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]
Germany is a typical, developed democracy. Elections take place in an environment where the general public have a range of political parties to choose from, operating in a pluralistic media landscape, with totally free, secret ballots, after which coalition members run against their own government.
The United Kingdom is a typical, developed democracy. Elections take place in an environment where the general public have a range of political parties to choose from, operating in a pluralistic media landscape, with totally free, secret ballots, some time after which the new Prime Minister resigns.
Canada is a typical, developed democracy. Elections take place in an environment where the general public have a range of political parties to choose from, operating in a pluralistic media landscape, with totally free, secret ballots, after which the Liberals win.
February 9, 2026 at 1:24 AM
Germany is a typical, developed democracy. Elections take place in an environment where the general public have a range of political parties to choose from, operating in a pluralistic media landscape, with totally free, secret ballots, after which coalition members run against their own government.
Hey @jeremiahdjohns.bsky.social, I love you, but you need to tell your Bay Area chapter to drop the Hjalmar Schacht and Thuringia DVP elements or you'll drop them.
this interaction (about me!) says everything you need to know about the Bay Area neolibs
February 8, 2026 at 2:38 PM
Hey @jeremiahdjohns.bsky.social, I love you, but you need to tell your Bay Area chapter to drop the Hjalmar Schacht and Thuringia DVP elements or you'll drop them.
Reposted by Alon (they/them)
Right that the prime minister has resigned. His successor, Keir Starmer, has a very difficult inheritance.
Morgan McSweeney resigns as Downing Street chief of staff
Exit of Mandelson protégé comes as Sir Keir Starmer seeks to stave off leadership speculation
www.ft.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Right that the prime minister has resigned. His successor, Keir Starmer, has a very difficult inheritance.
Kool & The Gang - Celebration
YouTube video by KoolAndTheGangVEVO
www.youtube.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by Alon (they/them)
BREAKING: Morgan McSweeney quits as Keir Starmer's chief of staff amid fall-out from the Mandelson scandal
February 8, 2026 at 2:13 PM
BREAKING: Morgan McSweeney quits as Keir Starmer's chief of staff amid fall-out from the Mandelson scandal
Kaja Kallas is free at any point to stop saying "an EU army is a dangerous idea" and instead align her views with those of most people in the EU, who want such an army.
We need better eurocrats.
We need better eurocrats.
Europeans liked to be “unrealistic” in assuming that the US would be the ultimate guarantor of their security.
Trust is a fickle thing. Once breached it doesn’t grow back easily.
Europe will have to fend for itself. Let’s try to get the transition right. That is the most dangerous phase.
Trust is a fickle thing. Once breached it doesn’t grow back easily.
Europe will have to fend for itself. Let’s try to get the transition right. That is the most dangerous phase.
Every society goes through phases of internal turmoil that, even if they end well, will at least for a time paralyse the ability of its state to project power externally.
It is unrealistic for Europeans to expect that Americans can eternally escape such eras of crisis, chaos and reconstruction.
It is unrealistic for Europeans to expect that Americans can eternally escape such eras of crisis, chaos and reconstruction.
February 8, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Kaja Kallas is free at any point to stop saying "an EU army is a dangerous idea" and instead align her views with those of most people in the EU, who want such an army.
We need better eurocrats.
We need better eurocrats.
Reposted by Alon (they/them)
Epstein was a weird nerd who built a fantastical demimonde to make people like him and monetized paradise. Sex was only a small part of what he was offering.
Opinion | Now We Know What All Those People Got From Epstein
www.nytimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 6:29 AM
Epstein was a weird nerd who built a fantastical demimonde to make people like him and monetized paradise. Sex was only a small part of what he was offering.
"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...