Gavin B
@ghostflaneur.bsky.social
Leabharlannaí
Ireland, Canada, Etc.
MLIS and migraines.
Pronouns in bio just in case someone feels a need to shoot me on the street.
Ireland, Canada, Etc.
MLIS and migraines.
Pronouns in bio just in case someone feels a need to shoot me on the street.
Reposted by Gavin B
We're constantly at risk of being sued into bankruptcy for any little thing we publish in Dublin Inquirer, while people can post any vile made-up thing on social media with only very rare consequences for the poster, and zero consequences for platform or its billionaire owners. That's fucked up.
January 27, 2026 at 4:21 PM
We're constantly at risk of being sued into bankruptcy for any little thing we publish in Dublin Inquirer, while people can post any vile made-up thing on social media with only very rare consequences for the poster, and zero consequences for platform or its billionaire owners. That's fucked up.
Reposted by Gavin B
WhatTheHellIsWrongWithPeople.gif
The UK has lost its measles elimination status, the World Health Organization has announced.
Vaccine disinformation is a worldwide pandemic that is killing us.
Vaccine disinformation is a worldwide pandemic that is killing us.
UK loses measles elimination status
Decision made after outbreaks in 2024, when there were nearly 3,000 cases in England and Wales.
www.bbc.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:23 PM
WhatTheHellIsWrongWithPeople.gif
Reposted by Gavin B
"The number of downloads...surged by 529% after Mr. Mamdani’s news conference"
"there had been 3,000 people on a waiting list to access a limited number of e-book copies"
"2,000 people applied for a library card over the weekend, roughly twice as many as had applied by this time last year"
A win!
"there had been 3,000 people on a waiting list to access a limited number of e-book copies"
"2,000 people applied for a library card over the weekend, roughly twice as many as had applied by this time last year"
A win!
gifting this article because it made me laugh, which is hard to do in this context. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/n...
After Mamdani Nods to ‘Heated Rivalry,’ Library E-Book Downloads Surge
www.nytimes.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:28 AM
"The number of downloads...surged by 529% after Mr. Mamdani’s news conference"
"there had been 3,000 people on a waiting list to access a limited number of e-book copies"
"2,000 people applied for a library card over the weekend, roughly twice as many as had applied by this time last year"
A win!
"there had been 3,000 people on a waiting list to access a limited number of e-book copies"
"2,000 people applied for a library card over the weekend, roughly twice as many as had applied by this time last year"
A win!
Reposted by Gavin B
In other news 🗞️ Cityboymoe flipped Trumps anti-Somali rants and pogroms into a rap banger.
One thing about Somalis is that you’re never going to take our joy from us, we’re always going to have fun and laugh in the hating faces of racist chaos agents.
One thing about Somalis is that you’re never going to take our joy from us, we’re always going to have fun and laugh in the hating faces of racist chaos agents.
January 27, 2026 at 6:33 AM
In other news 🗞️ Cityboymoe flipped Trumps anti-Somali rants and pogroms into a rap banger.
One thing about Somalis is that you’re never going to take our joy from us, we’re always going to have fun and laugh in the hating faces of racist chaos agents.
One thing about Somalis is that you’re never going to take our joy from us, we’re always going to have fun and laugh in the hating faces of racist chaos agents.
Reposted by Gavin B
“We lost all trust. I’m not sure I can see how we exist three years from now.”
Poor racist Nazi babies. Punks.
#ICEGestapo
#BothSiding
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Poor racist Nazi babies. Punks.
#ICEGestapo
#BothSiding
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Morale plummeting among ICE agents over long hours, quotas and public hatred: reports
While immigration officers support the Trump administration’s goal of deporting undocumented migrants, many of them have grown ‘disillusioned’ with leadership’s tactics, according to reports
www.independent.co.uk
January 27, 2026 at 3:23 AM
“We lost all trust. I’m not sure I can see how we exist three years from now.”
Poor racist Nazi babies. Punks.
#ICEGestapo
#BothSiding
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Poor racist Nazi babies. Punks.
#ICEGestapo
#BothSiding
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Reposted by Gavin B
Those elites are nurses, transit workers, housekeepers, taxi drivers, small restaurant owners and workers, teachers, nannies, work in low paying film and media jobs, sanitation and a gang of other city jobs.
Bc that’s who yall are shitting on when using that word not the rich fucktards of the city
Bc that’s who yall are shitting on when using that word not the rich fucktards of the city
January 27, 2026 at 3:06 AM
Those elites are nurses, transit workers, housekeepers, taxi drivers, small restaurant owners and workers, teachers, nannies, work in low paying film and media jobs, sanitation and a gang of other city jobs.
Bc that’s who yall are shitting on when using that word not the rich fucktards of the city
Bc that’s who yall are shitting on when using that word not the rich fucktards of the city
Reposted by Gavin B
i want to boost this because it's facts but also, to put myself on main street for a second: i got a master's degree, live in NYC right now, and i am still solidly working class. i am as far removed from being a coastal elite as an apple is removed from a whale.
Just bc you have a degree it doesn’t make you an elite. It means you did the work to further your education. Doesn’t make you any better or smarter. It’s not our fault that CUNY and SUNY still remains one of the most affordable school systems in the country.
January 27, 2026 at 3:23 AM
i want to boost this because it's facts but also, to put myself on main street for a second: i got a master's degree, live in NYC right now, and i am still solidly working class. i am as far removed from being a coastal elite as an apple is removed from a whale.
Reposted by Gavin B
Well, that’s wonderful as a lower income consumer, thank you. But that means I’m getting my own tax dollars back. Perhaps a review of the increase in profits by major grocery firms and grocery distribution companies it might be something to look at.
January 26, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Well, that’s wonderful as a lower income consumer, thank you. But that means I’m getting my own tax dollars back. Perhaps a review of the increase in profits by major grocery firms and grocery distribution companies it might be something to look at.
Reposted by Gavin B
Amazon is owned by Jeff Bezos, a billionaire backer of the president,” Young writes to fans. “My music will never be available on Amazon, as long as it is owned by Bezos
Neil Young Trashes Amazon, Gives His Complete Musical Catalog to Greenland for Free — Rolling Stone
“Amazon is owned by Jeff Bezos, a billionaire backer of the president,” Young writes to fans. “My music will never be available on Amazon, as long as it is owned by Bezos”
apple.news
January 26, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Amazon is owned by Jeff Bezos, a billionaire backer of the president,” Young writes to fans. “My music will never be available on Amazon, as long as it is owned by Bezos
Reposted by Gavin B
Reposted by Gavin B
I don't think there's any other possible reaction here than extreme concern to the news that 18 000 Canadian federal public servants in health care, stats, environment, justice, immigration, archives, FNMI affairs, and more, will very likely lose their jobs:
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
30 federal departments have issued job cut notices: Here is the latest
Approximately 18,000 federal public servants have received a notice over the past two months that their jobs may be cut as part of the government’s comprehensive expenditure review.
www.ctvnews.ca
January 26, 2026 at 5:02 PM
I don't think there's any other possible reaction here than extreme concern to the news that 18 000 Canadian federal public servants in health care, stats, environment, justice, immigration, archives, FNMI affairs, and more, will very likely lose their jobs:
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
Reposted by Gavin B
It never fixes anything so why do we do it?
You: Trying to pass my family on a bike to get to the school 5 seconds earlier
Me: Yelling at you in front of my kids to not run us over.
You: Trying to pass my family on a bike to get to the school 5 seconds earlier
Me: Yelling at you in front of my kids to not run us over.
January 26, 2026 at 4:16 PM
It never fixes anything so why do we do it?
You: Trying to pass my family on a bike to get to the school 5 seconds earlier
Me: Yelling at you in front of my kids to not run us over.
You: Trying to pass my family on a bike to get to the school 5 seconds earlier
Me: Yelling at you in front of my kids to not run us over.
Reposted by Gavin B
check out all this cool new jargon that no one is going to adopt
A sentence from hell:
“people in SF are putting multi-agent claudeswarms in charge of their lives, consulting chatbots before every decision, wireheading to a degree only sci-fi writers dared to imagine.”
“people in SF are putting multi-agent claudeswarms in charge of their lives, consulting chatbots before every decision, wireheading to a degree only sci-fi writers dared to imagine.”
January 26, 2026 at 3:02 PM
check out all this cool new jargon that no one is going to adopt
Reposted by Gavin B
Older Hungarian friend, who lived through Soviet control, said the regime’s lies were meant to say: we can lie completely, and do anything we want, and YOU can’t do a thing about it. The monstrous lies WERE a statement, yes. The more egregious the better.
New in PN: The regime's mind-bending lies are a tactic
"The VP told them they could kill anyone who annoyed them. Pretti annoyed them. So they killed him. Now the lies Bovino and Noem are telling about Pretti’s death are intended to encourage further extrajudicial executions and likely will do so."
"The VP told them they could kill anyone who annoyed them. Pretti annoyed them. So they killed him. Now the lies Bovino and Noem are telling about Pretti’s death are intended to encourage further extrajudicial executions and likely will do so."
The regime's mind-bending lies are a tactic
Thinking about them in terms of truth or falsity is a category error.
www.publicnotice.co
January 26, 2026 at 3:28 PM
Older Hungarian friend, who lived through Soviet control, said the regime’s lies were meant to say: we can lie completely, and do anything we want, and YOU can’t do a thing about it. The monstrous lies WERE a statement, yes. The more egregious the better.
Reposted by Gavin B
Reposted by Gavin B
Also: British commentators need to realise that in African nations corruption is referred to as corruption while in white supremacist nations such as the UK and USA corruption through bribery and blackmail is referred to as “lobbying” and is legal.
Corrupt white supremacist nations love corruption.
Corrupt white supremacist nations love corruption.
Two things to learn from this.
1. The rightwing newspapers are lobby groups whose purpose is to advance the class interest of their proprietors.
2. Lobbyists for the rich and powerful lose their jobs if they are not prepared to lie.
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-uk-...
1. The rightwing newspapers are lobby groups whose purpose is to advance the class interest of their proprietors.
2. Lobbyists for the rich and powerful lose their jobs if they are not prepared to lie.
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-uk-...
Analysis: UK newspaper editorial opposition to climate action overtakes support for first time - Carbon Brief
Nearly 100 UK newspaper editorials opposed climate action in 2025, a record figure that reveals the backlash against net-zero in the right-leaning press
www.carbonbrief.org
January 26, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Also: British commentators need to realise that in African nations corruption is referred to as corruption while in white supremacist nations such as the UK and USA corruption through bribery and blackmail is referred to as “lobbying” and is legal.
Corrupt white supremacist nations love corruption.
Corrupt white supremacist nations love corruption.
Reposted by Gavin B
If someone is only just coming around to the idea that fascism is real, and that it’s bad, I want to know why. I don’t want to welcome them onto the ship. We got here because they helped steer us here. I want to know if they have sincerely learned anything about empathy and critical thinking.
January 26, 2026 at 10:57 AM
If someone is only just coming around to the idea that fascism is real, and that it’s bad, I want to know why. I don’t want to welcome them onto the ship. We got here because they helped steer us here. I want to know if they have sincerely learned anything about empathy and critical thinking.
Reposted by Gavin B
"My ancestors came here legally!"
So fun fact the laws saying you had to follow the current legal process to immigrate to the United States didn't exist until 1952, passed by a racist Jim Crow Congress over Harry Truman's veto.
So fun fact the laws saying you had to follow the current legal process to immigrate to the United States didn't exist until 1952, passed by a racist Jim Crow Congress over Harry Truman's veto.
January 26, 2026 at 1:59 AM
"My ancestors came here legally!"
So fun fact the laws saying you had to follow the current legal process to immigrate to the United States didn't exist until 1952, passed by a racist Jim Crow Congress over Harry Truman's veto.
So fun fact the laws saying you had to follow the current legal process to immigrate to the United States didn't exist until 1952, passed by a racist Jim Crow Congress over Harry Truman's veto.
Reposted by Gavin B
Today's bonus pigeon is 70 years old and he's fucking angry (and he's fucking right).
Greg Ketter of DreamHaven Books in the Twin Cities 💛
Greg Ketter of DreamHaven Books in the Twin Cities 💛
January 26, 2026 at 5:39 AM
Today's bonus pigeon is 70 years old and he's fucking angry (and he's fucking right).
Greg Ketter of DreamHaven Books in the Twin Cities 💛
Greg Ketter of DreamHaven Books in the Twin Cities 💛
Reposted by Gavin B
In case that’s too deep a historical cut for the non-Xers out there:
In 1991, Soviet Citizens Saw Swans On The TV... And Knew It Meant Turmoil
On August 19, 1991, Russians awoke to looping videos of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake on Soviet state TV — a sure sign something seismic was up.
www.npr.org
January 26, 2026 at 2:45 AM
In case that’s too deep a historical cut for the non-Xers out there:
Reposted by Gavin B
People at taken to Whipple are released into the cold in whatever they were wearing without their phones and IDs. Volunteers meet them at release (or find them left in parks and the woods) get them a burner, warm clothes, food, a ride home, etc
(GFM in next post)
www.instagram.com/reel/DTzJde9...
(GFM in next post)
www.instagram.com/reel/DTzJde9...
January 26, 2026 at 1:39 AM
People at taken to Whipple are released into the cold in whatever they were wearing without their phones and IDs. Volunteers meet them at release (or find them left in parks and the woods) get them a burner, warm clothes, food, a ride home, etc
(GFM in next post)
www.instagram.com/reel/DTzJde9...
(GFM in next post)
www.instagram.com/reel/DTzJde9...
I see poor old H**tsuite is in the news.
I saw a job posting there for a tech support agent when I was desperately trying to do something employable and not minimum wage paying after my BA.
Two interviews, one via iphone in a cafe, and they got pissed at me when I asked about pay.
Minimum wage.
I saw a job posting there for a tech support agent when I was desperately trying to do something employable and not minimum wage paying after my BA.
Two interviews, one via iphone in a cafe, and they got pissed at me when I asked about pay.
Minimum wage.
January 26, 2026 at 3:47 AM
I see poor old H**tsuite is in the news.
I saw a job posting there for a tech support agent when I was desperately trying to do something employable and not minimum wage paying after my BA.
Two interviews, one via iphone in a cafe, and they got pissed at me when I asked about pay.
Minimum wage.
I saw a job posting there for a tech support agent when I was desperately trying to do something employable and not minimum wage paying after my BA.
Two interviews, one via iphone in a cafe, and they got pissed at me when I asked about pay.
Minimum wage.
Reposted by Gavin B
“Probably one of the biggest issues on how did we get here with these headlights being so bright is that Canada has long handcuffed itself to the U.S. regulations on how cars are built and equipped, and the U.S. regulations don’t care about headlight glare.” www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...
Vancouver council directs federal government to create limits on LED headlight brightness
A Vancouver councillor’s motion directing the federal government to create clear, enforceable limits on headlight brightness passed unanimously this week, which is a rare occurrence in the current cit...
www.ctvnews.ca
January 26, 2026 at 3:42 AM
“Probably one of the biggest issues on how did we get here with these headlights being so bright is that Canada has long handcuffed itself to the U.S. regulations on how cars are built and equipped, and the U.S. regulations don’t care about headlight glare.” www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...
Reposted by Gavin B
Beaverton, with another banger.
FBI director tells Americans not to bring guns to protests, schools still okay
FBI director tells Americans not to bring guns to protests, schools still okay
WASHINGTON – Following the killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti in Minneapolis, FBI director Kash Patel has advised American citizens participating in anti-ICE demonstrations to leave their firearms at home...
www.thebeaverton.com
January 26, 2026 at 1:59 AM
Beaverton, with another banger.
Reposted by Gavin B
I understand disagreements over policy positions, but it's a sickness of the soul to treat your fellow human like this, no matter their citizenship status.
The current protesters are absolutely righteous in their action.
The current protesters are absolutely righteous in their action.
January 26, 2026 at 2:13 AM
I understand disagreements over policy positions, but it's a sickness of the soul to treat your fellow human like this, no matter their citizenship status.
The current protesters are absolutely righteous in their action.
The current protesters are absolutely righteous in their action.