I am absolutely thrilled to present to you: How to Build a Universe (Theoretically Speaking) available for pre-order now, wherever you buy your books! www.simonandschuster.ca/books/How-to...
Melanie Ensign
@melanie-ensign.bsky.social
I 💜 #infosec and #privacy teams! I built @DiscernibleInc.bsky.social to teach them how to influence business leaders & decision makers. Subscribe to join IR comms drills every Wednesday: DiscernibleInc.com/drills #Miami #Mexico
And those quick genetic tests they're touting across the country to see if trans girls or women might be in the vicinity of sports? You don't really think those tests are going to just stay at stadiums and fields, do you?
My “to-read” stack of books is down to 10! What’s the best book you’ve read so far this year?
May I point out that both El-Sayed and Stevens are Millennials. Generational shift. It's here. It's time. November up here won't just be about progressivism vs. fascism. It will also be about the future vs. the past.
NEW: A wistful Judge Mehta closed the book on the last lingering Jan. 6 case — the seditious conspiracy conviction of Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, a man Mehta has called an ongoing threat to society/democracy but whose case was spiked by DOJ. www.politico.com/news/2026/08...
I am making it a habit to always look for the labor story behind these nasty scandals. The consumers are almost never the only ones being harmed.
The Diarrhea Lettuce Company Has Been Linked to Forced Labor
The lettuce-producing Taylor Farms was linked to the widespread use of prison labor before its involvement in a cyclospora outbreak.
futurism.com
Take note of all these spokespeople willing to lie through their teeth. Once this administration is over, they’ll get scooped up by big tech PR teams.
Jim LaPorta@jimlaporta.bsky.social · 7d agoDef. Sec. Pete Hegseth promised it "would be the most transparent administration ever.” As the US-led war against Iran enters its sixth month, the offering to the public is less information about the conflict and its direction, even as the costs continue to mount. www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-a...
As disgraceful as you might think Paul Weiss is, it's much worse. A must read. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/u...
How a Top Law Firm Went From Standing Up to Trump to Bending the Knee
Paul Weiss was a progressive stalwart for decades and led the legal resistance against President Trump in his first term. Then it surrendered without a fight. This is the inside story of its transform...
nytimes.com
As one does.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences@pnas.org · last wk.When blue whales and humpbacks dive, their heart rates slow as their systems adjust to reduce oxygen consumption. But when they actively lunge, their heart rates rise to power acrobatic sprints to engulf massive volumes of prey-laden water. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/6Q1o50Zv3oz
I can't stress enough what a crisis this is. Trump's own intelligence agencies concluded that Iran attacked Minnesota's critical infrastructure and Trump is saying that it's Minnesota's own fault and denying it was Iran. The federal government won't defend blue states in a literal war.
U.S. Sees Iran as Likely Behind Cyberattack on Minnesota Water Systems (Gift Article)
Investigators cautioned that the assessment was preliminary. There were no indications that any water supply had been rendered unsafe to drink.
nytimes.com
this does give a distinct impression of misconduct that i think the lawyers involved should be asked to rebut, as part of a show cause order
Bloomberg Law@bloomberglaw.com · last wk.The Justice Department is withdrawing its criminal case against a former Olympic canoeist it accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, citing evidence showing the damage was instead caused by a contractor’s “flawed installation.”
Incredible. In normal circumstances this whole thing would be a massive embarrassment to the DOJ and the US Attorney in charge of the case.
Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray”@ryanjreilly.com · last wk.BREAKING: The Trump administration has moved to drop its felony Reflecting Pool case against a former Olympic canoeist, admitting their allegations against David "Davey" Hearn don't hold water.
Look, it’s not that I don’t deeply respect the 404 team & their investigative capabilities, but this one didn’t take a genius, just someone willing to consider potential consequences. I hope someone @ Google feels stupid. One of the dumbest own goals I’ve ever seen & I used to work at Uber.
Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · last wk.Update: Google just sent me a statement saying it is “rolling back” this AI feature that let anyone make completely bullshit satellite images. Comes after our demos of the tool and those from OSINT researchers. One of the worst AI tools I’ve ever seen bsky.app/profile/jose...
Historically, fascism has been most enthusiastically brought to power by corporatism. Google is no exception.
The Intercept@theintercept.com · 3w agoMuch of this record is now permanently deleted, erasing detailed testimony of people ingested by the U.S. deportation machine. interc.pt/3TJjOw0
Maybe they should just practice locking the door and turning off the lights and remaining silent while hiding under their desks…or is that just appropriate for kindergartners? 
Whoa whoa whoa … Do you mean to tell me that striking a deal with Donald J. Trump does *not* buy you everlasting peace?? Surely no one could have foreseen this! Certainly not lawyers who get paid millions to make deals for a living!
Trump Administration Subpoenas Law Firms, Escalating Pressure Campaign (Gift Article)
The uneasy truce between the administration and the law firms it cut deals with last year has erupted into a pitched legal battle behind closed doors.
nytimes.com
An agent from HSI—the criminal investigation arm of ICE—shot and killed a young man in May while responding to a local 911 call as part of Trump’s ‘Memphis Safe Task Force.’ The call had nothing to do with immigration. Jonah Neal. Say his name.
He was having a mental health crisis. Memphis task force agents came and shot him
Jonah Neal, 25, was struck by a Homeland Security Investigations agent in May. There have been at least four deadly shootings related to the task force.
npr.org
"Improve its performance" is a very odd way of saying "not murdering people."
Christopher Webb@cwebbonline.com · 4w agoThis is Susan Collins giving the most feckless response to ICE killings possible. She mastered the art of saying almost nothing while people are dying. The only proper response to the killing of Joan Sebastian Guerrero is outrage. VOTE HER OUT
NEW: The SFPD was leaking real-time footage from surveillance drones, including color and thermal imaging, location metadata, and drone pilots’ names and email addresses. "There’s a certain trust given to the police to use these things correctly."
A Leak of San Francisco Police Drone Footage Exposes the New Reality of Urban Surveillance
The SFPD’s exposure of hours of videos from drone platform Skydio reveals how broadly it’s watching the city from above—and how the results can spill online.
wired.com
LAPD becomes by far the biggest law enforcement office to quit Flock.
LAPD ending deal with company operating license plate-reading cameras
The LAPD is ending its agreement with Flock Safety, a company that operates surveillance cameras throughout the city.
abc7.com
Anti-corruption ought to be a bipartisan issue because corruption makes everyone more vulnerable to scams. Innocent people trying to live their lives & losing it all to a con. I’ve seen this first hand in Mexico & it’s becoming more prominent in the US under the current administration.
That the U.S. appears to have completely visibly given up after a catastrophic own goal fuck up is a little on the nose.
Ok friends — who’s offering the best project management training these days? Paid or free doesn’t matter at the moment.
Microsoft is laying off 4,800 workers today. Its CEO made $96.5M in 2025, a 22% increase from the previous year. Microsoft made $101B in net income last year — and raked in up to $12.5B in tax breaks from Trump's Big Ugly Bill. This is what a rigged system looks like.