@abovoadmala.bsky.social
Previously: monitoring and evaluation for international democracy promotion Now: civil engineering
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I would love to read something good on contemporary Japanese politics. What is the substantive content of Takaichi's brand of "conservatism"? What's the constituency for it?
February 8, 2026 at 4:02 PM
I would love to read something good on contemporary Japanese politics. What is the substantive content of Takaichi's brand of "conservatism"? What's the constituency for it?
Didn't know this, saw something related/similar from Tooze that has influenced my thinking for a while, and tbh made me more indignant about the end of USG-funded Democracy & Governance work abroad - our sector took an 80% hit in 2 months! That's way worse than the supposedly suffering Rust Belt!
Been learning more about trade policy lately, and one of the most mind-blowing stats is that (according to one study) even during China Shock, trade was only responsible for 16% of manufacturing job loss. Generally it's even less. The real culprit is that factories got more efficient.
February 8, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Didn't know this, saw something related/similar from Tooze that has influenced my thinking for a while, and tbh made me more indignant about the end of USG-funded Democracy & Governance work abroad - our sector took an 80% hit in 2 months! That's way worse than the supposedly suffering Rust Belt!
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Which is interesting partly just as a kind of counter-narrative, but also because it makes it clear that the manufacturing jobs are not coming back.
February 8, 2026 at 1:08 PM
Which is interesting partly just as a kind of counter-narrative, but also because it makes it clear that the manufacturing jobs are not coming back.
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Been learning more about trade policy lately, and one of the most mind-blowing stats is that (according to one study) even during China Shock, trade was only responsible for 16% of manufacturing job loss. Generally it's even less. The real culprit is that factories got more efficient.
February 8, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Been learning more about trade policy lately, and one of the most mind-blowing stats is that (according to one study) even during China Shock, trade was only responsible for 16% of manufacturing job loss. Generally it's even less. The real culprit is that factories got more efficient.
New Bon Iver! open.spotify.com/album/157nXa...
Flood / Glow
open.spotify.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:07 PM
New Bon Iver! open.spotify.com/album/157nXa...
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I, for one, want to hear more about the economics & geopolitics of the world in 2036, where Xi Jinping & Vladimir Putin are dead, 🇷🇺 & 🇨🇳 are mired in domestic political unrest & economic crisis, & 🇺🇸, where, for all its many faults, the fascists lost & we implemented extensive democracy reforms.
As a long term optimist I hope that by the 2030s the US-EU partnership will be on a more stable footing as Trumpism self-sabotages through delusional hubris
As a short term pessimist I worry over how uselessly paralysed the US could get in late 2020s as Trumpism burns it all down before it falls
As a short term pessimist I worry over how uselessly paralysed the US could get in late 2020s as Trumpism burns it all down before it falls
The extremely racist posturing about Bad Bunny anchoring the Super Bowl halftime show isn’t just immoral, it’s a party-wide strategic error.
They think it’s still November 2024 and - tellingly - they don’t know exactly why November 2024 unfolded the way it did.
They think it’s still November 2024 and - tellingly - they don’t know exactly why November 2024 unfolded the way it did.
February 8, 2026 at 2:13 PM
I, for one, want to hear more about the economics & geopolitics of the world in 2036, where Xi Jinping & Vladimir Putin are dead, 🇷🇺 & 🇨🇳 are mired in domestic political unrest & economic crisis, & 🇺🇸, where, for all its many faults, the fascists lost & we implemented extensive democracy reforms.
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It's a striking contrast. www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
The Epstein scandal is taking down Europe’s political class. In the US, they’re getting a pass.
As Europe moves to address its shame, it’s highlighting the comparative lack of accountability in the U.S.
www.politico.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:31 PM
It's a striking contrast. www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
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amusing to compare this lady with self proclaimed political tough guys like Rahm Emanuel and Andrew Cuomo
February 8, 2026 at 2:05 PM
amusing to compare this lady with self proclaimed political tough guys like Rahm Emanuel and Andrew Cuomo
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The movie they make about Tulsi Gabbard's infiltration of US intelligence is going to simultaneously be a haunting look at the most damaging intelligence failure in US history and a hilarious romp about the stupidest fucking people alive
February 8, 2026 at 4:40 AM
The movie they make about Tulsi Gabbard's infiltration of US intelligence is going to simultaneously be a haunting look at the most damaging intelligence failure in US history and a hilarious romp about the stupidest fucking people alive
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/3 Bad Bunny is an American citizen, but he could have been born on Plymouth Fucking Rock and he would still fall on the “immigrant” side of the “immigration divide” to Trump and his WaPo toadies.
February 8, 2026 at 2:31 AM
/3 Bad Bunny is an American citizen, but he could have been born on Plymouth Fucking Rock and he would still fall on the “immigrant” side of the “immigration divide” to Trump and his WaPo toadies.
Ends with McKellen performing the likely-Shakespeare-written speech about receiving immigrants in Sir Thomas More. Colbert really kind of an outlier in national TV for cultural depth www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l2R...
"There's Nothing I Enjoy More Than Acting In The Theater" - Ian McKellen EXTENDED INTERVIEW
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
www.youtube.com
February 8, 2026 at 1:39 AM
Ends with McKellen performing the likely-Shakespeare-written speech about receiving immigrants in Sir Thomas More. Colbert really kind of an outlier in national TV for cultural depth www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l2R...
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Need local prosecutors to be very aggressive
NYT confirming MS NOW reporting:
Prosecutors began investigating Renee Good's killing, then Washington told them to stop.
Federal prosecutors had a warrant to collect evidence from Good's vehicle, but Trump leaders said to drop it. About a dozen prosecutors have since departed.
Prosecutors began investigating Renee Good's killing, then Washington told them to stop.
Federal prosecutors had a warrant to collect evidence from Good's vehicle, but Trump leaders said to drop it. About a dozen prosecutors have since departed.
Prosecutors Began Investigating Renee Good’s Killing. Washington Told Them to Stop.
www.nytimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 12:22 AM
Need local prosecutors to be very aggressive
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Selective enforcement is a powerful tool, used extensively by Vladimir Putin to consolidate his power in Russia.
Welcome to the world of selective enforcement, a hallmark of autocratic and hybrid governments. It doesn't matter if the underlying investigation has validity. Because the probe is not about the rule of law, but rather the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of allies of the regime.
Exclusive | Justice Department Casts Wide Net on Netflix’s Business Practices in Merger Probe
As it probes bids for Warner, the department is asking if the streamer has engaged in conduct that could make it a monopoly.
www.wsj.com
February 7, 2026 at 1:26 AM
Selective enforcement is a powerful tool, used extensively by Vladimir Putin to consolidate his power in Russia.
Going to an afikra event on Mahmoud Darwish's poetry tomorrow. Strikes me as a great example of how the world could be
February 7, 2026 at 10:09 PM
Going to an afikra event on Mahmoud Darwish's poetry tomorrow. Strikes me as a great example of how the world could be
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Similarly, it's depressing how many people (liberals mostly with Gaza and certain leftists with Ukraine) pretend to not realize occupation is not a meaningful peace.
The minute details are obviously significantly different but a core similarity between UKR and Palestine is that neither can actually reach a political solution because in each case their corresponding belligerent has an outwardly eliminiationist goal and has shown that it won't deviate from it.
The Ukrainian president says he will attend talks with Russian negotiators in Miami next week despite ‘difficult issues remaining’
February 7, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Similarly, it's depressing how many people (liberals mostly with Gaza and certain leftists with Ukraine) pretend to not realize occupation is not a meaningful peace.
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Democratic Socialists of America — We are at 100,000 members!
🌹 dsausa.org/join
🌹 dsausa.org/join
February 7, 2026 at 6:55 PM
Democratic Socialists of America — We are at 100,000 members!
🌹 dsausa.org/join
🌹 dsausa.org/join
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Kash Patel, a podcaster selected because of his fierce loyalty to the President, told FBI agents not to investigate the details on Renee Good's shooting because it would contradict the President. Fact matter less than the King's opinion in a personalist regime.
February 7, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Kash Patel, a podcaster selected because of his fierce loyalty to the President, told FBI agents not to investigate the details on Renee Good's shooting because it would contradict the President. Fact matter less than the King's opinion in a personalist regime.
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The press consensus seems to be that it was lady history & therefore wasn't worth that much anyway
part of me still can't believe the East Wing was completely destroyed and there have been no negative consequences or reports on whether items inside were properly archived or not
February 7, 2026 at 6:39 PM
The press consensus seems to be that it was lady history & therefore wasn't worth that much anyway
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PMC radicalization machine goes brrrrr
February 7, 2026 at 6:58 PM
PMC radicalization machine goes brrrrr
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coming up with a new idea called "driving like shit olympics". no more bland, unprovable statements like "california drivers are the WORST" allowed. whichever state wins every 4 years gets a moonshot-sized public transit investment to get those fuckers off the road
February 7, 2026 at 5:34 PM
coming up with a new idea called "driving like shit olympics". no more bland, unprovable statements like "california drivers are the WORST" allowed. whichever state wins every 4 years gets a moonshot-sized public transit investment to get those fuckers off the road
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hey, i've seen this one
i think the risk is less that the us government does this - trump has very little appetite for the kind of risks this poses - and more that various right wing groups and donors decide to start “freelancing” in an effort to force the administration’s hand or present them with a fait accompli
February 7, 2026 at 7:01 PM
hey, i've seen this one
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You should read this. It is the type of detail that experts in authoritarian regimes see as telling.
In this case, state agents are offered impunity from higher ups, and the legal system is rendered inoperative as a mode of accountability.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
In this case, state agents are offered impunity from higher ups, and the legal system is rendered inoperative as a mode of accountability.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
Prosecutors Began Investigating Renee Good’s Killing. Washington Told Them to Stop.
www.nytimes.com
February 7, 2026 at 4:47 PM
You should read this. It is the type of detail that experts in authoritarian regimes see as telling.
In this case, state agents are offered impunity from higher ups, and the legal system is rendered inoperative as a mode of accountability.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
In this case, state agents are offered impunity from higher ups, and the legal system is rendered inoperative as a mode of accountability.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
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Maybe all you intelligence geniuses should check out qatar, I think they may have infiltrated the american governent at the highest levels! www.npr.org/2025/05/21/n...
Trump administration officially accepts jet from Qatar for use as Air Force One
The plane is a gift that Trump said he would be "stupid" to turn down. Experts say the plane would take years to rework to meet the current standards for Air Force One.
www.npr.org
February 7, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Maybe all you intelligence geniuses should check out qatar, I think they may have infiltrated the american governent at the highest levels! www.npr.org/2025/05/21/n...