It really is this simple. Don't watch.

The Verge@theverge.com · last wk.

As a new Harry Potter trailer makes the rounds, it bears repeating that there’s no way to watch this show without supporting J.K. Rowling’s bigotry and the structural violence she’s inflicting on the trans community.

Buckingham Palace band playing 9 to 5 for Dolly Parton

Reminder that people routinely rate genAI as useful in *other* domains, but still poor in the ones they know well. Think about why that is.

Gail BK@weedlawyer.bsky.social · 3w ago

AI's track record with legal research and analysis is abysmal. It may be very useful for other functions, but it's absolute shit for anything but the most superficial legal analysis

what if i do not want to be optimized. what if i want to make mistakes because that’s how you learn; what if i want to do nothing sometimes, what if i want a world that is weird and challenging and has mysteries left to reveal. what if i like taking the long way

This applies to “being a good person” more generally too. Its something you do not something you are.

Kathryn Tewson@kathryntewson.bsky.social · last mo.

A PSA to my fellow cis people who are (or want to believe they are) trans allies If you are getting pushback from trans people and your reaction is to be all “no! not me! I’m one of the good ones!” please remember that “being one of the good ones” is something you DO, not something you ARE

"I am sorry I cannot offer more sympathy for your current rage. I am sorry your lives are not more eventful or fulfilling. I am sorry you still chase the ‘glory days’ of a school you haven’t attended in years. www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/...

A love letter to the Bishops Old Diocesan Committee, from the queer who first put up that flag

I am sorry I cannot offer more sympathy for your current rage. I am sorry your lives are not more eventful or fulfilling. I am sorry you still chase the ‘glory days’ of a school you haven’t attended i...

dailymaverick.co.za

Who would have known Argentina would have so much trouble battling a remote Atlantic archipelago?

Now that you’ve gone through the experience of not being able to see images for a while, try to remember how much less useful it was if you saw alt text saying “screenshot of article” instead of the actual text What would you want to have described to you if you couldn’t see the image? Do that

“MARRIAGES ASSISTED BY THEM ARE INVALID” 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

BBC News went live to Cabo Verde and then Cabo Verde scored a goal. Absolute scenes.

Today is the tenth anniversary of Jo Cox's murder by a white supremacist on her way to a surgery in Birstall in her constituency whose ethnic diversity she praised in her maiden speech to the Commons. Her murderer shouted "Britain first" as he shot and stabbed her to death.

The day of 16 June 1976 began peacefully in Soweto, as students streamed out of their schools to peacefully protest the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. By the end of the day, dozens would be dead.

‘Then the firing started’: the Soweto uprising remembered 50 years on

16 June 1976 is not just another chapter in the history books, nor is its aftermath and legacy, say those who took part and their families

theguardian.com

Abdullah Ibrahim, Eminent South African Jazz Pianist, Dies at 91 His song “Mannenberg” became the unofficial anthem of the country’s fight against apartheid, with Nelson Mandela calling him “our Mozart.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/a...

Abdullah Ibrahim, Eminent South African Jazz Pianist, Dies at 91

nytimes.com

Cape Verde!! What a match!

This will go down as a major stain on FIFA and its World Cup before a ball has even been kicked. Infantino has been banging on about the most inclusive World Cup and Africa’s top referee can’t even get into the country. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/w...

U.S. Denies Entry to World Cup Referee From Somalia

nytimes.com

I find this interesting bc it is one of the ways through which the arrival of gen-AI is *not* a way of "saving time".

Iris van Rooij 💭@irisvanrooij.bsky.social · 4mo ago

"Fake citations have turned into a nightmare for research librarians, who by some estimates are wasting up to 15 percent of their work hours responding to requests for nonexistent records that ChatGPT or Google Gemini alluded to." open access link: archive.ph/qt59c 2/🧵

Media: classic example of when you should report the facts. She literally does not have a right hand - no need to “say” it. Again if one person says its raining and the other says it isn’t the journalist should look outside and report the facts!

Trevon Logan@trevondlogan.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Case in point, the media: “The case drew widespread attention after the woman posted video of the traffic stop on TikTok, where she questioned the deputy’s claim that he saw a device in her ‘right hand.’ She said she does not have a right hand.” There is no “say” — SHE DOES NOT HAVE A RIGHT HAND!

The fastest route away from fascism is community. You have to first have a knitting circle to do consciousness raising in your knitting circle

Jason Sproul@synposium.com · 4mo ago

We also need more people creating community and third spaces! Yes, isolation and misery spread fascism. Start a FUN NON-POLITICAL recurring event. Trivia night, Puzzled Pint, neighborhood rotating potluck dinner, whatever! No phones, no jerks, no electoral politics. This will help people and policy.

So, @edzitron.com ate his Wheatties this morning

Did not know this about Bluesky - so I guess before blocking be sure to unfollow

Emily J@emexastris.bsky.social · 4mo ago

21 mutuals - folks, you have to unfollow before you block or you stay following. Check your follows!

Particularly in the context of (appropriate) crackdowns on LLM-generated papers (e.g., on arXiv) and more and more tales of fabricated citations, two reminders: (1) LLMs do not "cite their sources" (2) Using an LLM to generate, complete, or fix LaTeX code can result in fabricated citations

While the world’s eyes are on fashion’s biggest night, we’re turning ours to the garment, retail, and warehouse workers who keep the industry running. From true love found on the picket line to a free tailoring school out of a Brooklyn basement — meet the New Yorkers who make it all possible.

Coetzee declined because of Israel's Genocide in Gaza, apparently stating that it is impossible for any part of Israeli society — including the intellectual and artistic communities — to claim it does not share in the guilt for the atrocities in Gaza, www.ynetnews.com/culture/arti...

Nobel Prize winner in literature invited to writers festival in Israel, but declined

International Writers' Festival in Mishkenot Sha'ananim has opened with authors from abroad alongside local writers; But ynet has learned that behind the scenes it faced rejections from prominent writ...

ynetnews.com

All three of the top finishers came in under the previous world record and 1st and 2nd came in under 2:00:00 🙀🥳

The Associated Press@apnews.com · 5mo ago

Sabastian Sawe of Kenya has become the first person to run a marathon in under 2 hours.

I'd say that this applies to anyone traveling in a car in any city. Being in a car versus walking, riding, or taking transit fundamentally changes how you view a place and your relationship to it. I wish more leaders set this kind of example. www.npr.org/2026/04/16/n...

1/ I'm currently writing a blog post about what other countries are doing to address “high gas prices.” Australia (Victoria): All trains, trams, and buses free for the entire month of April. Australia (Tasmania): All public buses free until the end of June.

It's the inconvenience that I enjoy.

i appear to have asked a question akin to "how do Rebel Alliance schoolteachers feel about Darth Vader?"

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 5mo ago

anybody familiar with the attitudes of Irish historians, political scientists, and/or theorists? curious what the reputation of Oliver Cromwell is as a historical figure amongst those folks, and whether it's changed much in the last few generations

BP encourages drivers to save 100% on soaring fuel prices by cycling to petrol stations instead The initiative is in response to the war in the Middle East that has led experts to warn of oil shortages for cars and homes road.cc/news/bp-enco...

BP encourages drivers to save 100% on soaring fuel prices by cycling to petrol stations instead

Drivers are being encouraged to cycle to their local petrol stations to buy fuel, as part of a latest effort to drive down demand in response to shortages caused by the war in Iran.Since the conflict ...

road.cc