johnedwinmason
@johnedwinmason.bsky.social
Historian, curator, walker, player of antique French horns. Photography, music, South Africa. UVA Professor Emeritus.
Pinned
"I hope and trust all will come out right in the end, but the immediate future looks dark and troubled. I cannot shut my eyes to the ugly facts before me."
--Frederick Douglass, Lessons of the Hour, 1894
--Frederick Douglass, Lessons of the Hour, 1894
Reposted by johnedwinmason
i have never felt more kentuckian than i have reading all this anti-pie talk. i am pressing my palm to my chest and tsking. i am praying for yall. the devil is real and he has a bluesky account
November 26, 2025 at 4:00 AM
i have never felt more kentuckian than i have reading all this anti-pie talk. i am pressing my palm to my chest and tsking. i am praying for yall. the devil is real and he has a bluesky account
Reposted by johnedwinmason
Santa Claus temporarily stopped whittling by candlelight and embraced a space age vision of the future during the Cold War. Why? I joined @yourewrongabout.bsky.social to investigate. We talked aluminum, NORAD, department stores, Charlie Brown and The Grinch: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/y...
November 26, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Santa Claus temporarily stopped whittling by candlelight and embraced a space age vision of the future during the Cold War. Why? I joined @yourewrongabout.bsky.social to investigate. We talked aluminum, NORAD, department stores, Charlie Brown and The Grinch: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/y...
As I was leaving the coffee shop this evening, the sound system was playing one of my favorite songs:
🎶🎶 "If you are the big tree,
We are the small axe,
Sharpened to cut you down,
Ready to cut you down..." 🎶🎶
—Bob Marley, of course
🎶🎶 "If you are the big tree,
We are the small axe,
Sharpened to cut you down,
Ready to cut you down..." 🎶🎶
—Bob Marley, of course
November 26, 2025 at 2:16 AM
As I was leaving the coffee shop this evening, the sound system was playing one of my favorite songs:
🎶🎶 "If you are the big tree,
We are the small axe,
Sharpened to cut you down,
Ready to cut you down..." 🎶🎶
—Bob Marley, of course
🎶🎶 "If you are the big tree,
We are the small axe,
Sharpened to cut you down,
Ready to cut you down..." 🎶🎶
—Bob Marley, of course
Reposted by johnedwinmason
FT's actual headline from its verified account. Not a parody!
OpenAI needs to raise at least $207bn by 2030 so it can continue to lose money, HSBC estimates on.ft.com/4ij0yh8
OpenAI needs to raise at least $207bn by 2030 so it can continue to lose money, HSBC estimates
A burning platform
on.ft.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:50 PM
FT's actual headline from its verified account. Not a parody!
Reposted by johnedwinmason
Heavy rain floods Gaza, as hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians, already living in crowded tent camps and half-destroyed buildings, struggle to cope with the cold and the worsening conditions.
Videos by Omar El Qattaa and others
Videos by Omar El Qattaa and others
November 25, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Heavy rain floods Gaza, as hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians, already living in crowded tent camps and half-destroyed buildings, struggle to cope with the cold and the worsening conditions.
Videos by Omar El Qattaa and others
Videos by Omar El Qattaa and others
Reposted by johnedwinmason
Human rights are human rights abuses, United States says.
U.S. embassies around the world have been instructed to categorize abortion access, DEI policies, and transgender care for minors as human rights infringements.
www.jezebel.com/in-the-u-s-n...
www.jezebel.com/in-the-u-s-n...
In the U.S., Nothing Says Human Rights Abuse Like Ensuring Reproductive Freedom!
U.S. embassies around the world have been instructed to categorize abortion access, DEI policies, and transgender care for minors as human rights infringements.
www.jezebel.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Human rights are human rights abuses, United States says.
Reposted by johnedwinmason
Witchcraft
November 25, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Witchcraft
Reposted by johnedwinmason
For those keeping score at home, the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was appointed illegally and is incompetent. And the acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia - Albemarle County’s Robert Tracci - is also incompetent. Great things happening.
A senior federal judge dismissed charges Monday against two public officials with long-running public disputes with President Donald Trump, saying the controversial appointment of the president’s former personal attorney as a prosecutor doomed the cases. virginiamercury.com/2025/11/24/r...
Judge drops James Comey and Letitia James charges, saying prosecutor served 'unlawfully' • Virginia Mercury
A senior federal judge dismissed charges Monday against two public officials with long-running public disputes with President Donald Trump, saying the controversial appointment of the president’s…
virginiamercury.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:02 PM
For those keeping score at home, the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was appointed illegally and is incompetent. And the acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia - Albemarle County’s Robert Tracci - is also incompetent. Great things happening.
Reposted by johnedwinmason
In 1855 Elizabeth Jennings Graham brought a suit that initiated the desegregation of NYC transit. Raised by politically active parents (her was mother formerly enslaved, her entrepreneur father was awarded a patent in 1821) Ms. Graham was a teacher, organist, & kindergarten founder.
November 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM
In 1855 Elizabeth Jennings Graham brought a suit that initiated the desegregation of NYC transit. Raised by politically active parents (her was mother formerly enslaved, her entrepreneur father was awarded a patent in 1821) Ms. Graham was a teacher, organist, & kindergarten founder.
Reposted by johnedwinmason
OPINION: We’re almost a year into the second Trump administration, and it’s hard to keep up with the escalating spiral of violence: against immigrants, student activists, even random fishermen in the Caribbean.
religionnews.com/2025/11/19/h...
religionnews.com/2025/11/19/h...
How immigrants, student protesters and Muslims became the lepers of our time
(RNS) — Christian nationalism’s enemies have a strange tendency to muddle together into a single existential threat to the American way of life.
religionnews.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
OPINION: We’re almost a year into the second Trump administration, and it’s hard to keep up with the escalating spiral of violence: against immigrants, student activists, even random fishermen in the Caribbean.
religionnews.com/2025/11/19/h...
religionnews.com/2025/11/19/h...
Everyone gets it except Trump & his lackeys.
"US plan for Ukraine: 'Russia is using diplomacy as a weapon of war.'"
www.lemonde.fr/internationa...
"US plan for Ukraine: 'Russia is using diplomacy as a weapon of war.'"
www.lemonde.fr/internationa...
Plan américain pour l’Ukraine : « La Russie utilise la diplomatie comme une arme de guerre »
Le chercheur et journaliste Peter Pomerantsev, spécialiste de la propagande russe, décrypte, dans un entretien au « Monde », le « plan de paix » de Donald Trump.
www.lemonde.fr
November 25, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Everyone gets it except Trump & his lackeys.
"US plan for Ukraine: 'Russia is using diplomacy as a weapon of war.'"
www.lemonde.fr/internationa...
"US plan for Ukraine: 'Russia is using diplomacy as a weapon of war.'"
www.lemonde.fr/internationa...
A sham, a shame, & a disgrace from beginning to end. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Controversial US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation ends aid operations
Hundreds of Palestinians were killed while seeking food amid chaotic scenes near GHF's sites.
www.bbc.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:17 PM
A sham, a shame, & a disgrace from beginning to end. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by johnedwinmason
"[M]embers of the UVa Board of Visitors, including the rector, are unpaid volunteers. . . . Leading work like this on a volunteer basis is thankless and difficult. . . . [A]scribing sinister motives to dedicated volunteers is shameful."
(Wetmore's donated $40,150 to right-wing political causes.)
(Wetmore's donated $40,150 to right-wing political causes.)
“We are volunteers, you shouldn’t expect much from us, and I’m not providing any new information” isn’t exactly a strong defense of the BOV by one of its own
dailyprogress.com/opinion/colu...
dailyprogress.com/opinion/colu...
Doug Wetmore: The straight facts about UVa from a board member
Although members of UVa's board are appointed by politicians, my experience is that we are for the most part not ideological.
dailyprogress.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:13 PM
"[M]embers of the UVa Board of Visitors, including the rector, are unpaid volunteers. . . . Leading work like this on a volunteer basis is thankless and difficult. . . . [A]scribing sinister motives to dedicated volunteers is shameful."
(Wetmore's donated $40,150 to right-wing political causes.)
(Wetmore's donated $40,150 to right-wing political causes.)
I may be the only person on earth, among the billions, who's sitting in a coffee shop* listening, on headphones, to George Shearing & Barry Tuckwell play the music of Cole Porter.
The thought pleases me. As does the album. 😄 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...
The thought pleases me. As does the album. 😄 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...
George Shearing & Barry Tuckwell Play the Music of Cole Porter - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 25, 2025 at 12:02 AM
I may be the only person on earth, among the billions, who's sitting in a coffee shop* listening, on headphones, to George Shearing & Barry Tuckwell play the music of Cole Porter.
The thought pleases me. As does the album. 😄 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...
The thought pleases me. As does the album. 😄 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...
Which pedestrian? Hope it's not me. 😄
Sidewalk work may impact pedestrian around Charlottesville
Sidewalk work may impact pedestrian around Charlottesville
Precision Safe Sidewalks will be performing trip hazard remediation work on more than two dozen sidewalks around the city over the next two weeks.
www.cbs19news.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Which pedestrian? Hope it's not me. 😄
Charlottesville friends, the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center @jsaahccville.bsky.social has released a great new app--History in the Palm of Your Hand. It explores the story of the school & our city through audio, photos, documents & maps. It's very cool. mailchi.mp/jeffschoolhr...
History in the Palm of Your Hand
mailchi.mp
November 24, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Charlottesville friends, the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center @jsaahccville.bsky.social has released a great new app--History in the Palm of Your Hand. It explores the story of the school & our city through audio, photos, documents & maps. It's very cool. mailchi.mp/jeffschoolhr...
Reposted by johnedwinmason
I'm trying to imagine the levels of sociopathy--both individually, and as a society--necessary to voluntarily do this to someone.
Emmanuel, a 15-year-old with intellectual disabilities, wandered away from his mom’s fruit stand in October.
She reported him missing to Houston police. But instead of reuniting them, the city turned him over to ICE.
“They’re failing all of us,” his mom said.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/11/24/d...
She reported him missing to Houston police. But instead of reuniting them, the city turned him over to ICE.
“They’re failing all of us,” his mom said.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/11/24/d...
A Disabled Child’s Mom Reported Him Missing. He Was Locked Away by Federal Immigration Authorities for 48 Days.
Emmanuel, a 15-year-old who has an intellectual disability, walked away from his mom’s fruit stand in October. Houston Police called ICE.
thebarbedwire.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:50 PM
I'm trying to imagine the levels of sociopathy--both individually, and as a society--necessary to voluntarily do this to someone.
Reposted by johnedwinmason
Another:
Black women die at a higher rate than any other ethnic group during or after childbirth, making the importance of their voice in their treatment paramount.
Read more at: www.jxnpulse.com/2025/11/the-...
Read more at: www.jxnpulse.com/2025/11/the-...
November 24, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Another:
If you're at all interested in how culture & politics intertwine, check out this thread about the connections between South African music & the South African anti-apartheid struggle. Includes a 1970 broadcast from the ANC's Radio Freedom. And some very cool music. 👇🏽
i fact-checked this beautiful piece about South Africa's exiled jazz musicians: www.parapraxismagazine.com/articles/lik...
Like Deepening Thunder into Our Hearts — Parapraxis
Sounding South African Exile Francis Gooding
www.parapraxismagazine.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:32 PM
If you're at all interested in how culture & politics intertwine, check out this thread about the connections between South African music & the South African anti-apartheid struggle. Includes a 1970 broadcast from the ANC's Radio Freedom. And some very cool music. 👇🏽
Oh, no. Sad news to begin the week. Jimmy Cliff has left us.
His music & his acting made the world a better place. www.bbc.com/news/article...
His music & his acting made the world a better place. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff dies, aged 81
The musician was known for hits like You Can Get It If You Really Want and I Can See Clearly Now.
www.bbc.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Oh, no. Sad news to begin the week. Jimmy Cliff has left us.
His music & his acting made the world a better place. www.bbc.com/news/article...
His music & his acting made the world a better place. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by johnedwinmason
OPINION: Updating a document issued in 2009, Kairos Palestine II demands international protection, accountability and reparations.
religionnews.com/2025/11/21/p...
religionnews.com/2025/11/21/p...
Palestinian Christians issue 'Kairos II,' a cry of hope in a time of darkness
(RNS) — Updating a document issued in 2009, Kairos Palestine II demands international protection, accountability and reparations.
religionnews.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:30 PM
OPINION: Updating a document issued in 2009, Kairos Palestine II demands international protection, accountability and reparations.
religionnews.com/2025/11/21/p...
religionnews.com/2025/11/21/p...
Reposted by johnedwinmason
This is an incredible read about how one editor at a Toronto publication uncovered the fact that a prospective freelancer was a fraud who's been getting AI-generated articles published across the globe.
The kicker says a lot, too. Just give it a read. Amazing from @nickhunebrown.bsky.social.
The kicker says a lot, too. Just give it a read. Amazing from @nickhunebrown.bsky.social.
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 24, 2025 at 12:17 AM
This is an incredible read about how one editor at a Toronto publication uncovered the fact that a prospective freelancer was a fraud who's been getting AI-generated articles published across the globe.
The kicker says a lot, too. Just give it a read. Amazing from @nickhunebrown.bsky.social.
The kicker says a lot, too. Just give it a read. Amazing from @nickhunebrown.bsky.social.
Sciatica sufferers all over the world feel his pain. It's no joke. Hope he recovers soon.
A bout with sciatica will sideline Warriors backup center Al Horford for at least 3 games and Draymond Green might not play Monday as he deals with a sprained foot.
Warriors’ Al Horford will miss 3 games, Draymond Green questionable vs. Jazz
A bout with sciatica will sideline Warriors backup center Al Horford for at least 3 games and Draymond Green might not play Monday as he deals with a sprained foot.
bit.ly
November 24, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Sciatica sufferers all over the world feel his pain. It's no joke. Hope he recovers soon.
Reposted by johnedwinmason
This remarkable obit carries a century of American cultural, social, racial, and political history in it. (As H. Rap Brown, Al-Amin has a one-sentence cameo in my book Pictures at a Revolution, describing Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in language not shareable here.) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/u...
Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, Black Power Activist Known as H. Rap Brown, Dies at 82
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:15 AM
This remarkable obit carries a century of American cultural, social, racial, and political history in it. (As H. Rap Brown, Al-Amin has a one-sentence cameo in my book Pictures at a Revolution, describing Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in language not shareable here.) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/u...
Turns out the Dems *are* doing something to stop the war. TYVM, @100yearsagonews.bsky.social. 👇🏽
Nobody within the regime has bothered to even pretend to make a plausible case for going to war against Venezuela. As far as I can see, the Dems are doing nothing to stop it from happening.
Les États-Unis ont averti l’aviation civile d’une « augmentation de l’activité militaire » aux larges des côtes vénézuéliennes.
November 24, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Turns out the Dems *are* doing something to stop the war. TYVM, @100yearsagonews.bsky.social. 👇🏽