Meta is extremely bad.

Matt Burgess (WIRED)@mattburgess1.bsky.social · 55m ago

NEW: Over the last few months, Meta has run dozens of paid ads that included AI-generated CSAM. The ads, some of which were linking out to “nudify” apps, targeted men in the US, UK, and a dozen European countries. Some were running in the last few days

Very late to the party, as I've often been this year, but the stories in Sydney Rende's collection I Could Be Famous is hilarious, uncomfortable, & deeply rewarding. I kept reading bits out loud last night to my husband & if I were still teaching at Smith, a story by Rende would be essential.

Electric Literature@electricliterature.com · 7mo ago

“Imagine the worst breakup you ever went through, and then imagine if all of its mundane details, its outsized emotions, mattered just as much to millions of strangers as they did to you.”

Om jamel:My husband suffered a critical injury in Gaza&is currently hospitalized.I have a heart valve prolapse&am struggling to provide food for my kids.However,I urgently need $150 to buy antibiotics for my husband's wounds,which are severe&require immediate treatment😭🥹🙏 chuffed.org/project/1839...

"The guy I’d just told to fuck off on Nextdoor lived on my block, and was chatting with my—no, OUR—neighbors..." @amybrown.xyz on becoming the most reviled Nextdoor user in El Cerrito:

How I became the villain of El Cerrito’s Nextdoor

“I had a panic attack. Then I wrote an apology letter.”

oaklandreviewofbooks.org

Here's the full list of @NYT's top 50 thrillers.Congrats to buds @blacktopkid.bsky.social @jeanhanff.bsky.social @silviamg.bsky.social @stephcha.bsky.social for making the list (and looking askance at some really deplorable picks) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The 50 Best Thriller Books of the 21st Century (Gift Article)

Hundreds of novelists, librarians, editors and other book lovers voted. See how their ballots stack up.

nytimes.com

🚨💔 Ahmed is fighting for his life. Today, he was moved back to the ICU and relies on machines to breathe. The virus is spreading through his tiny body, painful spots cover him, and his condition worsens every hour. Please don’t let my boy be lost. Help save Ahmed. 🙏 chuffed.org/project/1905...

Not only was she loudly right about everything and reviled for it, in 2017 O'Connor donated 30 years worth of clothes and makeup to trans girls in Ireland.

Irish Literary Times@irishlittimes.bsky.social · 2w ago

Remembering Sinéad O'Connor, who died three years ago, on July 26, 2023. Photo by Andreas Larsson. #sineadoconnor

Rare credit where it’s due. This is the correct headline.

woke up to the appalling news that the Asian American Writers' Workshop has laid off all their remaining staff; please join me in donating to the laid off workers' safety fund chuffed.org/project/1583...

Laid Off Workers' Safety Fund

On Aug. 4, 2026 the remaining staff at AAWW received layoff emails from the newly-announced Interim Executive Director Ed Lin.

chuffed.org

There is no conflict of rights between cis women and trans women, only a conflict between the goals anti-trans, anti-feminist hate groups and the broad interests of all women

I love Bluesky. The EHRC getting absolutely ratioed in the comments by decent people furious at this hateful "guidance".

Equality and Human Rights Commission@equalityhumanright.bsky.social · 9h ago

Our code of practice for services, public functions and associations comes into force today. It provides practical guidance on how the Equality Act 2010 applies to services, public functions and associations. Find out more: https://ow.ly/alIf50Zwrkx

By serving the minds of U.S. kids up on a platter, Weingarten reminds me of Samantha Power who wrote THE book on genocide but when she was in a role to do something about it under Biden, she did nothing. Hard for me to believe that she doesn't see that AI's cognitive impact is threat to democracy.

'Why Fascists Fear Teachers' explores how attacks on education undermine democracy

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, talks about her new book "Why Fascists Fear Teachers."

npr.org

Citizen.Coping@propcazhpm.bsky.social · 3y ago

I still have the book Samantha Power wrote, "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide". She had so much to say about U.S.'s role in Rwanda. After her entrée into halls of power, she's silent. Haven't heard nann peep from her since Oct 7th. She should re-read her own book and resign.

STOP. 🙏🏻 Please You are my hope 💔 My mother is struggling with severe eye problems and losing her sight My phone the only way I share her story and ask for help is now broken I’m trying to keep my family going Even $10 can help save a family’s life chuffed.org/project/help... Can you donate? ❓

Google is bad. On purpose.

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C)@doctorow.pluralistic.net · 6h ago

When Google's users searched for airlines' toll-free phone numbers, Google directed them to phones that rang in the scammers' boiler room, where they were tricked into giving up their passport info and credit card numbers to boiler-room thieves: www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne... 20/

You can/should read Emily Wilson's latest take on the Odyssey, but I'm logging on to convey my hairdresser's reaction. She was AGHAST that Nolan, with his million $ budget, gave Matt Damon ONLY 6 hair extensions. As a result, his hair did not blow around properly, & that ruined the film for her.

As Jane shows, telling students it’s OK to use AI for brainstorming or outlining is telling them to use AI to think and write for them. It is to also telling them to cheat and helping them cheat.

Jane Rosenzweig@janerosenzweig.bsky.social · 5h ago

Trying out the features in Claude for education. Join me as I see how it "helps" me write a research paper. My chosen topic: "AI and education". /1

This plane landed in Myanmar about three hours ago. This is the third ICE flight to Myanmar this year. Burmese deportees in 2025 were immediately sent to a torture facility next to the airport, according to Myanmar Now. Weeks later, not all of them had emerged.

Gillian Brockell@gillianbrockell.com · yesterday

This likely ICE flight operated by Journey Aviation has taken off and appears to heading for an Asia removal. In May, this aircraft deported people to Myanmar.

Israeli forces raid refugee camp, town north of occupied Jerusalem Israel forces curfew in Kafr Aqab, prevent dawn prayers at mosques in Qalandiya refugee camp, according to Jerusalem Governorate share.google/HSCXfDdGqspv...

Israeli forces raid refugee camp, town north of occupied Jerusalem

Israel forces curfew in Kafr Aqab, prevent dawn prayers at mosques in Qalandiya refugee camp, according to Jerusalem Governorate | Anadolu

share.google

The New Arab@thenewarab.bsky.social · 6h ago

Israeli forces have launched a large-scale military operation in Qalandiya camp, surrounding the area from all entrances with a heavy military presence, including armed troops and bulldozers. During the raid, Israeli forces stormed homes, assaulted residents and journalists, and carried out arrests

The red van hands out food, water, clothes, first aid and free HIV tests. Locals recognize "Thrivey" as it drives across the Twin Cities. The van, and everything in it, is funded by federal money that has been suddenly revoked. And it's happening all over the country.

Running on empty: Can a red HIV outreach van outlast federal cuts?

The Aliveness Project says that nobody else can replicate what they do for the high-risk communities they reach. They're still being defunded.

19thnews.org

I'm in Slate today with the tale of how a couple of invasive mosquito species have conquered the U.S., and what that means for our future (spoiler: it's not great!) Please read and share.

They’re the Most Annoying Creatures on the Planet. You Don’t Know What They’re Going to Unleash on America.

They can do a lot more than ruin your summer day.

slate.com

www.semafor.com/article/04/2...

Exclusive: Axel Springer, Politico execs meet with staff after letter warns CEO risks ‘undermining our reputation’

The letter singled out two recent op-eds by parent company CEO Matthias Dopfner.

semafor.com

I love this headline so much. lol Now tell us how El-Sayed has to tack to the right, ya losers, after he won with the full might of the Democratic and AIPAC establishment squawking their heads off plus spending $70 million against him total loser nonsense

Politico@politico.com · 10h ago

Progressives didn’t get the big election night they wanted

Ahmed is losing hope that people will ever help like they used to. You all helped his family survive for 3 years by sharing & donating, & now that support has collapsed. They have no choice but to keep asking--they're starving, sick, & homeless under Israel's genocidal siege. Please help him:

Urgent appeal: Help Ahmed and his family in Gaza

Hello everyone, I am Ahmed Al-Madhoun, 25 years old, studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, fourth level, at Al-Quds Open University. I was supposed to graduate, but unfortunately the war pre...

chuffed.org

Oh, this is delightful! Ignore the first few photos, they’re ai mockups, scroll thru for a tenement stuck in time

Andy Arthur💃🏰⚓🦌 Threadinburgh 🧵@threadinburgh.scot · 5h ago

Here is the full listing if you are interested, it's a very interesting and unusual building dating to 1904: espc.com/property/5-4...

It's too early to be this brutal but I would f'ing kill for this hat.

Post by @rentedstarship · 3 images

💬 0  🔁 91  ❤️ 271 · Bill Cunningham, "William J", velvet hat & box, 1950s

tumblr.com

In other Michigan news, the state looks set to elect it's first transgender lawmaker. Joanna Whaley won her Democratic primary and will compete in November for a state house seat, beating a primary opponent who tried and failed to disqualify her for not running under her deadname

I should be less surprised at how flamboyantly and consistently Randi Weingarten has failed the challenges of leading one of the teachers' union in the US in age of gAI. Deeply uncritical, incredibly short-sighted, but most of all, pusillanimous.

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 5h ago

“Teaching educators about AI is a ‘moral imperative’, said Randi Weingarten, the AFT president.” “And without outside funding, it was a choice between taking big tech’s money or doing nothing, she said.”

This is Stock's "collateral damage" in action

Lee Hurley@hleehurley.com · 6h ago

Cis woman on now speaking about how much she has been challenged, had security called on her because she has PCOS. Says she's never had a problem with trans women but multiple problems with GC women. She's on the verge of tears.

‘If their ranges shift this dramatically, it signals profound changes across ecosystems.’ #anthropocene

Butterflies around the world are changing habitats – and experts say it’s ‘signalling a warning’

New research shows early-warning species is on the move, expanding or contracting geographic range and changing altitude

theguardian.com

THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (2022)

Frog and Toad Bot@frogandtoadbot.bsky.social · 22h ago

“Frog!” cried Toad. “I am sorry for all the dumb things I do. I am sorry for all the silly things that I say. Please be my friend again!”