Life in Common
@arthursmid.bsky.social
Writer and illustrator in Portland, Oregon Open for commissions and illustration projects: arthursmid.com
For context, Bolsonaro’s son is now running for president…
Jenny Cohn@jennycohn.bsky.social · 4h ago“U.S. sanctions Brazilian judge targeted by Trump over Bolsonaro case *** The sanctions come days before the U.S. is set to impose 50% tariffs on imports from Brazil, which are also partly in retaliation for Bolsonaro's ongoing criminal prosecution.” 7/30/26 … 1/
Two-spotted scoliid wasp on mountain mint. Very skittish species, but the mint has tamed them! Such beautiful animals #bugsky
This is also an underappreciated reason we live in a gerontocracy. No company is giving you leave to campaign and with term limits in many states, you best case have a job for around a decade. Meanwhile, old people are bored and have infinite time, plus a lot of money usually!
Kate Sills@katelynsills.com · 20h agoI think voters don't realize being a candidate is unpaid, and even if you win, the pay isn't great for the stress level and the "reward" is being a regular speaker at Elks Lodge & the Farm Bureau.
BIG VICTORY! After a years of fighting, a Michigan court shut down the permit for Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel. The pipeline would have gone through the Great Lakes, the largest source of fresh water in the world. But the Michigan Supreme Court said no.👇
Michigan Supreme Court Overturns Line 5 Tunnel Permit, Delivering Major Victory for Tribal Nations
Overview: The Michigan Supreme Court has overturned a key state permit for Enbridge's proposed Line 5 tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac, ruling that regulators failed to comply with Michigan envi...
nativenewsonline.net
I'd be annoyed if it were my car, but I am definitely rooting for the woodpecker! www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/u...
A Coastal New England Town’s ‘Ornery’ Vandal: A Woodpecker
More than 20 vehicles in a town on Cape Ann, Mass., have been damaged by a woodpecker in mating season. “You still see him out here,” one resident said. “Peck, peck, peck, peck.”
nytimes.com
Many of my students from my Politics of Consumer Finance class opted to do podcasts for their final projects. I cannot express how fun it is to hear my students have interesting, informed, thoughtful conversations about what they learned in our class! Highly recommend!
Examines how wage-earner bankruptcy governs White middle-class precarity and reproduces Whiteness in America's racialized political economy. White Knuckling: Holding On in America's Racialized Political Economy by Tess Wise (@wakeforest.bsky.social), Coming Soon #PoliSky https://cup.org/4tQBmmS
White Knuckling
Cambridge Core - American Government, Politics and Policy - White Knuckling
cambridge.org
Generations of figure skaters grew up on the mall’s ice, the only public rink within city limits. Now they’re looking for what’s next.
Lacking a Municipal Ice Rink, Portland Found One at Lloyd Center
Rachel Saslow
wweek.com
Come on now. That’s awesome. www.democracynow.org/2026/8/5/hea...
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed Wins Michigan’s Democratic Senate Primary
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed has wonMichigan’s closely watched Democratic Senate race over Congresswoman Haley Stevens. NBC first called the race, followed by the Associated Press and CNN. Mike Rogers ran unopp...
democracynow.org
As Immanuel Kant wrote, the consequence that flows from assassinations as a war tactics is that it complicates or makes it impossible ever to form an enduring peace. But this, precisely, is why Netanyahu is to attached to assassinations as a tactic.
New episode up! We talk with transit planner Jarrett Walker, author of the recently reissued classic Human Transit, about why buses are so great, how we can make them better, & how advocates should fight for public transit in a hostile federal funding environment. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...
As international attention shift toward the war in Iran, Trump's interventions in Latin America have gotten overshadowed. But reactionary governments are popping up across the map, poised to undo decades of redistributive politics, social rights, & environmental regulation. Caleb Brennan reports.
In Latin America, Trump Is Bringing Back That Old-Time Imperialism - The American Prospect
‘Hondurasgate’ exposed a plan to boost far-right American puppets across the Western Hemisphere.
prospect.org
When Google's users searched for airlines' toll-free phone numbers, Google directed them to phones that rang in the scammers' boiler room, where they were tricked into giving up their passport info and credit card numbers to boiler-room thieves: www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne... 20/
Phone numbers for airlines listed on Google directed to scammers
A Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the company does "not tolerate this misleading activity" and that it had fixed the issue.
nbcnews.com
Forget "Don't be evil"; Google's true motto is a form of vulgar spidermanism: "With great power comes no responsibility." The internet's *de facto* boss is an absentee landlord. 1/
ALEC—a fossil fuel-linked group—is advancing model legislation disguised as "consumer protection" that would give Big Oil legal immunity from climate lawsuits. 😑 “Calling this consumer protection is like calling a fox a henhouse security guard,” said Jamie Court of @consumerwatchdog.bsky.social.
Today: ALEC To Vote On Big Oil Immunity Bill Disguised As “Consumer Protection” – Consumer Watchdog
Fossil-fuel-backed group’s proposal would bar consumers, communities and states from holding oil companies accountable for climate deception Washington,…
consumerwatchdog.org
Lawrence's nomination comes as data centers are at the forefront of the political agenda. Across the US, backlash against the facilities’ development is growing, bringing together people from across the political spectrum. www.wired.com/story/how-da...
How Data Centers Broke American Politics
What the Unabomber, Steve Bannon’s tech guy, and Bernie Sanders taught me about the great data center backlash of 2026.
wired.com
Activist and grassroots organizer Will Lawrence has won the Democratic primary election in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, with a campaign focused on data centers’ regulation and demanding accountability for big tech and AI companies. www.wired.com/story/anti-d...
The Anti-Data-Center Movement Is Reshaping Michigan Politics
Climate activist Will Lawrence cofounded the Sunrise Movement. Now, he has shifted his focus in his attempt to compete for a swing-district seat by calling for a data center moratorium.
wired.com
as noted yesterday, Trump has now come around to treating an Iranian toll system covering the Strait of Hormuz as a given. Hard to overstate the level of strategic failure. US started the war purely as a war of choice and ends up dramatically empowering Iran and given the Iranian govt big wins.
Bill Grueskin@bgrueskin.bsky.social · 7h agoReuters: Iran wants fees of 5%-7% of the price of cargo from ships using the strait; Oman wants 3%. "Making fees voluntary, at least nominally, could be a way out of the impasse, although an implied threat of Iranian attacks could mean shippers would be unlikely to risk transit without paying."
➡️ @tanglenews.bsky.social went to Alaska to learn what’s changed since the state adopted ranked choice voting & open primaries. After years of gridlock, state lawmakers now consistently work together to get things done. Why? The reforms push lawmakers to reach all voters, not just a narrow base.
Arenas and data centers use the same playbook: Pressure local governments to give them billions in subsidies and lower regulations over the threat of going elsewhere. We're told it's best to let them make as much money as humanly possible because scraps for a few here are better than nothing.
El-Sayed, Lawrence and McKinney all won progressive campaigns in Michigan last night by talking about climate and clean energy like it was a kitchen-table issue — because skyrocketing energy bills and endless wildfire smoke matter to people.
I wonder what would have happened on Sept 26, 1983 if AI had been as embedded in military systems then as its fans want it to be now. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_So...
AI war games almost always escalate to nuclear strikes, simulation shows
A new study reveals that AI decision-making during conflicts is naturally prone to escalation.
livescience.com
the @chicagoreader.com's august print issue is out this week and it's all about surveillance 📹 i often write about ai and drones and alprs. but the stories in this issue focus on the quieter, more subversive ways people in power have built a society for fascism to thrive. more in my staff note:
The quiet infrastructure of control - Chicago Reader
Staff note: August 2026 Surveillance issue
chicagoreader.com
Canada is still against deep sea mining. Unfortunately the US seems keen on it, with mining potentially happening within the next couple years on the Alaska-Canada border. This will sweep sediment containing heavy metals and radioactive materials into Canadian waters and obliterate marine ecosystems
The bill would benefit big agribusiness groups already present or interested in Argentine farmland like Benetton or Adecoagro -a company owned by crypto giant Tether that has already acquired over 200,000 ha-.
Today, about of 13 mn hectares are held by foreigners in Argentina. In 36 municipalities, the legal limit of 15% is exceeded, and in four of them foreign control exceeds 50%. This reform would deepen foreign control over land, water, minerals and forests. agenciatierraviva.com.ar/de-que-habla...
De qué hablamos cuando hablamos de tierra en Argentina - Agencia de Noticias Tierra Viva
La tierra para quién y para qué. Es el debate de fondo que ningún gobierno dio en Argentina. Milei favorece la extranjerización.
agenciatierraviva.com.ar
On 6 August, a bill on "Inviolability of Private Property" will be discussed in the Senate of Argentina. It is a regressive kind of land reform, which allows both the legalization of land seized from rural communities and a greater concentration www.laizquierdadiario.com/6-de-agosto-...
Basta de saqueo y desalojos. 6 de agosto: rodeemos el Congreso para frenar la ley de extranjerización de tierras
Para impedir que se vota la Ley de Inviolabilidad de la Propiedad Privada tenemos que ser miles en todo el país. Desde distintas organizaciones convocan a rodear el Congreso para frenar la ley de…
laizquierdadiario.com
Conservation International interviewed Indigenous leaders to understand the role of knowledge and culture in environmental stewardship. They found that traditional management practices play a direct role in protecting forests and wildlife. #indigenousstewardship https://ow.ly/ZNcZ50Zt6YN
Indigenous cultural practices are a climate solution, report finds
Indigenous lands are crucial for climate mitigation and resilience. Research shows their health is a direct result of Indigenous stewardship.
ow.ly
