand different ways, which questions, challenges, reinforces ideas previously explored. You can have more complex conversations precisely because you're entering a pre-existing discussion.
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Dr Sam Hirst @romgothsam.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Engaging with an existing trope or plot pattern, isn't about simplicity or robot formulas. It's rather about an acknowledgement of the history of your field, a constant intertextual conversation with (or against) the meanings that have built up around certain tropes.
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Dr Sam Hirst @romgothsam.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Oates' idea of romance is that of a repeatable formula, with repetition and similarity equating with a lack of value or interest. The implicit belief is that value is only found in originality (and the implicit belief that other forms of fiction - literary and genre perhaps - are truly 'original')
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Juliette Wade @juliettewade.com · 04/10/2026
Good thread. One insight I picked up from the internet recently is that people who draw these false comparisons between insult and cruel/unusual punishment are quite willing to dole out cruel and unusual punishment for any insult to them.
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Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Sometimes, at a medical conference, when the results of a study are presented, the audience cheers This is what happened at a 2024 cancer meeting when a study showed HPV vaccine lowers the risk of head/neck cancer (www.cancer.org/cancer/lates...) A 2026 study confirmed this finding....
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Mike Rothschild @rothschildmd.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
"I hate all of you and I hate being here" is a hell of a closer.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 04/10/2026
Of all the politicians Navatek’s CEO courted, Susan Collins was its most important patron. The senator’s office steered federal contracts worth millions toward the company while her campaign was pumping its CEO and his network for donations. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqyiFFB7Kjg
youtube.com
We Uncovered Bribery Allegations Against Susan Collins
YouTube video by ProPublica
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 04/10/2026
Finding romance with someone who’s unplugged is one of the primary reasons book lovers search for other book lovers. Now, there are specialized dating apps such as Readme and speed-dating and singles events at bookstores.
washingtonpost.com
Bookstores know it. So does a new dating app. It’s hot to be a reader.
Literary interests are a green flag for those looking for a partner with curiosity and communication skills — or just the ability to put down the phone.
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 03/10/2026
The next five graphs are even less convincing, and the argumentation becomes even weaker. It was almost impossible for me to imagine how a seemingly intelligent person could have written it—but I found a secret clue buried in the text itself.

A.I. has the potential to enhance the way we live in the same way. It saved me and my colleague, Will McGrew, many hours of prowling the internet to research this essay. That left us with time to do other tasks.
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Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
New: Trump’s abrupt announcement to send $90 payments to seniors by dipping into a Medicare fund has rattled Capitol Hill. One GOP aide told WaPo that lawmakers had planned to use the money to offset funding for community health centers, diabetes programs and other initiatives.
washingtonpost.com
Trump announces plan to send $90 payments to millions of seniors
The White House said the one-time payments would be drawn from a fund set up to improve Medicare.
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Bill Comeau 🇨🇦 @bill-comeau.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Why on earth have we been meddling with clock times? A Canadian invented standard time and time zones so the local peak height of the sun would happen at 12 noon. This idiocy is still going on today. If you don't like school hours ending near dusk, then change school hours, not clocks!
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Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I don't understand. Dating long distance is what academics do. I didn't live states away from my husband for years randomly!
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Small Robots @smolrobots.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Looks like a whole new bunch of people can't distinguish between deplatforming and literal jail.
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