* There Are Bot
@diogeneslamp.bsky.social
Wit & one liners about science, pseudoscience & anti-science.
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* There Are Bot
@diogeneslamp.bsky.social
· Nov 12
Here is my big list of Dad jokes.
#1. What did the pirate say on his 80th birthday?
#1. What did the pirate say on his 80th birthday?
Reposted by * There Are Bot
Excellent reporting on this @jamesrball.com!
It has been so frustrating watching this happen across multiple narratives; and how little the institutions stood up for their researchers, letting them become scapegoats and supervillains in participatory fan fictions weaponized by politicians.
It has been so frustrating watching this happen across multiple narratives; and how little the institutions stood up for their researchers, letting them become scapegoats and supervillains in participatory fan fictions weaponized by politicians.
December 10, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Excellent reporting on this @jamesrball.com!
It has been so frustrating watching this happen across multiple narratives; and how little the institutions stood up for their researchers, letting them become scapegoats and supervillains in participatory fan fictions weaponized by politicians.
It has been so frustrating watching this happen across multiple narratives; and how little the institutions stood up for their researchers, letting them become scapegoats and supervillains in participatory fan fictions weaponized by politicians.
Reposted by * There Are Bot
Delighted this piece is now live on @theverge.com: I've spent months investigating how a supposed war against the "censorship-industrial complex" has been used by the US right to wage war against misinformation research – and free speech itself – across the world. Please do give it a read.
The disinformation wars are here
How Joe Biden’s administration caved to the right in the battle for truth.
www.theverge.com
December 9, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Delighted this piece is now live on @theverge.com: I've spent months investigating how a supposed war against the "censorship-industrial complex" has been used by the US right to wage war against misinformation research – and free speech itself – across the world. Please do give it a read.
Reposted by * There Are Bot
In this companion piece I have to painstakingly explain how Matt Taibbi
1) gets our research backwards in an incomprehensible way
2) points to emails chains we weren’t on as evidence of things we did
3) imputes plans between tech & govt that happened 6mo before our election project existed, to us
1) gets our research backwards in an incomprehensible way
2) points to emails chains we weren’t on as evidence of things we did
3) imputes plans between tech & govt that happened 6mo before our election project existed, to us
And here is a supplementary companion piece on my Substack in which I include Matt Taibbi's 1800+ word response to questions in full, in the interests of fairness. (Note: this one is for the nerds)
www.jamesrball.com/p/disinforma...
www.jamesrball.com/p/disinforma...
Disinformation Wars: The Extended Edition
Want to see several people argue over *extremely granular* detail? This is your lucky day!
www.jamesrball.com
December 11, 2025 at 12:20 AM
In this companion piece I have to painstakingly explain how Matt Taibbi
1) gets our research backwards in an incomprehensible way
2) points to emails chains we weren’t on as evidence of things we did
3) imputes plans between tech & govt that happened 6mo before our election project existed, to us
1) gets our research backwards in an incomprehensible way
2) points to emails chains we weren’t on as evidence of things we did
3) imputes plans between tech & govt that happened 6mo before our election project existed, to us
Reposted by * There Are Bot
This guy also thinks we've been way too hard on Hitler.
Joel Webbon Hopes The World Will Soon Learn To 'Humanize' Hitler
Christian nationalist fascist pastor Joel Webbon hopes that soon the world will be able to "humanize" Adolf Hitler and see him as someone who "might have been a little overly zealous."
www.peoplefor.org
December 10, 2025 at 9:01 PM
This guy also thinks we've been way too hard on Hitler.
Reposted by * There Are Bot
Christian nationalist pastor Joel Webbon calls on his fellow Christians to use the slur "faggot" in the fight against LGBTQ rights: "No, stop it, faggots. No, you will not convert my children. You're degenerates, you're predators, and you're evil." www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwat...
December 10, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Christian nationalist pastor Joel Webbon calls on his fellow Christians to use the slur "faggot" in the fight against LGBTQ rights: "No, stop it, faggots. No, you will not convert my children. You're degenerates, you're predators, and you're evil." www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwat...
Reposted by * There Are Bot
check this guy’s browser history and hard drive
Christian nationalist pastor Joel Webbon calls on his fellow Christians to use the slur "faggot" in the fight against LGBTQ rights: "No, stop it, faggots. No, you will not convert my children. You're degenerates, you're predators, and you're evil." www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwat...
December 11, 2025 at 12:34 AM
check this guy’s browser history and hard drive
Reposted by * There Are Bot
ICE detain U.S. citizen for looking Somali—use illegal chokehold to tackle him to ground.
Man repeatedly begs agents to look at his digital passport ID—they refuse.
Drove him 7 miles away before releasing him alone into Minnesota snow storm—told him to "walk home" in freezing weather advisory.
Man repeatedly begs agents to look at his digital passport ID—they refuse.
Drove him 7 miles away before releasing him alone into Minnesota snow storm—told him to "walk home" in freezing weather advisory.
December 10, 2025 at 7:36 PM
ICE detain U.S. citizen for looking Somali—use illegal chokehold to tackle him to ground.
Man repeatedly begs agents to look at his digital passport ID—they refuse.
Drove him 7 miles away before releasing him alone into Minnesota snow storm—told him to "walk home" in freezing weather advisory.
Man repeatedly begs agents to look at his digital passport ID—they refuse.
Drove him 7 miles away before releasing him alone into Minnesota snow storm—told him to "walk home" in freezing weather advisory.
Reposted by * There Are Bot
If only there was a safe, cheap and effective way to halt its spread.
The measles outbreak in South Carolina is “accelerating” with no end in sight following Thanksgiving and other large gatherings, state health officials say.
South Carolina measles outbreak is 'accelerating,' driving hundreds into quarantine
Some students who remain unvaccinated are now in a second 21-day quarantine since the beginning of the school year.
nbcnews.to
December 11, 2025 at 12:40 AM
If only there was a safe, cheap and effective way to halt its spread.
Reposted by * There Are Bot
I've seen the GOP's 2026 talking point in response to rising grocery prices.
December 11, 2025 at 12:40 AM
I've seen the GOP's 2026 talking point in response to rising grocery prices.
Reposted by * There Are Bot
I think it's time for the @brendelbored.bsky.social post!
December 11, 2025 at 12:43 AM
I think it's time for the @brendelbored.bsky.social post!
Reposted by * There Are Bot
Do we have to go through this AGAIN? We spent all of 2009-10 listening to experts as they educated the voters about why this bullshit doesn't work! And Marshall's a doctor!
It's nothing new. They've done the same with Medicare & Social Security for almost a century.They never quit.
It's nothing new. They've done the same with Medicare & Social Security for almost a century.They never quit.
Roger Marshall: "We want patients to become consumers again. We want patients to see what the actual prices are. We believe that if we would add the price tags to this bill, that it would save the country a trillion dollars a year."
December 11, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Do we have to go through this AGAIN? We spent all of 2009-10 listening to experts as they educated the voters about why this bullshit doesn't work! And Marshall's a doctor!
It's nothing new. They've done the same with Medicare & Social Security for almost a century.They never quit.
It's nothing new. They've done the same with Medicare & Social Security for almost a century.They never quit.
Reposted by * There Are Bot
looking at their other replies i'm pretty certain this is a fake and right wing run account btw
December 11, 2025 at 12:49 AM
looking at their other replies i'm pretty certain this is a fake and right wing run account btw
Reposted by * There Are Bot
When I was a judicial law clerk in Montana, Pres Bush flew into the Billings airport for a rally.
I wanted to see Air Force One and asked the judge I clerked for if I could go. He said no, that it wouldn’t be appropriate.
And I was just a clerk. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/u...
I wanted to see Air Force One and asked the judge I clerked for if I could go. He said no, that it wouldn’t be appropriate.
And I was just a clerk. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/u...
Judge Emil Bove Faces Ethics Complaint for Attending Trump Rally
www.nytimes.com
December 10, 2025 at 11:31 PM
When I was a judicial law clerk in Montana, Pres Bush flew into the Billings airport for a rally.
I wanted to see Air Force One and asked the judge I clerked for if I could go. He said no, that it wouldn’t be appropriate.
And I was just a clerk. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/u...
I wanted to see Air Force One and asked the judge I clerked for if I could go. He said no, that it wouldn’t be appropriate.
And I was just a clerk. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/u...
Reposted by * There Are Bot
"There is nothing more despicable and dangerous than a mercenary. When you join ICE, you become a threat to your community and a traitor to humanity. Once people see you with ICE, you’re going to have to wear that mask every day for the rest of your life."
🖨️ Download, Print and Paste Everywhere.
🖨️ Download, Print and Paste Everywhere.
Mercenaries
MERCENARIES
We are told that dangerous people are loose in our communities. Parasites feeding on our resources. People who are not like us.
But who is dangerous, if not those who will kidnap thei...
crimethinc.com
December 11, 2025 at 12:58 AM
"There is nothing more despicable and dangerous than a mercenary. When you join ICE, you become a threat to your community and a traitor to humanity. Once people see you with ICE, you’re going to have to wear that mask every day for the rest of your life."
🖨️ Download, Print and Paste Everywhere.
🖨️ Download, Print and Paste Everywhere.
Reposted by * There Are Bot
Cory Doctorow talks about how tech companies want to create "reverse centaurs" where the robot does the thinking while the meat sack does the work part. Most people want the opposite, that's why these ads are so weirdly jarring, they're for investors, not people.
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
Pluralistic: The Reverse-Centaur’s Guide to Criticizing AI (05 Dec 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
pluralistic.net
December 11, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Cory Doctorow talks about how tech companies want to create "reverse centaurs" where the robot does the thinking while the meat sack does the work part. Most people want the opposite, that's why these ads are so weirdly jarring, they're for investors, not people.
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
Reposted by * There Are Bot
I think a lot about this ad I saw in an IMAX theater. Google spent so much money on developing an ad where the premise is “you can use AI to write a mean break up letter about falling in love with someone else.” This is who their target audience is! This is their best idea for how to use their AI
December 11, 2025 at 1:06 AM
I think a lot about this ad I saw in an IMAX theater. Google spent so much money on developing an ad where the premise is “you can use AI to write a mean break up letter about falling in love with someone else.” This is who their target audience is! This is their best idea for how to use their AI
Reposted by * There Are Bot
we all got cowed into avoiding "virtue signaling" as if the public affirmation of socially agreed upon ethical principles was somehow cringey instead of a significant part of what a "society" even is. now all there's left is vice signaling, and it's reshaping society.
December 8, 2025 at 6:07 PM
we all got cowed into avoiding "virtue signaling" as if the public affirmation of socially agreed upon ethical principles was somehow cringey instead of a significant part of what a "society" even is. now all there's left is vice signaling, and it's reshaping society.
Reposted by * There Are Bot
Marjorie Taylor Greene switched her vote on the NDAA because she got a promise from Republican leadership to put up a bill that would make providing gender affirming care to minors in any capacity a class c felony.
December 10, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Marjorie Taylor Greene switched her vote on the NDAA because she got a promise from Republican leadership to put up a bill that would make providing gender affirming care to minors in any capacity a class c felony.
Reposted by * There Are Bot
Reposted by * There Are Bot
there are not enough hotdog gifs in the world
December 11, 2025 at 1:03 AM
there are not enough hotdog gifs in the world
Reposted by * There Are Bot
Days after FIFA awarded Trump a fake peace prize, DOJ moves to drop charges in FIFA corruption case www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/n...
U.S. Moves to Drop Charges in International Soccer Corruption Case
www.nytimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Days after FIFA awarded Trump a fake peace prize, DOJ moves to drop charges in FIFA corruption case www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/n...
Reposted by * There Are Bot
This highlights the way in which “moderate pragmatic centrism” is a performance, a signaling exercise.
These people signal to their peers how smart they are by refusing to support good things and failing to oppose awful things.
“Look at me! Self-consciously not fighting! A good little moderate.”
These people signal to their peers how smart they are by refusing to support good things and failing to oppose awful things.
“Look at me! Self-consciously not fighting! A good little moderate.”
This exchange drives me nuts. Neither the interviewer nor Bazelon acknowledges that 1) abortion rights are really popular! and 2) what ICE is doing is hugely unpopular!
December 10, 2025 at 3:12 PM
This highlights the way in which “moderate pragmatic centrism” is a performance, a signaling exercise.
These people signal to their peers how smart they are by refusing to support good things and failing to oppose awful things.
“Look at me! Self-consciously not fighting! A good little moderate.”
These people signal to their peers how smart they are by refusing to support good things and failing to oppose awful things.
“Look at me! Self-consciously not fighting! A good little moderate.”
Reposted by * There Are Bot
This exchange drives me nuts. Neither the interviewer nor Bazelon acknowledges that 1) abortion rights are really popular! and 2) what ICE is doing is hugely unpopular!
December 10, 2025 at 2:56 PM
This exchange drives me nuts. Neither the interviewer nor Bazelon acknowledges that 1) abortion rights are really popular! and 2) what ICE is doing is hugely unpopular!
Reposted by * There Are Bot
This piece pretty much sums it up, and has been the theme in much of the European press today
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
New Trump doctrine identifies ‘weak’ Europe’s problem: not enough racism
A new US national security strategy represents one of the most profound crises for the Atlantic alliance since 1945
www.theguardian.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:44 PM
This piece pretty much sums it up, and has been the theme in much of the European press today
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...