Long flight, good chance to do some reading/research. Hopefully the people squeezed in beside me won’t be looking over my shoulder.

Missing my tiny adorable doppelganger today and every day. #grief

In which I reflect on the important of viewpoint neutral institutions, even in the face of a conflict as dire as the Israel/Palestine one: salmagundi.skidmore.edu/articles/233...

A really interesting piece on reducing AI cheating in the classroom from a Professor of English and former Dean of Humanities at University of Utah. The solutions? Smaller classes, lower teaching loads for faculty, and in-person classes.

How to limit unauthorized AI use in the classroom

A handy rule

hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com

🎬 LEGAL PHILOSOFLICKS 🎬 Imaginary movies adapted from jurisprudence books Brought to you by Procrastination Inc. On Bluesky only *Day 1* Some of you may already be familiar with Christopher Nolan's upcoming Dworkin duology.

Here you go.

Musk is pursuing a war against multiracial democracy. Its defenders would be wise to understand that

Sunder Katwala (sundersays)@sundersays.bsky.social · 2mo ago

X owner Elon Musk has reposted his Sept 2025 call that pre-emptive inter-ethnic violence (civil war) is necessary for 'self-defence "Elon Musk was always right "You either fight back, or you die."

"And in its place, the Chinese state forged a new nation along its preferred ideological lines. Economic development always eluded Mao; but human development—mass education and mass health—proved more attainable" davidoks.blog/p/why-china-...

Why China got rich and India didn't

The human roots of the Sino-Indian divergence

davidoks.blog

I found an incredible map of sewers in central Boston for 1811. It shows clearly who had direct access to waste disposal and who had to carry their waste into the street to dispose of it. Also, just how subdivided and tiny some tenements could be. More literal History from Below! 🗃️

Leon Jackson@drleonj.bsky.social · 4mo ago

I’m currently obsessed by Boston’s early C19 sewage infrastructure, which relied heavily on the labor of African Americans. Here’s an 1803 map of sewers in Middle (now Hanover) St in the North End & an 1802 receipt from Peter Virginia for emptying septic tanks. This is literal History from Below! 🗃️

Looks like a great book for my Law and Society Course. And possibly an interesting guest speaker for @rgcs-mcgill.bsky.social ?

Shifting Sovereignties@shiftingsovs.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Nre book by Charles W. A. Prior "Treaty Ground: Diplomacy and the Politics of Sovereignty, from Roanoke to the Republic" www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/978...

“Where men are the most sure and arrogant, they are commonly the most mistaken...” David Hume, Scottish empiricist philosopher, whose work influenced cognitive science & economic theory, born #OTD 1711. Portrait by Allan Ramsay 1754, National Galleries of Scotland

Taking a little time away from the day job for a while

That's exactly what it is.

Appalling.

CBC Bot posting select CBC RSS Feeds@scrubfire84.bsky.social · 4mo ago

'There's no guidance': Quebec daycares say new secularism law causing fear, uncertainty Adopted earlier this month, Bill 9 bans workers in publicly funded daycares from wearing religious symbols on the job. Many daycare operators say they’re still i... #cbc #cbc-canada-news #Canada

"They were worried and irritated - but these are not feelings with which to confront plague. Their first reaction, for instance, was to abuse the authorities ... Could not the regulations be modified and made less stringent?" - Camus

Disgusting little man

Right Wing Watch @rightwingwatch.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Nick Fuentes says that "women are made to be fucked": "Women are either mothers, whores, or nuns. No other options. There are no female philosophers. There are no female inventors. There are no female generals or billionaires. They are mothers, whores, nuns. End of list. That's what you can be."

Nearly 100k people have joined our call to get dangerous US spy tech firm out of our NHS. Palantir's founder has called for the NHS to be ripped up. Now his company has access to millions of patient records. Tell the government to end the contract! you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...

Stop Palantir taking over our public services!

Our public services aren’t for a secretive profit-hungry US tech firm. Sign the petition to tell the Government to scrap all contracts with secretive US tech firm Palantir.

you.38degrees.org.uk

The Constitution says "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law." Presidents who violate the Constitution should be impeached and removed from office.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 6mo ago

Trump: "I want to let you know that United States is going to make a contribution of $10 billion to the Board of Peace." (Congress has not appropriated this money!)

It is notable that Andrew has been arrested for "misconduct in public office", which is precisely what the US Supreme Court decided no American president can ever be charged with.

Julian Sanchez@normative.bsky.social · 6mo ago

So SCOTUS, with its fabricated-out-of-thin-air immunity doctrine, has actually made American presidents less accountable than LITERAL royalty.

The scorn heaped on Jivani misses the most important point, which Coyne highlights: There are a group of Canadian conservatives and business leaders who are auditioning for the role of Pétain and would be happy to lead a white Christian nationalist party. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Opinion: The post-Poilievre leadership race has begun

Jamil Jivani is staking his claim to lead the MAGA wing of the Conservative Party

theglobeandmail.com

NEW: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, a Catholic, criticized Pope Leo XIV’s decision to decline President Trump’s invitation to join the proposed Gaza “Board of Peace.” The pope’s top Middle East envoy condemned the initiative as a pay-to-play “colonialist operation.”

Pope Leo Rejects Trump’s Gaza “Peace Board” Invitation

After his top Middle East envoy denounced the plan as a “colonialist operation,” the Vatican formally declined to participate in Trump’s pay-to-play Gaza “Peace Board.”

thelettersfromleo.com

This (about the 'new' Grammarly AI toolset) is absolutely terrifying, not because the tool is good, but because it is an easy, all-in-one, way to avoid thinking any thoughts or doing any work at all *and 3000 universities say its OK to use*. www.carleton.edu/ai/blog/gram...

Grammarly Revisited - Carleton College

A close look at Grammarly's new AI tools

carleton.edu

Canada if we had built the Avro Arrow

The Walrus@thewalrus.ca · 6mo ago

As Canada debates walking away from eighty-eight F-35 jets, Washington warns it will “fill the gaps” in Canadian airspace. The Arvo Arrow’s ghost rises again. Wes O’Donnell explores how a choice made in 1959 is still shaping Canada’s defence options: https://thewalrus.ca/avro-arrow/

New book review: Ferguson on Carlson, Mark: _Young Fed: The Banking Crises of the 1920s and the Making of a Lender of Last Resort, The_. University of Chicago Press, 2025. Published by H-Pol. Read here: networks.h-net.org/node/20142227