Johannes Ernst
LightNews LightNews
banner
j12t.org
Johannes Ernst
@j12t.org
580 followers 390 following 540 posts
Engineer, founder, organizer. More: https://j12t.org
Posts Replies Media Videos
j12t.org
Your annual reminder from the experience of this fellow sufferer of seasonal allergies (it has started in California):

The single most effective medication against seasonal allergy symptoms is a good air filter.

I have one two feet from my desk, and it makes all the difference. No med can compete.
February 4, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Johannes Ernst
stevevladeck.bsky.social
Even if you don't have time to read all 83 pages of Judge Reyes's opinion barring the Trump administration from rescinding Temporary Protected Status for 350,000+ Haitians, please at least check out the four-page introduction.

It's a tour de force:

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
"On December 2, 1783, then-Commander-in-Chief George Washington penned: “America is open to receive not only the Opulent & respected Stranger, but the oppressed & persecuted of all Nations & Religions.”1 More than two centuries later, Congress reaffirmed President Washington’s vision by establishing the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. See 8 U.S.C. § 1254a (TPS statute). It provides humanitarian relief to foreign nationals in the United States who come from disaster-stricken countries. It also brings in substantial revenue, with TPS holders generating $5.2 billion in taxes annually. See Part VI. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem has a different take. [screenshot of tweet]. So says the official responsible for overseeing the TPS program. And one of those (her word) “damn” countries is Haiti. Relevant here, three days before making the above post, Secretary Noem announced she would terminate Haiti’s TPS designation as of February 3, 2026. See 90 Fed. Reg. 54733 (Nov. 28, 2025) (Termination). Plaintiffs are five Haitian TPS holders. They are not, it emerges, “killers, leeches, or entitlement junkies.” They are instead: Fritz Emmanuel Lesly Miot, a neuroscientist researching Alzheimer’s disease, Dkt. 90 (Second Am. Compl. (SAC)) ¶ 1; Rudolph Civil, a software engineer at a national bank, id. ¶ 2; Marlene Gail Noble, a laboratory assistant in a toxicology department, id. ¶ 3; Marica Merline Laguerre, a college economics major, id. ¶ 4; and Vilbrun Dorsainvil, a full-time registered nurse, id. ¶ 5. They claim that Secretary Noem’s decision violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. § 706(2), and the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Government counters that the Court does not have jurisdiction, and, in any case, the Secretary did not violate the law. Plaintiffs seek to stay the Secretary’s decision under 5 U.S.C. § 705 pending the outcome of this litigation. See Dkt. 81 (§ 705 Mot.). To decide their motion, the Court considers first whether it has jurisdiction. It does. See Part II. It then considers: whether Plaintiffs have a substantial likelihood of success on the merits; whether they will be irreparably harmed absent a stay; and whether a merged balance of the equities and public interest analysis favors a stay. See Part III. Each element favors Plaintiffs. See Parts IV, V, and VI. Plaintiffs charge that Secretary Noem preordained her termination decision and did so because of hostility to nonwhite immigrants. This seems substantially likely. Secretary Noem has terminated every TPS country designation to have reached her desk—twelve countries up, twelve countries down. See Section IV.A.2. Her conclusion that Haiti (a majority nonwhite country) faces merely “concerning” conditions cannot be squared with the “perfect storm of suffering” and “staggering” “humanitarian toll” described in page-after-page of the Certified Administrative Record (CAR). See Section IV.A.3.a. She ignored Congress’s requirement that she “review the conditions” in Haiti only “after” consulting “with appropriate agencies.” 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(3)(A); see Section IV.A.1. Indeed, she did not consult other agencies at all. See id. Her “national interest” analysis focuses on Haitians outside the United States or here illegally, ignoring that Haitian TPS holders already live here, and legally so. See Section IV.A.3.b. And though she states that the analysis must include “economic considerations,” she ignores altogether the billions Haitian TPS holders contribute to the economy. See id. The Government’s primary response is that the TPS statute gives the Secretary unbounded discretion to make whatever determination she wants, any way she wants. And, yes, the statute does grant her some discretion. But not unbounded discretion. To the contrary, Congress passed the TPS statute to standardize the then ad hoc temporary protection system—to replace executive whim with statutory predictability. See Section I.A. As to irreparable harm, the Government contends that, at most, the harms to Haitian TPS holders are speculative. But the Department of State (State) warns [screenshot] Dkt. 100 (§ 705 Reply) at 20–21.4 “Do not travel to Haiti for any reason” does not exactly scream, as Secretary Noem concluded, suitable for return. And so, the Government studiously does not argue that Plaintiffs will suffer no harm if removed to Haiti. Instead, it argues Plaintiffs will not certainly suffer irreparable harm because DHS might not remove them. But this fails to take Secretary Noem at her word: “WE DON’T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.” See Section IV.B.2.b. Finally, the balance of equities and public interest favor a stay. The Government does not cite any reason termination must occur post haste. Secretary Noem complains of strains unlawful immigrants place on our immigration-enforcement system. Her answer? Turn 352,959 lawful immigrants into unlawful immigrants overnight. She complains of strains to our economy. Her answer? Turn employed lawful immigrants who contribute billions in taxes into the legally unemployable. She complains of strains to our healthcare system. Her answer? Turn the insured into the uninsured. This approach is many things—in the public interest is not one of them. For the reasons below, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs’ Renewed Motion for a Stay Under 5 U.S.C. § 705, Dkt. 81.
February 3, 2026 at 1:06 AM
j12t.org
X finally takes off. Into space.

By way of SpaceX acquiring xAI, which acquired what's left of Twitter.

techcrunch.com/2026/...

#X #socialmedia
Elon Musk's SpaceX officially acquires Elon Musk's xAI, with plan to build data centers in space | TechCrunch
The merger creates the world's most valuable private company, and paves the way for Musk to try and prove out the usefulness of space-based data centers.
techcrunch.com
February 2, 2026 at 10:46 PM
Reposted by Johannes Ernst
newpublic.org
How do we build more escape hatches from closed Big Tech social media? @fediforum.org is looking for ideas on how to grow the Open Social Web!

Submit a position paper for their Un-workshop by Feb. 16th, hosted by @j12t.org and @mmasnick.bsky.social:

fediforum.org/2026-03-grow...
January 30, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Johannes Ernst
johnpanzer.com
sfstandard.com/2026/01/29/s...
ICE protests: Bay Area readies for Friday strike
Restaurant owners, climbing gyms, and boutiques are sacrificing their busiest sales day to join a strike sparked by fatal shootings in Minneapolis.
sfstandard.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:39 AM
Reposted by Johannes Ernst
stefanbohacek.bsky.social
The ad-free, algorithm-free, data collection-free TikTok alternative, Loops, is now available in the App Store.

apps.apple.com/us/app/loops...

More about the app: joinloops.org

#loops #fediverse #TikTok
Loops by Pixelfed App - App Store
Download Loops by Pixelfed by Daniel Supernault on the App Store. See screenshots, ratings and reviews, user tips, and more games like Loops by Pixelfed.
apps.apple.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:10 AM
j12t.org
Next #nokings US-wide protests March 28.

No, you don't have anything better to do that day.
No Kings
As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power belongs to the people.
www.nokings.org
January 29, 2026 at 9:51 PM
j12t.org
From the land of the (supposedly) free.
ICE Making List of Anyone Who Films Them
“We have a nice little database and now you’re considered a domestic terrorist.”
www.kenklippenstein.com
January 28, 2026 at 5:38 PM
j12t.org
Anybody have a feel for "Universal Commerce Protocol" see ucp.dev/latest/ ?

Never mind the AI angle and all that, but is this basically an API for making purchases?
Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)
The common language for platforms, agents and businesses.
ucp.dev
January 28, 2026 at 1:15 AM
Reposted by Johannes Ernst
masnick.com
Lately there's been plenty of talk about the state of the "open social web" and why there are still so many people refusing to embrace it. Too much of it has been hand-wringing. It's time to come up with some ideas on how to get more people to embrace what's possible here.
January 23, 2026 at 6:55 PM
j12t.org
Great column on #Ai and more by Cory.
AI companies will fail. We can salvage something from the wreckage | Cory Doctorow
AI is asbestos in the walls of our tech society, stuffed there by monopolists run amok. A serious fight against it must strike at its roots
www.theguardian.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:54 AM
j12t.org
OMG.
Minneapolis ICE shooting live updates: Active-duty soldiers on standby, sources say
Trump went after Minnesota's Democratic leaders over the unrest that has taken place in the state following the fatal shooting of Renee Good.
abcnews.go.com
January 18, 2026 at 2:51 AM
Reposted by Johannes Ernst
johnpanzer.com
@rbreich.bsky.social outlines the theory of the case for turning institutions against fascism. In addition to and coordinated with massive peaceful protest, this is what we need to focus on.
How To Mobilize America Against Fascism
What you can do, beyond party politics
robertreich.substack.com
January 17, 2026 at 6:34 PM
j12t.org
The German press reports that the new US ambassador to Iceland introduced himself by describing Iceland as the 52nd US state and himself as governor. That presumably counts Greenland as 51st. Supposedly as a joke.

So … how far can we count?
1/2
January 16, 2026 at 8:40 PM
j12t.org
“Not only did the #AI model now produce insecure code, but it also recommended hiring a hit man to kill your spouse”

Perfectly well understood and being technology, obviously.

www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/12/1...
Meet the new biologists treating LLMs like aliens
By studying large language models as if they were living things instead of computer programs, scientists are discovering some of their secrets for the first time.
www.technologyreview.com
January 16, 2026 at 6:32 AM
Reposted by Johannes Ernst
katiephang.bsky.social
The main bank account holding revenue from the Venezuelan oil sales is located in Qatar.

“There is no basis in law for a president to set up an offshore account that he controls so that he can sell assets seized by the American military,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

www.semafor.com/article/01/1...
Exclusive: US gets first $500 million Venezuelan oil deal, holding some proceeds in Qatar
The details shared with Semafor mark an initial milestone in the administration’s plan following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro.
www.semafor.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:42 AM
Reposted by Johannes Ernst
propublica.org
A nurse nearly blinded by a tear gas canister. Protesters struggling to breathe.

Under Trump 2.0, federal agents have routinely countered protesters using "less lethal" weapons in ways that some experts say might be criminal.

➡️ Read more (w/ @frontlinepbs.bsky.social): https://propub.li/4qjXYdX
January 16, 2026 at 2:00 AM
j12t.org
ActivityPub standardization is back! The #W3C just announced a new Working Group to evolve #ActivityPub and #ActivityStream and related standards! This is extremely good news. It's not like all the world's federated social media protocol problems were already solved! lists.w3.org/Archive...
January 15, 2026 at 6:13 PM
j12t.org
One of the pitches that is being made about decentralized social media is that it can be censorship resistant.

Iran has been in a situation of maximum censorship for days now, as they simply turned off all communication services.

How would...
1/2
January 13, 2026 at 11:43 PM
j12t.org
We’re All “Domestic Terrorists” Now
The killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, and Donald Trump and Kristi Noem’s despicable lies about it, show that we’re all living at the whim of the administration’s masked, trigger-happy goons.
newrepublic.com
January 9, 2026 at 2:31 AM
j12t.org
How is that not simply armed robbery?
US Says It Will Control Venezuela Oil Exports Indefinitely
The Trump administration plans to control future sales of Venezuelan oil and hold the proceeds in US accounts, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said, making the clearest statement yet on Washington’s strategy to bring the impoverished nation’s crude to market and manage its most valuable resource. Wright, who spoke at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. conference in Miami Wednesday, said initially the barrels would come from crude Venezuela is holding in storage, which has been filling up amid the US blockade and threatening to force some production off line. “We’re just going to get that crude moving again and sell it,” Wright said.
finance.yahoo.com
January 7, 2026 at 6:36 PM
j12t.org
Wise words from Anil.
How the hell are you supposed to have a career in tech in 2026? - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
www.anildash.com
January 7, 2026 at 5:23 PM
j12t.org
Welcome 2026!

This will be the year of the Open Social Web. The commercial social media platforms are sinking in an ever-growing avalanche of inane ads, AI slop, and political manipulation.

Previously trustworthy organizations are being neutralized or coopted by an unholy alliance of...
1/4
January 5, 2026 at 4:49 PM
j12t.org
This whole Venezuela business increasingly looks to me like it’s even more batshit crazy than the usual stuff the Trump admin is doing. Even if we ignore the illegality, the precedence setting etc …
January 4, 2026 at 9:12 PM
j12t.org
I had missed that interview. Interesting!!
Mastodon creator shares what went wrong with Threads and ponders the future of the fediverse
In a wide-ranging interview with Eugen Rochko, creator of the decentralized social network Mastodon, Rochko shared why Threads federation fell flat, why ActivityPub and ATProto will likely never merge, and what it will take to grow the fediverse.
coywolf.com
January 4, 2026 at 6:51 PM