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Evan Simko-Bednarski

@simko-bednarski.bsky.social

Journalist w/ a camera & a pen, friend to wayward machines. Transit reporter at the New York Daily News, Vice Chair of the Daily News Union.

3398 Posts11025 Follower823 Folgt
Rachel Holliday Smith@rachelholliday.bsky.social · 4d ago

out of concern for transgender homeless veterans, the Mamdani administration is leaving (potentially) millions on the table in federal funding for shelter great reporting by @andrewgiambrone.bsky.social for @thecityreporter.nyc:

NYC Ditches Federal Homeless Veterans Program, Citing Concern for Transgender Vets

The city says the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs would require it to discriminate against trans vets to receive funding. The VA says that’s “false.”

thecityreporter.nyc

Jon Orcutt@jonorcutt.bsky.social · 3d ago

@reinventalbany.bsky.social got hold of the "collaboration" agreement Amtrak has been pushing MTA to sign It asks MTA to give up leverage over station design/operations its current lease provides & wants NY State funding in the bargain There is still no design, cost or budget for the project

Trump’s Penn Station deal is bad for N.Y.

Thanks to the state Freedom of Information Law, we at Reinvent Albany got a copy of the Penn Station “collaboration agreement” Amtrak has been pushing the MTA to sign. As lifelong NYC transit advocate...

nydailynews.com

David_j_roth@davidjroth.bsky.social · 4d ago

The sunny side of this delusion is the computer gives you a flying car and makes it so you don't have to work. The blackpill one is that it wipes us out via some cinematic method TBD. Two futures you don't actually have to live in. Both are abdications, and embarrassingly childish on their face.

Josh Chafetz@joshchafetz.bsky.social · 4d ago

That's the point--and, frankly, I think the more most students are exposed to what is truly unique about the academy, the more they love it. A university is one of the only places where people can play with ideas without needing to expect any sort of commercializability.

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press@rcfp.org · 5d ago

The White House press ban targeting CNN, MS NOW, and Politico is “illegal and unconstitutional,” @rcfp.org argues in a new friend-of-the-court brief joined by 50 media outlets and industry groups. Their access must be restored.

Media coalition: White House press ban targeting CNN, MS NOW, Politico is ‘illegal and unconstitutional’

Reporters Committee rallied a coalition of 50 media outlets and industry groups in urging a federal court to restore White House access to the news outlets.

rcfp.org

Spencer Ackerman@attackerman.bsky.social · last wk.

It’s not “third-country deportation,” it’s an extraordinary rendition, complete with torture and enforced silence by the “host” country’s thugs. And it’s a direct consequence of never imposing punishment on the CIA for doing this during the War on Terror.

A Central African Hotel Has Become a Nightmare Prison for U.S. Deportees

Witnesses say men were hooded and beaten in Equatorial Guinea. The autocratic government there is a partner in President Trump’s deportation program.

nytimes.com

Bill Grueskin@bgrueskin.bsky.social · 7d ago

I was deputy M.E. at the WSJ when Murdoch took over, with a similar “editorial independence board.” Within 4 months, our top editor was gone, replaced by a loyal Murdoch deputy. That board raised a quivering objection, but the deed was done. If the Ellisons own CNN, they’ll do whatever they want.

Bild
Evan Simko-Bednarski@simko-bednarski.bsky.social · 7d ago

Updated in the thread and story, but — contrary to initial reporting (and a statement from USDOT), the cable was cut by NJ Transit contractors who were working on a rail yard project near New Brunswick.

Evan Simko-Bednarski@simko-bednarski.bsky.social · 7d ago

An Amtrak work crew clipped the new fiber optic cable the feds put in last year, linking air traffic control systems in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Flights were grounded for much of the day.

Evan Simko-Bednarski@simko-bednarski.bsky.social · last wk.

Took my kids to an open art studio thing in Brooklyn today. My oldest spent the train home talking about how much he wants a place where he can make and show paintings. Came home and read the Times’ story on the Kennedy Center fiasco.

How President Trump Broke the Kennedy Center (Gift Article)

Internal emails and documents demonstrate the political capture of the institution, including how officials once pursued a plan to unload much of the art collection.

nytimes.com

Mark Harris@markharris.bsky.social · last wk.

"Staff members and former Kennedy Center officials speculated that “Blue” was removed because Mr. Trump, who has said he considers much of modern art “a con,” did not like it." Dull-minded, paranoid, bullying, and certain that anything he doesn't like or understand must be a grift. Classic fascism.

Nicholas Grossman@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · last wk.

The serious risk from AI shown by this incident is people—namely the US military—thinking the tech is more capable than it is and nearly acting based on bad info. It wasn’t insufficient reverence for the tech’s power. Not only are these opposite problems, believing the latter worsens the former.

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · last wk.

one thing worth saying here specifically: there's lots that AI can't (yet) do and there's a lot of money riding on selling a particular narrative about its future capabilities. but the existential risk of AI is not only not mere hype but it is already a present tense problem

Adam Weinstein@adamweinstein.bsky.social · last wk.

Baudrillard: "It is no longer a question of imitation, nor of reduplication, nor even of parody. It is rather a question of substituting signs of the real for the real itself... Never again will the real have to be produced: this is the vital function of the model in a system of death"

The "secretary of war" wearing a shirt that says "THIS IS WAR" while PTing in a stadium in Texas, which is not war
Evan Simko-Bednarski@simko-bednarski.bsky.social · last wk.

"She said she wanted the second line of her obituary to acknowledge her role as a shop steward for SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents NPR's editorial workers...Not the second line but still pretty high up in the story. Rose would understand."

Editor Rose Friedman, who helped shape NPR's cultural coverage, dies at 38

Friedman was in her early 20s when she landed her first position as an editorial assistant at NPR. She became an editor and reporter, and a co-creator of the annual Books We Love reading guide.

npr.org

Kevin M. Kruse@kevinmkruse.bsky.social · last wk.

Good statement, but what does it mean to "stand in defense" of their colleagues? Are they just noting an objection for the record? Or will they refuse to cover White House events until the ban is lifted?

Ryan Goodman@rgoodlaw.bsky.social · last wk.

2/ WHCA's president Heinrich's statement including: "This is about more than the rights of journalists. It is about the right of the American people to receive a full and independent account of the activities, policies and decisions of whoever occupies the nation’s highest office."

The president said it plainly in the Oval Office, describing his own planned action as a “ban on the free press.” The Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government interference. That protection does not depend on whether the president likes a news organization’s coverage, agrees with its reporting, or approves of the questions its journalists ask. This is about more than the rights of journalists. It is about the right of the American people to receive a full and independent account of the activities, policies and decisions of whoever occupies the nation’s highest office. The WHCA stands in defense of our colleagues at CNN, MSNOW, and Politico who are being singled out for doing their jobs. - Jacqui Heinrich, WHCA President
Maggie Astor@maggieastor.bsky.social · 2w ago

The CDC hasn't yet authorized the updated Covid shots through the Vaccines for Children program, which serves uninsured and low-income kids. (First reported by WSJ.) A source told me career officials at CDC — employees who aren't political appointees — have been working to make them available.

Covid Vaccines Delayed for Half of U.S. Children (Gift Article)

The Health Department has not decided whether to provide the shots to states through the Vaccines for Children program, which serves uninsured and low-income families.

nytimes.com