I don’t see any evidence that Iran “abandoned” anything. Iran and Oman have only acknowledged negotiating the details of transit corridors. US, Qatari, and Pakistani sources have said that reopening the strait was part of the package, but they weren’t at the table, and have incentives to mislead.

Sky Marchini@sky.skymarchini.net · 3h ago

lol. lmao, even.

Unironically:

Olivia Colman as Sonya Falsworth: Staggeringly Versatile

Alt: An animated gif of Olivia Colman playing Sonya Falsworth, saying, ”I’m staggeringly versatile.”

static.klipy.com

The Independent@the-independent.com · 9h ago

James Bond producer shares update on 007 casting: ‘It’s got to be really different’

It seems unwise to take Qatar’s word for this. The Iranians maintain that they’re in bilateral talks with Oman, and haven’t mentioned any Qatari or Pakistani role. Which is not to say Iranian messaging is trustworthy. All of the relevant players have incentives to lie right now.

Foreign Policy@foreignpolicy.com · 17h ago

World Brief: Qatar mediates indirect U.S.-Iran peace talks, Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of targeting civilians, and the European Union remains divided on immigration policy. foreignpolicy.com/2026/08/04/i...

Bay Area friends: would you consider opening your home to these two cuddly cats? A friend found them behind a gas station. Their sibling, a black cat, got adopted, but it appears no one likes orange cats. They are being kept in a bathroom for the time being and need a home.

derek guy@dieworkwear.bsky.social · 4w ago

A friend of mine found these three kittens behind a Bay Area gas station. They are tame, vaccinated, and incredibly affectionate. Unfortunately, she's unable to keep them and I'm trying to find them a home. They are at risk of going to a shelter. Bay Area people, are you open to adopting?

This seems credible enough, mostly because it’s pretty much been Iran’s public position for months. I’d be very cautious about any of the other reporting on the negotiations. There’s a lot of conflicting information flying around, and a lot of sources with reasons to lie.

FinTwitter@fintwitter.bsky.social · yesterday

IRAN HAS SIGNALED IT IS WILLING TO REOPEN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ BUT IS DEMANDING THE RIGHT TO COLLECT TRANSIT FEES, SECURITY GUARANTEES AGAINST FUTURE ATTACKS, AN END TO THE U.S. NAVAL BLOCKADE AND RELIEF FROM U.S. OIL SANCTIONS. - WSJ

Happy International Owl Awareness Day! Please enjoy this photograph of ornithologist Herbert Brown (r) with an elf owl, the world’s smallest owl

If political corruption becomes common at senior levels, it generally quickly becomes a political asset rather than a risk. At that point it’s almost impossible to keep it from becoming systemic. Then it entrenches itself at the core of your political system, and is incredibly difficult to fight.

Faine Greenwood@faineg.bsky.social · 5d ago

A core reason why you need to enforce anti-corruption rules at the top of government is because they set the tone for everyone else. If the leaders of the federal government are blatantly, wildly corrupt, everybody else looks at that and goes “so why should I follow the rules of they don’t?”

The “MCU juggernaut phase” was a brief period in which basically *any* superhero movie would make tons of cash, even if they were bad, mediocre, or obscure. The fact that the juggernaut ended doesn’t mean anything about good movies, particularly those beloved characters.

Adam B. Vary@adambvary.bsky.social · 2d ago

I'm seeing a lot of SUPERHERO MOVIES ARE BACK posts in the wake of #BrandNewDay's success. Spider-Man movies were breaking box office records well before the MCU existed. They are a cinema phenomenon onto themselves, because Spider-Man is a singularly resonant and relatable character.

I’m a teeny bit tempted to dig into this and figure out if I could come up with a version for state/federal/international criminal jurisdiction.

Richard Heppner 🤷🏼‍♂️@rlheppner.bsky.social · 3d ago

Tag! The Jurisdiction Game - Trailer Info: civprogame.my.canva.site Crowd Sale, Aug 2–31: www.thegamecrafter.com/crowdsale/ta...

Worth noting that $125mil is almost certainly a small fraction of what UBS makes on money laundering and related transactions. Absolutely in the “cost of doing business” category.

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project@occrp.org · 2d ago

US Fines UBS Record $125M for 'Willful' Anti-Money Laundering Violations www.occrp.org/en/news/us-f...

I'm an oxytocin, with dopmine rising and an adrenaline moon

US decisionmakers are caught in a cognitive loop. The US and Israel have convinced Iranian leadership that they need a decisive deterrent against future attacks to survive. More “punishment” just further confirms this conclusion. The US can’t bomb Iran back to the negotiating table.

Elizabeth N. Saunders@profsaunders.bsky.social · 2d ago

The US military is very, very good at 3-4 things, and none of them is going to bring Iran to the kind of surrender Trump wants. That it has come to crowdsourcing ideas from the military shows what a devastating strategic failure this war already is, not to mention the effect on morale.

But they will be

Steffen Rayburn-Maarup@rayburnmaarup.bsky.social · 3d ago

I don't think people are ready for this kind of joke yet.

Batman: The Caped Crusader > Spider-Noir Spider-Noir’s not bad, don’t get me wrong, but it’s really not even close.

I genuinely laughed out loud when I saw the family photos.

ryan cooper@ryanlcooper.com · 3d ago

this owns www.inverse.com/input/cultur...

This seems… unlikely.

The Associated Press@apnews.com · 4d ago

BREAKING: President Trump claims Mideast allies have reached parameters of a deal to end the Iran war and says U.S. will hold off on new strikes.

New baby hippo born at Berlin Zoo. Named Brötchen. Which means "little bread roll." You're welcome

The three genders

One of my favorite short stories.

Movies Silently@moviessilently.bsky.social · 4d ago

I didn't think THE NOSE by Nikolai Gogol would be filmable but I hadn't counted on the pinscreen animation skills of Alexandre Alexeieff and Claire Parker. This 1963 short is silent with an improvised score by Hai Minh

If you’re a Gondorian soldier your experience with hobbits is a tiny guy shows up with a wizard and is immediately taken in the Steward’s counsel. He saves Faramir when the Steward goes mad. A second tiny guy arrives with the Rohirrim and kills the Witch King. The first one then goes on campaign …

New York City friends! The LES cat cafe Koneko is closing tomorrow and needs urgent help rehoming some kitties. This place was very cute and took good care of their cats. Tell cat curious NYC friends that there are kitties that need some homes. www.instagram.com/p/DbbfOxcGu1V/

Now’s a good time to take a deep breath and just appreciate the dogs. youtu.be/qPpXzcbOnUw

This Labrador Almost Formed An Entire Thought

YouTube video by WeRateDogs

youtu.be

nycacc.app/browse/255711 #nycacc #boroughbred PSSSSST HEYYYYY, YOU NEED A PUPPY DOG? I GOT ONE FOR YOU 👇 PRIORITY LIST THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR REPOSTING!!

Adopt Bilbo Waggins (255711) at ACC of NYC

This pet needs emergency placement. Please click here to go to our emergency placement page for more information. Bilbo Waggins is at risk due to behavioral concerns. While Bilbo Waggins has been loo...

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Not exactly Poe’s law, but also not really satire. Just accurate reporting.

The Onion@theonion.com · 6d ago

Elon Musk: ‘Revenge Porn Is A Human Right’

Not exactly 100 years, but with luck I’d be a contractor building Usonian houses for Frank Lloyd Wright.

Revan@revan.eurosky.social · 7d ago

Enough “what would you do on the commune questions” If you got sent back 100 years and were given your grandparent’s job, what are you doing?

This is 💯 correct (in the US—people in lots of other countries think it’s insane) but also raises 2 other points: 1) A lot of effort has gone into convincing the US public to love means testing. 2) People love means testing *in theory*, but much less so when they see it with their own eyes.

Matt Darling@besttrousers.bsky.social · last wk.

One of the things that I think people who are anti-means testing need to understand is that the public generally loves means testing.

I don’t think there’s enough information to draw too many conclusions about the decisionmaking behind the recent attacks from Iranian soil. “They want the US to keep using up expensive munitions” is an entirely reasonable theory, though. The proxy attacks *might* fall into a different category.

Phillips OBrien@phillipspobrien.bsky.social · last wk.

Latest Midweek Update is out. Iran toyed with the USA this week. Trump continues to want out of the war, but Iran escalated. Their strategy seems pretty sophisticated and the end result is looking even worse for the USA. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...