iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Laila Lalami @lailalalami.com · 11/09/2026

"'Never forget' became a rallying cry. I heard it chanted at vigils, walked past it graffitied on walls, saw it tattooed on the neck of a man waiting ahead of me in line at the grocery store." But what--and who--are we supposed to remember? Re-upping this piece: www.nytimes.com/2021/09/10/o...

In the United States, Sept. 11 led directly to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the passing of the Patriot Act, the Authorization for Use of Military Force, the use of warrantless surveillance programs, and special registration of immigrants and foreign students from Muslim countries. Outside the United States, the attacks served as justification for the 20-year war in Afghanistan; the invasion and occupation of Iraq; the indefinite detention of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay; the use of torture at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere; the killing of thousands of U.S. and foreign service members; the periodic bombing of Pakistan, Yemen, Syria and Somalia; the deaths of some 800,000 people, including 335,000 civilians; and the displacement of an estimated 38 million people.

At each step in this parade of horrors, we were reminded that the United States was attacked on Sept. 11. The terrible wound of that day was left open, causing pain and anger that lasted for years. In that continually grieving state, the public was perhaps more willing to accept what it might not have otherwise — security theater at our airports, constant surveillance, bombs being dropped on wedding parties in Afghanistan.

The fact that the United States itself went on to attack, and wreak even greater violence against innocent civilians around the world, was largely omitted from official narratives, as it was in the museum. This erasure is not accidental. After the initial phase of fighting, the Pentagon did not release regular and precise reports of civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. “We got out of the body count business years ago,” Mark Kimmitt, a retired U.S. Army brigadier general and former State Department official, said in

But the erasure of the wars proved lucrative for some. The U.S. government outsourced almost every aspect of the war effort to private military contractors like KBR and Blackwater, including the housing, feeding and clothing of troops. Companies like Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin reaped tens of billions of dollars in profit. Waste and abuse were rampant. One study found that the U.S. Army had spent $119 million annually to lease 3,000 cars in Afghanistan, at a cost of $40,000 per car. Another investigation revealed that TransDigm, an aircraft parts supplier, had profit levels of as much as 4,000 percent on some spare parts. Even when the Pentagon’s internal auditors identified overcharges, the contracts were often paid out anyway.

That Sept. 11 represented a chance to make a buck was not what most of us had in mind when we saw the tribute posters that went up shortly after the towers came down. But from the commercialization of the phrase “never forget,” which appears on pens, shirts, mugs and baby onesies, to the privatization of the war effort, which shifted billions of taxpayer dollars into corporate coffers, Sept. 11 became a business. The museum engages in this type of transaction as well. A cheese platter in the shape of the United States, with hearts marking the sites of the terrorist attacks, was removed from sale in 2014, after a public outcry at the vulgarity of the display. But the museum store continues to sell a variety of other items, including toy police cars.

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Egregious omission by NYT: Its report on Vance-AES feud quotes AES's barb about Usha and Papaw without including the original Vance quote that AES was responding to. That makes it look like AES brought up Usha out of the blue and drains his quote of its real meaning: newrepublic.com/article/2149...

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Thomas Tweed @tomtweed.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Quoted in this great NPR piece by @ulabeast.bsky.social that places the Washington imagery in historical context, with more helpful context by @nbshrum34.bsky.social @yalepress.bsky.social @csraac.bsky.social @bradleyonishi.bsky.social #america250

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Krista M. Harper @kristamharper.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

It was painful to see this piece on the need for schools like Deep Springs and Berea the very same week that Hampshire College graduated its last class and put its campus up for sale.

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Nick Kristof @nickkristof.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

My reporting finds that sexual violence against Palestinians by Israeli authorities is widespread. I'm grateful to these assault victims for sharing with me the brutality they endured. Whether we're pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian, we should unite in being anti-rape. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians

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Ryan Moulton @moultano.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Generational tweet that might even spawn a school of architecture.

Cairo Smith:
There's a common misconception that Brutalist buildings were unpainted, but thanks to microscopic analysis of the exteriors we can now recreate what they looked like in their prime.

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

adorable fundraising friends at my local station this morning #wemu

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Spencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Mueller’s FBI persecuted Muslims nationwide. He was responsible for one of the most egregious, systemic violations of civil rights in the history of the FBI, which is saying a whole lot. This was Mueller’s FBI:

wired.com

FBI Teaches Agents: 'Mainstream' Muslims Are 'Violent, Radical'

The FBI is teaching its agents that ordinary American Muslims are likely to be terrorist sympathizers; that the Prophet Mohammed was a “cult leader”; and that Islamic charity is no more than a “fundin...

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Andy Carvin @acarv.in · 27/02/2026

"I swim in the light of your eyes. I lean on your shoulder, eat with you, and press your hand which lies like a bird in my hand, who has no desire to fly away. Where would it fly to? From me … to you." - Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, writing to his lover Tamar Ben-Ami, who died this week.

newlinesmag.com

The Jewish Woman Who Was the Love of Palestine’s Most Famous Poet Died This Week

“Rita is an erotic poem. … Rita in all my poems is a Jewish woman.” – Mahmoud Darwish, in a 1996 interview with Israeli literary critic Helit Yeshurun. On Feb. 24, Tamar Ben-Ami, a Jewish-Israeli woma...

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

I’m off for a week and oh wow, “History Lessons” by Zoe B. Wallbrook was *precisely* what I needed as a vacation read.

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Sara Alfageeh @saraalfageeh.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Job offer!! I’m helping a PBS series look for a social media manager/content creator for an upcoming promotional campaign. The start date is ASAP, and a project timeline that currently goes to July. This is for a series on American Muslim history, so candidates with cultural familiarity preferred!

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Adjusting to a smart rescue dog (chonky dobie mix) after a dumb one (greyhound, beloved dingdong, RIP sweetie) has been quite the challenge.

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Wake me up when People magazine puts Manny Jacinto on the cover

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

When I used to sort Susan’s mail as a production assistant, I saw a postcard sent to her from someone in prison. It said, “dear susan, whoever I hear your voice, it’s feels like an arm around my shoulders.” I felt that way too.

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

Tonight in DC, I walked past a restaurant blaring this on the outside speakers, and wasn’t sure if it was for Halloween or the government shutdown. youtu.be/RZ2oXzrnti4?...

youtu.be

The Specials - Ghost Town [Official HD Remastered Video]

YouTube video by TheSpecialsOfficVEVO

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

Something about a dog that is a little extra makes it extra hard to say goodbye. Zoom was a racetrack survivor and a beloved pet. Rest in power.

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

Today is my birthday, and you know how old I am? I’m “you’re such a pretty girl, why are you wearing such terrible clothes” years old.

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

I constantly forget what “stochastic” means and I’ve had to look it up three times in the past four days.

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Maine Public @mainepublic.org · 29/08/2025

Forty-five Maine prisoners are currently working remote jobs for outside companies. A few are working full-time, earning more than corrections officers. One is making well into the six figures. Here's why Maine's approach to education and work in prison is making waves in the world of corrections:

mainepublic.org

In Maine, prisoners are thriving in remote jobs and other states are taking notice

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

I heard a Palestinian doctor compare the aid sites in Gaza to Squid Game. Twice a day, I get new alerts about dozens of hungry people, many of them surely parents of starving children, wounded and killed by gunfire when they’re trying to get food.

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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

70 years ago, on this date, Emmett Till was kidnapped and brutally murdered by white men. His family, including his cousin who was with him at the time, is repeating the train ride he took from Chicago to Mississippi in 1955 to mark the anniversary

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Laura Lorson @lauralorson.net · 26/08/2025

I do not see appreciable differences between Labubu and Monchhichi

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Andy Richter @andyrichter.co · 09/08/2025

Weapons is so fucking crazy and good

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Embarrassingly, the @nytimes.com flunked its own Vogue test- Wasserstein depicted Mount Holyoke women #sevensistersfail

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Annalee Newitz @annaleen.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

As more journalists are driven out of their jobs, I keep hearing this drumbeat of "it's ok -- they can start their own newsletter or publication." Some can. But becoming your own business is a huge job, and will eliminate many talented reporters from the public sphere. Here's why. (1/5)

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David Gura @davidgura.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Citing "the concerns expressed by many of our brothers and sisters regarding fears of attending Mass due to potential immigration enforcement actions by civil authorities," the Bishop of San Bernardino issues a decree dispensing the faithful in his diocese from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass.

sbdiocese.org

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

An incredible American tragedy.

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NBC News @nbcnews.com · 17/06/2025

An Afghan man who worked as a translator for the U.S. military during the war was detained by ICE after showing up for a hearing inside of a federal courthouse in San Diego, his attorney says. He fears that if he returns to Afghanistan, he would be tortured or even killed, @nbcsandiego.com reports.

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

In a public statement, interim U-M President Domenico Grasso stated the University will be terminating contracts for plainclothes security on campus.

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Adam McKay @ghostpanther.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

It’s incredible but not surprising how much western media is blacking out one of the most recognizable and important activists in the world in Greta Thunberg going to Gaza on a single unarmed boat with food for starving children. It should be an hourly story with huge ratings and clicks.

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Five favorite B&W movies: M Psycho Touch of Evil Shock Corridor Ikiru

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lauren @lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · 23/05/2025

pitching my comic idea to DC: aquaman's new archnemesis is called Man Ray. no, not a half human half manta ray monster. Man Ray, the surrealist painter and photographer. he just challenges aquaman's preconceptions about formalism

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David Gura @davidgura.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

I was surprised to see the @nytimes.com didn’t give credit to @npr.org’s @bobbyallyn.bsky.social, who reported this first:

nytimes.com

Elizabeth Holmes’s Partner Has a New Blood-Testing Start-Up

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

One of the many things I loved about Sinners was that MBJ was the only huge star. I get tired of the same actors over and over and the cast was a revelation.

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NPR @npr.org · 18/04/2025

The VA says it's about to shut down the only low-interest, affordable loan modification option for thousands of vets who are behind on their mortgages. We want to hear your story.

npr.org

If you're a military veteran at risk of foreclosure, NPR wants to hear from you

The VA says it's about to shut down the only low-interest, affordable loan modification option for thousands of vets who are behind on their mortgages. We want to hear your story.

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

What are words or phrases in English and other languages expressing the impulse to pull away from the overstimulation and stress of contemporary life? I know about hikikomori in Japanese; are there others?

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Zeteo @zeteo.com · 10/03/2025

SCOOP: Emails Show Mahmoud Khalil Asked Columbia for Protection a Day Before He Was Detained "I haven’t been able to sleep, fearing that ICE or a dangerous individual might come to my home. I urge you to intervene..." Read @premthakker.bsky.social's full story: zeteo.com/p/scoop-emai...

zeteo.com

SCOOP: Emails Show Mahmoud Khalil Asked Columbia for Protection a Day Before He Was Detained

"I haven’t been able to sleep, fearing that ICE or a dangerous individual might come to my home. I urge you to intervene and provide the necessary protections to prevent further harm."

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Neda Ulaby @ulabeast.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Seeing Anthony Roth Constanzo as Rinaldo at the Detroit Opera tonight made everything all better for a while.

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Chuck Wendig @chuckwendig.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

It's not doomscrolling, it's just artisanal nightmare farming

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