Why did you unblock me, exactly?
ishmael
@ishmael.bsky.social
Journalist in NYC: digital editor for @democracynow.org and engagement editor for northsouthnotes.org
Vincent Pastore, actor most known for his role as Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero on HBO’s The Sopranos, has died at 80
Vincent Pastore Dies: 'The Sopranos' Star Was 80
Vincent Pastore, known for playing mobsters in film and TV, most notably Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on HBO's The Sopranos, has died. He was 80.
deadline.com
I must have wildly misjudged how popular Tim Pool was on the right. He's getting fewer YouTube views than Charlie Kirk.
I'll bet you could convince people to start purposely getting the diarrhea parasite if you just called it "raw lettuce"
@milesklee.bsky.social talked to parents who keep receiving AI-generated books featuring their kids as the star. None of the kids enjoy reading them—but their grandparents won't stop gifting them. www.wired.com/story/boomer...
Boomers Can’t Stop Gifting Their Grandkids AI-Generated Slop Books
Parents are getting fed up with garbled bedtime stories that feature characters based on actual photos of their children.
wired.com
Brazil's Landless Workers' Movement (MST) @mst.org.br is now one of the most famous social movements in the world. But not many people know they run their own publishing house. My interview with Miguel Yoshida, editor of Expressão Popular: www.northsouthnotes.org/p/the-stampede
The stampede
An interview with Miguel Yoshida, editor of Expressão Popular
northsouthnotes.org
This might seem like standard Atlantic contrarianism but there's a pretty good argument here about taking people's concerns seriously when it comes to Big Pharma, food safety, environmental contaminants, etc., and not letting the charlatans monopolize the space.
The Atlantic@theatlantic.com · 2w agoA lot of people in public health believe that MAHA is “nothing more than a subversive anti-vaccine, anti-science syndicate,” but the movement is an opportunity that the public-health sector “cannot afford to squander,” Craig Spencer argues:
With the renewed closure of the Strait of Hormuz, we're maybe just weeks away from a global fuel crunch after countries burned through most of their reserves earlier this year. "We’ve burned through all of the buffers we had. Everything,” said one trader. www.ft.com/content/6c31...
ft.com
my main take about left-wing tools and tactics is that the "people's microphone" thing needs to stop. also if you're addressing a crowd please just print your remarks on paper. nobody wants to see you stammer through your speech as you squint at your phone screen.
Vincent Bevins@vincentbevins.bsky.social · 3w agoIs there such a thing as "left-wing" tactics? What about organizational models? Do tools have ideological content? Up now at North South Notes, with input from Serbian students, Rodrigo Nunes in Rio, and Bora Mema in Tirana: substack.com/home/post/p-...
Is there such a thing as "left-wing" tactics? What about organizational models? Do tools have ideological content? Up now at North South Notes, with input from Serbian students, Rodrigo Nunes in Rio, and Bora Mema in Tirana: substack.com/home/post/p-...
But leftistly
Do tools have ideological content?
substack.com
The Taliban have joined the war on smartphones www.npr.org/2026/07/10/g...
Taliban declares war on smartphones
A newly announced ban on smartphones for government workers, police and military personnel is spilling over into healthcare and educational facilities. Ordinary citizens worry they'll be next.
npr.org
“.. They may have realized it was simply bad business to say that your great new product will destroy the economy.” @wsj.com www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-w...
UEFA calls the suspended red card for Folarin Balogun an "unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision."
UEFA statement on the Balogun case
Statement on decision related to Folarin Balogun
uefa.com
I'm cheering for whichever team has more Ishmaels playing. Currently that's Morocco.
kudos for transparency but this is an egregious fuck-up
NPR retracts story about Alito retirement
A misheard comment led to the error
npr.org
Legendary actor Danny Glover reveals on TODAY that he’s been living with Alzheimer’s disease:
I don't really understand celebrity PR, but if your money depends on the public not hating you isn't this kind of tacky shit just bad for business?
CNN@cnn.com · last mo.The highly anticipated wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce is expected to take place at Madison Square Garden this week, two sources familiar with the plans told CNN. https://cnn.it/3QwCSN7
You'd think that building a lot of solar power would be a climate success story. But rates have fallen dramatically in Spain and investors are trying to get out because they're not making enough. Some are even trying to build data centers to use up more power. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
What exactly is a "Gen Z" protest? What does such a label connote about a movement's goals and grievances? The 2024 uprising in Kenya was perhaps the first to get that label. To mark the second anniversary, several brilliant Kenyan writers offered some reflections. Well worth your time!
Vincent Bevins@vincentbevins.bsky.social · last mo.The day we became Gen Z — by Njeri Mwangi and Kenya's Organic Intellectual Network — Two years of reflections since the 2024 revolt — North South Notes www.northsouthnotes.org/p/the-day-we...
The day we became Gen Z — by Njeri Mwangi and Kenya's Organic Intellectual Network — Two years of reflections since the 2024 revolt — North South Notes www.northsouthnotes.org/p/the-day-we...
The day we became Gen Z
Two years later in Nairobi
northsouthnotes.org
Sitting on the tarmac in Toronto for 2+ hours because our plane had an engine problem that needed to be checked, then a flat tire, and now we can't take off because the ground crew walked away without removing the ramp. Not even mad, just impressed how bad Air Canada is at running an airline.
Donald Trump did not just fail in Iran. MAGA's top-down assault on the world system in the first half of 2026 (what I tried to call an "autogolpe imperial") has been a flop. North South Notes — Botched coup part two: www.northsouthnotes.org/p/botched-co...
Botched coup part two
Flailing empire updates
northsouthnotes.org