Beverley
@bevfromcapetown.bsky.social
Lover of music and art. Servant to a rescue cat and dog. Mostly Cape Town. Occasional Istanbul. Flâneur. Crafty person. Warning - Posts might contain typos.
treat your body like a data center. consume as much water, art and literature as possible. upset local municipalities with your existence.
Awesome news: heard this while attending the Desmond Tutu Memorial lecture. share.google/gtGtcs4zhA2I...
Former UN human rights chief Navi Pillay wins the Nobel Peace Prize
Ms Pillay, 85, held states and national leaders accountable and delivered a message of hope to victims of violence and conflict, demonstrating a firm moral compass throughout her long career, the No...
share.google
Yet if ever there was a case study in how international pressure is counter-productive, it is Trump’s war on South Africa. Overdue reforms in South Africa’s overly liberation-movement-rooted foreign policy suddenly seem impossible because they appear to be concessions to Trump and his.. ambassador.
Pierre de Vos@pierredevos.bsky.social · 6d agoFor Trump it is "a dog whistle about defending white privilege, his core constituency in the US. Trump is just the latest to do so. Liberals, colonials, imperialists — the interferers come in every political shape and colour." markmallochbrown.substack.com/p/at-the-end...
A sober long deep read. Fascinating and needs a few readings.
New Lines Magazine@newlinesmag.bsky.social · 2w agoFrom the @newlinesmag archives: Organizational science provides vital insights into how Israel failed to foresee, stop or contain Hamas’ assault on Oct. 7, writes @provisionalidea.bsky.social.
I have blamed The agents That hacked Your website And which You probably Reasonably thought I controlled Forgive me I am rich And unaccustomed To taking responsibility
Interesting post. AI rhetoric that's hard wired into the algorithm.
Vauhini Vara@vauhinivara.bsky.social · 2w agoI wrote a book last year showing how tech companies' values and goals show up in the rhetoric of their products themselves — including through AI chatbots. People questioned that; maybe it seemed too dystopian? Well, I've been collecting other examples in the wild, and here's the latest.
It's a gift article and I'm enjoying reading and listening along.
kottke.org@kottke.org · 2w ago50 Songs That Explain America. “The songs were chosen on the basis that they told me something, sonically or lyrically or emotionally or vibrationally, about America and the idea of America.” [theatlantic.com]
NEW: New U.S. visa restrictions are deepening tensions with South Africa, as false claims of “white genocide” continue to shape Washington’s policy and fuel disputes over race and land, reports Nick Alexandra from South Africa for @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/reportage/th...
The False ‘White Genocide’ Claim Reshaping US-South Africa Relations
New visa restrictions introduced by Washington are raising the stakes in a yearlong dispute over allegations of white persecution
newlinesmag.com
🚨 Check out the new courses we've just launched to accompany our Philosophers and Great Essays series! For anyone wanting to go deeper into some of what we cover. Completely free for anyone to use. And more to come. Do please spread the word! www.ppfideas.com/courses
Courses | Past Present Future
ppfideas.com
The AI infrastructure boom hits the same wall in Africa that it’s hitting in Northern Virginia: local resource limits https://restofworld.org/2026/south-africa-ai-data-center-protests/?utm_campaign=row-social
South Africa joins the global resistance against American data centers
“A massive data center is trying to jump the queue and take our land, water, and energy.”
restofworld.org
www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026... Emily Hobhouse... a pacifist, feminist, humanitarian, and most of all, a whistleblower. At great personal cost, she exposed the falling conditions in the British concentration camps run by men. Alone, she challenged a powerful empire .
Bloemfontein event to re-enact state funeral of pacificst Emily Hobhouse 100 years later
A century after the state funeral of British pacifist, feminist and humanitarian, Emily Hobhouse, in Bloemfontein, the Emily100 movement is planning to re-enact the event. The recreation, taking place...
dailymaverick.co.za
Reading (thanks to Cape Town Library Libby) the latest New Scientist. The sorry, "sordid" AI in mathematics issues.
Sounds like somebody has been reading @simontorracinta.bsky.social dissentmagazine.org/article/arti...
Our Technological Wager - Dissent Magazine
The AI investment boom is a gamble of epic proportions. Yet on both sides of the wager, it seems, the house wins.
dissentmagazine.org
Adam Becker@adambecker.bsky.social · 3w ago@aoc.bsky.social just put out a great statement on AI. Refreshing to see a major politician on the left nail this. "Silicon Valley billionaires want us to believe that Al robots will destroy humanity. But the biggest threat to humanity are the tech oligarchs themselves." 🎯
HUGE EXCLUSIVE from @bloomberg.com Inside the US ‘Kill Chain’ That Destroyed an Iranian School Pentagon investigators discovered that flawed intel, outdated imagery & overreliance on AI contributed to a missile strike that killed 123 children in Minab 🎁 www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
Inside the US ‘Kill Chain’ That Destroyed an Iranian School
Pentagon investigators have discovered that flawed intelligence, outdated imagery and an overreliance on AI contributed to a missile strike that killed 123 children in Minab.
bloomberg.com
Read whole thread.
Carolyn E Holmes@carolyneholmes.bsky.social · 3w agoRubio plans to "revoke or reject visas from [those] found to be responsible for...uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination and the incitement of violence against minority racial/ethnic groups in South Africa." Easy enough. Since they aren't happening. www.cbsnews.com/news/us-sout...
This ancient Roman marble is a delicate representation of four sleeping puppies. It was found in Pompeii's Casa del Fauno (House of the Faun), and dates back to the first century CE. Today in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale of Napoli. [📷 Davide Ferro] Original post
This deserves to be reposted widely
Quiet Majority@majorityquiet.bsky.social · last mo.We loved this so much we just had to put English subtitles on it, apologies to the French speakers for our translation. But this is what it would look like here in the UK if Farage or Lowe or another of their ilk got their own way.
Read this. I have thoughts. I would like to be positive but...
Tim Schofield 🏴🇬🇧🇪🇺🌍@chiefoldmist.eurosky.social · last mo.Great article trying to understand the period of convulsion that we are, and have been, living through. Whilst it might be uncomfortable now, it's normal... I just hope I get to see the better system that emerges. www.noemamag.com/the-rise-and...
The Chicago Public Library informs patrons of how much money they’ve saved borrowing from the library instead of buying. “You just saved $58.94 by using your library. You have saved $231.79 this past year and $1,107.24 since you began using the library!” [salon.com]
My library card has saved me $1,330 — and I want more
Chicago Public Library tells patrons exactly what they’ve saved. I’ve become obsessed with running up the score.
salon.com
An incredibly interesting article, by Vivienne Gunning: "The Islands That Insects Built." "I want you to understand it. It is this: the Okavango does not have a single author. Nobody planned it. Everybody built it." viviennegunning.substack.com/p/the-island...
The Islands That Insects Built
The Secrets of the Okavango Delta — Article No. 10
viviennegunning.substack.com
@brianbeutler.bsky.social it is WILD that the Democrats can’t muster 1/100th of this outrage and seem to be unable to understand how much righteous anger like this inspires people. Whoever this guy is should be out there every day saying this stuff somewhere
The Mouthy Renegade Writer@mouthyrenegade.bsky.social · last mo.This man delivers a no-bullshit takedown of Trump and his MAGA supporters, no fucks given. We should all be this mouthy and vocal. And I love his hat.
The more that I read about the "Hugging Face" AI hack, the more I feel like we are on the precipice Gift link www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/t...
Why the Hugging Face Hack Should Make You Worry More About A.I. (Gift Article)
The attack by an aggressive “collective” of OpenAI agents shows the danger of artificial intelligence systems that organize themselves.
nytimes.com
Countries vote at UN to back new world map that shows Africa's true size
Countries vote at UN to back new world map that shows Africa's true size
Over 160 countries have voted at the United Nations to move away from a traditional global map that is nearly 500 years old towards a newer one that more accurately reflects Africa's true size.
news.sky.com
I like this Japanese artist that hand paints vintage American clothes. He turns things such as vintage hunting jackets into “animal appreciation” jackets using motifs that celebrate animals. Some of his stuff is currently up for sale at Maiden's Shop in Tokyo. IG takuro917 and maidens_shop
The wonderfully talented Marsh Family has a new parody of Alanis Morissette's song "Ironic." This will piss off Crybaby Caligula yugely. Isn't he moronic? Don't you think?😅
A profoundly disturbing and devastating read. The first chapter on Prussian Blue has taken me a week to read in small doses because , well, just read this page for example. Borrowed from CT library via Libby.
