Dr_Aust_PhD
@draustphd.bsky.social
Grumpy old lab scientist (retd.), Uni teacher & centrist dad. Irked by trendy nonsense, own waistline, hair 📉 etc. NOT a medic - other ½ of NHS doctor. Long-ago 70s punk rock fan/ guitarist. 2 kids & now no dog (RIP). Personal views.
Grim. I guess they need the federal positions for more ex-Proud Boy stormtroopers.
A court filing against the Trump administration said that FEMA management was directed to plan for a 50 percent staffing cut and that a spreadsheet attached to the email called for a 15 percent cut for “Permanent Fulltime” staff, a 41 percent for “Disas...
TAT: [Attacking Science | Hollowing State]
TAT: [Attacking Science | Hollowing State]
Trump plans to cut FEMA workforce in half, court filing alleges
The Trump administration is advancing plans to cut down the workforce at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), unions and public interest groups alleged in court. In filing on Tuesda…
thehill.com
January 28, 2026 at 11:58 PM
Grim. I guess they need the federal positions for more ex-Proud Boy stormtroopers.
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
If Bilbo had Chat GPT
January 27, 2026 at 4:24 PM
If Bilbo had Chat GPT
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
They were following ICE agents. Before the agents smashed their car window and arrested them, “On their way back to their vehicles, one of the agents suddenly turned around, as if deciding, “Hey, why not,” and walked back to my car and pepper sprayed into the vents near the front windshield.”
Another view of "Love Thy Neighbor" from first hand account of detention in Minnesota:
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
January 28, 2026 at 7:12 PM
They were following ICE agents. Before the agents smashed their car window and arrested them, “On their way back to their vehicles, one of the agents suddenly turned around, as if deciding, “Hey, why not,” and walked back to my car and pepper sprayed into the vents near the front windshield.”
Science? Pah!
Anyone *not* think the rich will still be getting every vaccine going?
This is in part the Trump version of Mao's push of 'traditional Chinese medicine', punted out to the masses to distract them from the lack of access to proper healthcare.
Party bigwigs got Western high-tech care.
Anyone *not* think the rich will still be getting every vaccine going?
This is in part the Trump version of Mao's push of 'traditional Chinese medicine', punted out to the masses to distract them from the lack of access to proper healthcare.
Party bigwigs got Western high-tech care.
Dozens of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) databases are not being updated. Most of the out-of-date databased related to vaccines
TAT: [Attacking Science | Controlling Information]
TAT: [Attacking Science | Controlling Information]
Dozens of CDC databases aren't being updated — most related to vaccines, study finds
The agency plays a key role in tracking disease spread and vaccination rates. Last year, it seemed to back away from some of that work, according to new research.
www.nbcnews.com
January 28, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Science? Pah!
Anyone *not* think the rich will still be getting every vaccine going?
This is in part the Trump version of Mao's push of 'traditional Chinese medicine', punted out to the masses to distract them from the lack of access to proper healthcare.
Party bigwigs got Western high-tech care.
Anyone *not* think the rich will still be getting every vaccine going?
This is in part the Trump version of Mao's push of 'traditional Chinese medicine', punted out to the masses to distract them from the lack of access to proper healthcare.
Party bigwigs got Western high-tech care.
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
The Secretary of Homeland Security is asserting that the Deputy White House Chief of Staff ultimately bears responsibility for the murder of two American citizens, which is something that would normally generate a dozen congressional inquiries.
Kristi Noem: "Everything I've done, I've done at the direction of the president and Stephen"
January 28, 2026 at 2:11 PM
The Secretary of Homeland Security is asserting that the Deputy White House Chief of Staff ultimately bears responsibility for the murder of two American citizens, which is something that would normally generate a dozen congressional inquiries.
Leopards, face etc.
Latinas for Trump cofounder "worried for the first time that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents might stop her son, a young adult, because he looks Hispanic"
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/u...
‘Latinas for Trump’ Co-Founder Warns Immigration Will Cost G.O.P. the Midterms
www.nytimes.com
January 28, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Leopards, face etc.
And: quite. The main difference is the precise list & 'ordering' of 'enemies of the people'. I see few (no?) other differences, other than that the Trump regime's leadership tends to avoid uniforms & pseudo-military trappings. Presumably as that makes the parallels visually obvious (see Mr Bovino).
4
On a political, ideological, & propaganda level the parallels between Nazism & Trumpism are undisputable, in my view. Agenda 2025 lays out the plan, we watch it enacted. I frankly do not see the difference, & that's before the perpetrators' copying of old slogans. The ideology is the same.
On a political, ideological, & propaganda level the parallels between Nazism & Trumpism are undisputable, in my view. Agenda 2025 lays out the plan, we watch it enacted. I frankly do not see the difference, & that's before the perpetrators' copying of old slogans. The ideology is the same.
January 28, 2026 at 5:07 PM
And: quite. The main difference is the precise list & 'ordering' of 'enemies of the people'. I see few (no?) other differences, other than that the Trump regime's leadership tends to avoid uniforms & pseudo-military trappings. Presumably as that makes the parallels visually obvious (see Mr Bovino).
Thread.🧵 I agree with the writer.
I'm German. I've been schooled in my country's history & crimes all my life.
I'm also a political scientist, educated in Germany, the UK, & US.
As the comparisons betw the situation in the US & Nazi Germany are increasing to frequent, allow me to comment.
A 🧵
I'm also a political scientist, educated in Germany, the UK, & US.
As the comparisons betw the situation in the US & Nazi Germany are increasing to frequent, allow me to comment.
A 🧵
January 28, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Thread.🧵 I agree with the writer.
It's all about rich people and corporations (shareholders: rich and super-rich people) getting richer.
So insider access for corporate execs & the super-rich is a feature, not a bug.
All services to non-rich regular people can & will be hacked away to max profits, all fast-tracked by corruption.
So insider access for corporate execs & the super-rich is a feature, not a bug.
All services to non-rich regular people can & will be hacked away to max profits, all fast-tracked by corruption.
Nursing home industry donated almost $5m to Trump's super PAC over summer of 2025. They then, over lunch at Trump's golf club, urged the president to repeat the minimum staffing mandate in nursing homes. Less than one month after the lunch meeting, Trump administration lawyers ...
TAT: [Corruption]
TAT: [Corruption]
After Donations, Trump Administration Revoked Rule Requiring More Nursing Home Staff
Executives who donated to the president’s super PAC met privately with him and urged a repeal of the rule, which was intended to prevent neglect of patients.
www.nytimes.com
January 28, 2026 at 5:01 PM
It's all about rich people and corporations (shareholders: rich and super-rich people) getting richer.
So insider access for corporate execs & the super-rich is a feature, not a bug.
All services to non-rich regular people can & will be hacked away to max profits, all fast-tracked by corruption.
So insider access for corporate execs & the super-rich is a feature, not a bug.
All services to non-rich regular people can & will be hacked away to max profits, all fast-tracked by corruption.
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
Russia has tightened control over information about its battlefield losses in Ukraine, cutting off data and closing one public loophole after another. The effort has not stopped the evidence of the dead from surfacing.
'Impossible to ban grief' — how Russia tries and fails to hide its casualties in Ukraine
Russia has tightened control over information about its battlefield losses in Ukraine, cutting off data and closing one public loophole after another. The effort has not stopped the evidence of the de...
kyivindependent.com
January 28, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Russia has tightened control over information about its battlefield losses in Ukraine, cutting off data and closing one public loophole after another. The effort has not stopped the evidence of the dead from surfacing.
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
Someone should play the video of Fátima Lucas Henrique’s screams as she was kidnapped by federal agents on the way to her early morning nursing shift to Sen Susan Collins wherever she shows her face. This is happening to Mainers on her watch.
www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/28/s...
www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/28/s...
In her screams, the desperation of a community under siege by ICE - The Boston Globe
When ICE arrested of Fátima Lucas Henrique, the video of her screaming as agents pulled her from her vehicle resonated across the state.
www.bostonglobe.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:03 PM
Someone should play the video of Fátima Lucas Henrique’s screams as she was kidnapped by federal agents on the way to her early morning nursing shift to Sen Susan Collins wherever she shows her face. This is happening to Mainers on her watch.
www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/28/s...
www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/28/s...
Wohin einmal IG Farben, Krupp usw, so jetzt die US-Technogiganten.
Hours after the Minneapolis shooting, Tim Cook was schmoozing with Trump at the White House—showing that the titans of Silicon Valley are still not distancing themselves from the president, argues Lila Shroff.
A Reckoning for the Tech Right
Silicon Valley’s top CEOs have been noticeably silent after the Minneapolis shooting.
bit.ly
January 28, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Wohin einmal IG Farben, Krupp usw, so jetzt die US-Technogiganten.
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
“I watched him die… then I watched them maneuver his body like a rag doll— only to discover it was because they wanted to count the bullet wounds and see how many they ‘got’, like he was a deer.”
January 28, 2026 at 5:46 AM
“I watched him die… then I watched them maneuver his body like a rag doll— only to discover it was because they wanted to count the bullet wounds and see how many they ‘got’, like he was a deer.”
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
Decades of political choices: "Tesco opened enormous superstore, which politician claimed “sucked £1m a week out of local economy”
Pits one of Britain’s richest families against council with debts of >£434m... firm shrouded in secrecy"
www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...
Pits one of Britain’s richest families against council with debts of >£434m... firm shrouded in secrecy"
www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...
‘You’d be ashamed to bring someone here’: The struggling billionaire-owned high street that shows Reform’s road to No 10
Newton Aycliffe was meant to be a model town for a fairer postwar Britain. But unaffordable rents on a high street amounting to 0.12% of its property tycoon owner’s holdings have made it a symbol of d...
www.theguardian.com
January 28, 2026 at 2:23 PM
Decades of political choices: "Tesco opened enormous superstore, which politician claimed “sucked £1m a week out of local economy”
Pits one of Britain’s richest families against council with debts of >£434m... firm shrouded in secrecy"
www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...
Pits one of Britain’s richest families against council with debts of >£434m... firm shrouded in secrecy"
www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
This seems bad.
NEW: Our investigation for @thenerve_news reveals not only that Peter Thiel’s Palantir is completely enmeshed in our critical national infrastructure.
It’s also the ‘cloud support’ for our nuclear weapons system 🤯
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/palantir-t...
It’s also the ‘cloud support’ for our nuclear weapons system 🤯
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/palantir-t...
January 28, 2026 at 2:31 PM
This seems bad.
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
Just because you're "ICE" doesn't mean you're AUTOMATICALLY a criminal, neo-nazi who was locked up after jan 6th.
But it is incredibly likely.
But it is incredibly likely.
January 28, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Just because you're "ICE" doesn't mean you're AUTOMATICALLY a criminal, neo-nazi who was locked up after jan 6th.
But it is incredibly likely.
But it is incredibly likely.
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
I
was
just
following
orders
was
just
following
orders
Kristi Noem: "Everything I've done, I've done at the direction of the president and Stephen"
January 28, 2026 at 1:58 PM
I
was
just
following
orders
was
just
following
orders
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
What people still fail to see is that if they’ll do it to Alex Pretti, they’ll do it to you.
He was a young white American man—the most protected group in this country.
That didn’t save him.
He was a young white American man—the most protected group in this country.
That didn’t save him.
January 28, 2026 at 1:48 PM
What people still fail to see is that if they’ll do it to Alex Pretti, they’ll do it to you.
He was a young white American man—the most protected group in this country.
That didn’t save him.
He was a young white American man—the most protected group in this country.
That didn’t save him.
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
“An administration official gave away the game to Punchbowl News, admitting that these “de-escalatory measures” are about placating Senate Democrats so they don’t seize this moment to demand restrictions on ICE as part of any government funding package.”
newrepublic.com/article/2057...
newrepublic.com/article/2057...
Donald Trump Is Frightened
Trump wants to appear eager to minimize out-of-control clashes between government militias and protesters. But he doesn’t want to stop the things causing those clashes in the first place.
newrepublic.com
January 28, 2026 at 2:03 PM
“An administration official gave away the game to Punchbowl News, admitting that these “de-escalatory measures” are about placating Senate Democrats so they don’t seize this moment to demand restrictions on ICE as part of any government funding package.”
newrepublic.com/article/2057...
newrepublic.com/article/2057...
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
Absolutely delighted that Sepp Blatter’s turned up again, just in time for the return of Mock The Week.
Imagine being so corrupt and authoritarian even Sepp Blatter thinks you've gone too far.
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Sepp Blatter suggests fans should not travel to US for World Cup
The ex-Fifa boss showed his support of a Swiss lawyer who called for a boycott of the tournament due to security concerns in the US
www.theguardian.com
January 28, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Absolutely delighted that Sepp Blatter’s turned up again, just in time for the return of Mock The Week.
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
‘Donald Trump’s presidency is many things, but it is, above all, a violent attempt to make America synonymous with his vision of a fortress state at war with immigrants, shadowy globalists, “narco-terrorists” and domestic enemies.’
@adamshatz.bsky.social:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
@adamshatz.bsky.social:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Adam Shatz · Another Country: Visions of America
America is a ‘battlefield’, Simone de Beauvoir wrote, ‘and you can only become passionate about the battle it is...
www.lrb.co.uk
January 28, 2026 at 2:45 PM
‘Donald Trump’s presidency is many things, but it is, above all, a violent attempt to make America synonymous with his vision of a fortress state at war with immigrants, shadowy globalists, “narco-terrorists” and domestic enemies.’
@adamshatz.bsky.social:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
@adamshatz.bsky.social:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
The BBC under Chris Mason is septic
Tell me again how this BBC editorialising is just my cognitive bias... This isn't a quote from anywhere. It's just the BBC's description of this disgraced, divisive politician.
January 28, 2026 at 2:43 PM
The BBC under Chris Mason is septic
Grift-t-t-grift grift.
I imagine thus will be pitched as an 'administration fee', but...
...is there anything about Reform Inc that Fromage hasn't monetized to enrich himself?
I imagine thus will be pitched as an 'administration fee', but...
...is there anything about Reform Inc that Fromage hasn't monetized to enrich himself?
REFORM - leading in the polls - charges prospective candidates £125 to apply to run as an MP - before selecting a GB News host who is a colleague of the party leader and one of his MPs to run instead.
You'd honestly think this was newsworthy.
But apparently not.
You'd honestly think this was newsworthy.
But apparently not.
Reform seem to have been charging people £125 to put themselves up as potential Gorton and Denton parliamentary Candidates:
Applications closed Sunday.
When did they select Goodwin?
Applications closed Sunday.
When did they select Goodwin?
January 28, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Grift-t-t-grift grift.
I imagine thus will be pitched as an 'administration fee', but...
...is there anything about Reform Inc that Fromage hasn't monetized to enrich himself?
I imagine thus will be pitched as an 'administration fee', but...
...is there anything about Reform Inc that Fromage hasn't monetized to enrich himself?
Reposted by Dr_Aust_PhD
I’ve never heard of a “law enforcement” agency putting an officer who just killed someone back on the street under 24 hours. And that’s because all shootings are treated as homicides pending investigation. This is as clear a sign as you’ll get that DHS personnel enjoy practical immunity from murder.
CBP chief Bovino has confirmed that the officers who executed Alex Pretti in the street yesterday are not only *not on administrative leave,* they have all been reassigned to other jurisdictions and are all on the street today.
This is totally unheard of for any officer-involved shooting
This is totally unheard of for any officer-involved shooting
January 25, 2026 at 8:56 PM
I’ve never heard of a “law enforcement” agency putting an officer who just killed someone back on the street under 24 hours. And that’s because all shootings are treated as homicides pending investigation. This is as clear a sign as you’ll get that DHS personnel enjoy practical immunity from murder.