Alon (they/them)
@alonlevy.bsky.social
Transit researcher in Berlin. Lived in Tel Aviv, Singapore, the Riviera, New York, Providence, Vancouver, Stockholm, Paris. https://pedestrianobservations.com/ http://patreon.com/alonlevy [email protected] @[email protected]
"Digitale soziale Marktwirtschaft," SPD? Really? www.zeit.de/politik/deut...
SPD: Bärbel Bas warnt vor "Abrissbirne" für Sozialpolitik
Die SPD-Vorsitzende Bärbel Bas kritisiert den Koalitionspartner für seine Vorschläge zum Umbau des Sozialstaats. Co-Parteichef Lars Klingbeil warnt Europa vor Naivität.
www.zeit.de
February 7, 2026 at 8:11 PM
"Digitale soziale Marktwirtschaft," SPD? Really? www.zeit.de/politik/deut...
Israel needs better public transport on weekdays and the UK needs better cis health care.
February 7, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Israel needs better public transport on weekdays and the UK needs better cis health care.
All injuries and deaths at ICE concentration camps are the result of the inmate slipping on a bar of soap.
ICE told nurses this Minneapolis man “purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall.”
What actually happened is that they pulled him from a car, beat him so viciously with a steel baton that he had 8 skull fractures, 5 life-threatening brain hemorrhages, and couldn’t remember he had a daughter.
What actually happened is that they pulled him from a car, beat him so viciously with a steel baton that he had 8 skull fractures, 5 life-threatening brain hemorrhages, and couldn’t remember he had a daughter.
February 7, 2026 at 7:46 PM
All injuries and deaths at ICE concentration camps are the result of the inmate slipping on a bar of soap.
War crimes at home:
February 7, 2026 at 7:09 PM
War crimes at home:
Like Mamdani, Raman wasn't always a YIMBY but came around to that view, and got the endorsement of a former opponent for her seat who had run on an explicitly YIMBY platform, @sarahkatelevy.bsky.social (no relation).
"Nithya Raman, who has been compared to Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York, presents a significant challenge to the incumbent, Mayor Karen Bass." NYT gets the scoop
Rising Progressive Star Shakes Up Race for Los Angeles Mayor
www.nytimes.com
February 7, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Like Mamdani, Raman wasn't always a YIMBY but came around to that view, and got the endorsement of a former opponent for her seat who had run on an explicitly YIMBY platform, @sarahkatelevy.bsky.social (no relation).
Comparisons of ICE with the Holocaust serve to decenter both groups' primary victims - immigrants and Jews, respectively - and turn them into tiresome moral lessons for people who are neither. The history of ICE concentration camps is rooted in US nativism alone, with Operation Wetback, etc.
February 7, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Comparisons of ICE with the Holocaust serve to decenter both groups' primary victims - immigrants and Jews, respectively - and turn them into tiresome moral lessons for people who are neither. The history of ICE concentration camps is rooted in US nativism alone, with Operation Wetback, etc.
I've been meaning to write about this *somewhere*, but this is an example of individual vs. collective notions of civil liberties. Freedom of speech as a collective right centers independent investigative media, protection from retaliation, etc., and not a frat's right to chant "no means yes."
Re: Epstein
The worst thing, for me:
I used to give the benefit of the doubt
to people who kept hanging out with abusers
who prioritized free speech over freedom from harassment.
After all, it’s a hard thing, to know what rape is, if you haven’t lived it.
And now I don’t know how to forgive myself
The worst thing, for me:
I used to give the benefit of the doubt
to people who kept hanging out with abusers
who prioritized free speech over freedom from harassment.
After all, it’s a hard thing, to know what rape is, if you haven’t lived it.
And now I don’t know how to forgive myself
February 7, 2026 at 8:29 AM
I've been meaning to write about this *somewhere*, but this is an example of individual vs. collective notions of civil liberties. Freedom of speech as a collective right centers independent investigative media, protection from retaliation, etc., and not a frat's right to chant "no means yes."
Reposted by Alon (they/them)
Probably nothing, just the Singaporean national security and home minister saying his views on detention without trial have evolved (and not in the direction you would hope) […]
Original post on hachyderm.io
hachyderm.io
February 7, 2026 at 6:57 AM
Probably nothing, just the Singaporean national security and home minister saying his views on detention without trial have evolved (and not in the direction you would hope) […]
Reposted by Alon (they/them)
One thing I have to say about this is that too many people, both on this website and in private group chats, are saying "we should just rename it for him now because the funding is too important and we can remove his name later."
And I have to say, no, absolutely not. Do not give in to this charade
And I have to say, no, absolutely not. Do not give in to this charade
I, too, have confirmed the legacy-laundering nomenclature negotiations vis a vis Hudson River Tunnel:
Per three sources, Trump said he’d quit interfering in the funding if Dulles and/or Penn got renamed for him.
Per three sources, Trump said he’d quit interfering in the funding if Dulles and/or Penn got renamed for him.
February 6, 2026 at 5:26 PM
One thing I have to say about this is that too many people, both on this website and in private group chats, are saying "we should just rename it for him now because the funding is too important and we can remove his name later."
And I have to say, no, absolutely not. Do not give in to this charade
And I have to say, no, absolutely not. Do not give in to this charade
Reposted by Alon (they/them)
Blueskyese and Xian share an obvious common root as both being Twitteric languages, the difference is that after the split Xian became a hybrid Twitteric/Channer-linkedin tongue, while Blueskyese changed less overall but did pick up some tumbleric and redditor loanwords
yeah Bluesky is primarily a Tumblric language
February 6, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Blueskyese and Xian share an obvious common root as both being Twitteric languages, the difference is that after the split Xian became a hybrid Twitteric/Channer-linkedin tongue, while Blueskyese changed less overall but did pick up some tumbleric and redditor loanwords
Reposted by Alon (they/them)
I waited for confirmation, and it has now been confirmed: there was an explosion followed by a massive fire at the Joint Staff of the Iranian Army (Artesh) in eastern Tehran about two hours ago. Little else is known at this time.
February 6, 2026 at 8:11 PM
I waited for confirmation, and it has now been confirmed: there was an explosion followed by a massive fire at the Joint Staff of the Iranian Army (Artesh) in eastern Tehran about two hours ago. Little else is known at this time.
Reposted by Alon (they/them)
What a great question! As it happens, scientists only documented sharks making noise for the first time *LAST YEAR*!
Time to rewrite the textbooks.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...
Time to rewrite the textbooks.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...
February 6, 2026 at 7:59 PM
What a great question! As it happens, scientists only documented sharks making noise for the first time *LAST YEAR*!
Time to rewrite the textbooks.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...
Time to rewrite the textbooks.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...
TS Western Europe feed, does anyone have recommendations for olive oil brands?
פיד מערב אירופה, יש למישהו המלצות על שמן זית?
February 6, 2026 at 7:44 PM
TS Western Europe feed, does anyone have recommendations for olive oil brands?
Reposted by Alon (they/them)
Die Israelitische Kultusgemeinde in München erhält einen Umschlag mit einer scharfen Patrone und einem antisemitischen Schreiben. Aus der Masse an Drohungen, welche Jüdinnen und Juden auch in München regelmäßig erreichen, sticht diese "Postsendung" nochmal heraus.
www.sueddeutsche.de
February 6, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Die Israelitische Kultusgemeinde in München erhält einen Umschlag mit einer scharfen Patrone und einem antisemitischen Schreiben. Aus der Masse an Drohungen, welche Jüdinnen und Juden auch in München regelmäßig erreichen, sticht diese "Postsendung" nochmal heraus.
Reposted by Alon (they/them)
This is the website where you receive legally actionable death threats for providing basic geopolitical context on how oil markets work and what makes an oil field valuable or not, without any particular political spin beyond "this thing everyone on the site agrees is evil is also stupid".
February 6, 2026 at 8:15 AM
This is the website where you receive legally actionable death threats for providing basic geopolitical context on how oil markets work and what makes an oil field valuable or not, without any particular political spin beyond "this thing everyone on the site agrees is evil is also stupid".
Reposted by Alon (they/them)
Now what I want is an ASOIaF fanfic written in-universe where ASOIaF is a historical fiction series with a bunch of *wild* inaccuracies, a la Ivenhoe
So one of the great fantasy literature ironies is that Martin rags on Tolkien about tax policy and military structure but his is just as flimsy if not worse
I’m half tempted to say the only Iron Throne contender who was a competent administrator was Margeary.
February 6, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Now what I want is an ASOIaF fanfic written in-universe where ASOIaF is a historical fiction series with a bunch of *wild* inaccuracies, a la Ivenhoe
STOP talking shit about 2028 Democratic presidential primary candidates:
Walz is PERSONABLE
Shapiro is RHETORICALLY GIFTED
AOC is CHARISMATIC
Pritzker is SUCCESSFUL
Newsom
Buttigieg has EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE
Walz is PERSONABLE
Shapiro is RHETORICALLY GIFTED
AOC is CHARISMATIC
Pritzker is SUCCESSFUL
Newsom
Buttigieg has EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE
February 4, 2026 at 11:23 PM
STOP talking shit about 2028 Democratic presidential primary candidates:
Walz is PERSONABLE
Shapiro is RHETORICALLY GIFTED
AOC is CHARISMATIC
Pritzker is SUCCESSFUL
Newsom
Buttigieg has EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE
Walz is PERSONABLE
Shapiro is RHETORICALLY GIFTED
AOC is CHARISMATIC
Pritzker is SUCCESSFUL
Newsom
Buttigieg has EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE
Reposted by Alon (they/them)
"For Golan, the war in Gaza could have ended with a hostage-release deal as early as February 2024, 'when we defeated Hamas’s military force,' he told me. The lives of thousands of Palestinians and hundreds of Israeli soldiers could have been spared."
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/m...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/m...
‘We Are Going to Live With Scars’: Yair Golan’s Battle for a Two-State Solution
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 10:53 PM
"For Golan, the war in Gaza could have ended with a hostage-release deal as early as February 2024, 'when we defeated Hamas’s military force,' he told me. The lives of thousands of Palestinians and hundreds of Israeli soldiers could have been spared."
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/m...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/m...
If we interpret the three bears from the original story as gay bears, then Silver Hair/Goldilocks represents the straight woman who infringes on gay spaces.
February 4, 2026 at 10:08 PM
If we interpret the three bears from the original story as gay bears, then Silver Hair/Goldilocks represents the straight woman who infringes on gay spaces.
Reposted by Alon (they/them)
Full story: We have a deal on the €90 billion loan for Ukraine, funded through joint debt.
EU countries seal deal on €90bm loan for Ukraine funded by joint debt
Under the loan, Ukraine will receive €30 billion to support its budgetary needs and €60 billion to purchase weapons and ammunition. #EuropeNews
www.euronews.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:02 PM
Full story: We have a deal on the €90 billion loan for Ukraine, funded through joint debt.
Romania can build a domestic network with some international connections at much lower length than Spain, and probably a comparable tunneling percentage. The domestic network length (to Cluj, not Oradea) is 950 km.
February 4, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Romania can build a domestic network with some international connections at much lower length than Spain, and probably a comparable tunneling percentage. The domestic network length (to Cluj, not Oradea) is 950 km.
Reposted by Alon (they/them)
You'd think people could grasp that unemployment isn't localized where the economic activity is, so you can have both areas of high unemployment and worker shortages. Especially in a big country with poor connective infrastructure
February 4, 2026 at 12:56 PM
You'd think people could grasp that unemployment isn't localized where the economic activity is, so you can have both areas of high unemployment and worker shortages. Especially in a big country with poor connective infrastructure
1.7B€ for 11 km of tunnel between Böblingen west of Stuttgart and the airport, bypassing the city.
Pfaffensteig Tunnel included in €2·5bn German funding package https://bit.ly/49YwsNE
February 4, 2026 at 3:08 PM
1.7B€ for 11 km of tunnel between Böblingen west of Stuttgart and the airport, bypassing the city.
A book on pet dogs would be called Maslow's Hierarchy of Breeds.
Racking my brains for another joke to add to this thread, but I'm coming up empty. I got nothing. Just a Maslow's hierarchy of tumbleweeds
A book on livestock care called Maslow’s Hierarchy of Feeds
February 4, 2026 at 2:56 PM
A book on pet dogs would be called Maslow's Hierarchy of Breeds.
Moral superiority is nice. Spending those 2-3.5% of GDP defense budgets on a single EU army capable of defeating the Russian Army in the field and telling the Americans "no" without having to manage that relationship is even better.
Slovak PM Fico, a right wing russian supporting grifter, canns his long time allay and supporter Lajčák because of connection to Epstein. Because even vatniks know pedos are bad!
In US mean time? EU claims moral superiority for the next century
In US mean time? EU claims moral superiority for the next century
February 4, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Moral superiority is nice. Spending those 2-3.5% of GDP defense budgets on a single EU army capable of defeating the Russian Army in the field and telling the Americans "no" without having to manage that relationship is even better.