Kosovo was the first time I realized that all the proclamations of “never again” were bullshit
Even so, the continued destruction of Palestine feels like a unique shock because so many people who claim to care about human rights are actually supportive of it
“While receiving a McDonald’s food delivery to the Oval Office, the president told reporters that he posted a photo that depicted him as a robed, Jesus-like figure because he thought it had depicted him as a doctor.” Heh? I feel like Buridan’s ass.
That’s one hell of a cover…..
Starmer announces that the UK is pursuing closer EU relations:
“Brexit did deep damage to our economy. And the opportunities to strengthen our security and cut the cost of living are simply too big to ignore. We want to be more ambitious. Closer economic cooperation. Closer security cooperation.”
Iran’s people were facing a horrible shortage of water before the war began. If we are destroying desalination plants and setting fire to Teheran we are committing unfathomable crimes.
From an international perspective, America is a rogue state now, right? America doesn't respect international law, doesn't honor treaties, is murdering civilians all over the world without care or consequence.
At what point does the rest of the world say ENOUGH?
"Planned cuts to physics and astronomy funding threaten to undermine a core UK government strategy to harness innovation to boost economic growth, leading researchers have warned ministers."
Thanks @financialtimes.com for covering this really important story
🗞️: www.ft.com/content/a235...
❤️❤️❤️
Carney:
"In a time of rising populism and ethnic nationalism, Canada can show how diversity is a strength, not a weakness... Canada can't solve all the world's problems. But we can show that another way is possible. That the arc of history isn't destined to be warped toward authoritarianism".
FBI raiding reporters homes at request of the Pentagon sounds completely legit and not at all like the USA has turned into an authoritarian state. I’m proud of the folks who realize what’s happening and are speaking out. I am ashamed of the cowards & fools that are complacent.
My hand holding a copy of Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. I am next to a bus window, you can tell it's slightly chilly outside lol
I'm being subtle on the bus
"A lot of people have long regarded same-sex behaviour as an accident, or rare, or only in zoo animals." But "it’s part of the normal social life of primates." www.nature.com/articles/d41...
I am once again reminding you all that the UK government introduced an Online Safety Act that is effectively a porn ban on most adult porn websites, but is dithering over banning a website that is actually creating child porn.
The boy holding a bag of haribo confectionary is questioned by a masked IcE agent while three others with weapons stand by
The boy has head bowed, holding his confectionary, as he is taken away.
A teenage boy was walking home in Minneapolis yesterday when four masked men jumped out of a van & questioned him - with no parent or guardian present.
He was bundled into the van & taken away.
Bystanders heard the boy say: “Can I just go home?”
I don’t know how America comes back from all this.
I’m going too
The SKA-Mid telescope is now officially a working interferometer! With both SKA-Low and SKA-Mid fringing now, we are entering a very exciting period when the telescopes undergo extensive commissioning and science verification. See www.skao.int/en/news/693/... for more information.
Even if Trump’s attack on Venezuela and kidnapping of Maduro somehow led to a positive impact on Venezuela’s future, it would not make these actions by the United States legal, moral or wise.
Normalising and legitimising this behaviour endangers all countries - democracies and dictatorships alike.
It is only day 3, and wow, this year is off to a great start! American imperialism at its finest, heh? www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01... (NYT gift link)
Great to be back in my academic hometown (Onsala Space Observatory in Sweden)
Crows are hooligans...
R.I.P. George F. Smoot (1945-2025)
We will no doubt read many official obituaries in days to come, but all I can say is that he was a character, a very original thinker, a fine scientist, and a very nice man. Along with many others, I will miss him enormously.
A mass walkout of the UN General Assembly as Netanyahu prepares to speak.
CEO: We need to cut costs.
Accountant: We paid you $50 million last year. You are being paid $1 million for this meeting.
CEO: Who's that in the hallway?
Accountant: That's Greg. He is the only thing keeping this company together. We pay him in nickels and Grubhub gift cards.
CEO: Fire Greg.
This diagram is excellent and 100000% correct.
i find this image so fascinating. it is both a literal example of authoritarianism but also a second-hand reproduction of the aesthetics of other authoritarian states. it's like a simulacra of authoritarianism whose purpose is to attempt to make the simulacra real.
