Michael Karanicolas
@karanicolas.bsky.social
Palmer Chair in Law and Public Policy at Dalhousie Law. Formerly @ UCLA and Yale. All things tech and democracy. Dachshund enthusiast.
What's the over-under on whether those turkeys were present on Jan 6?
Justice will be served at the White House on Tuesday as Trump pardons a pair of turkeys for fowl reasons, participating in the 78th annual National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation. https://cnn.it/48iywxI
November 25, 2025 at 3:21 PM
What's the over-under on whether those turkeys were present on Jan 6?
My hot take is Germany’s unflinching support for Israeli actions against Palestinians is less about the legacy of the holocaust than it is about pervasive racism against Muslims.
This is one of the most Germany-coded things that I have read in a while and I shall not be taking any further questions: www.middleeastmonitor.com/20251118-ger...
Germany’s decision to take in donkeys from Gaza for treatment – but not children – has sparked outrage
The news reads like a dark joke—but it isn’t. “Rescued little Donkeys from Gaza Find a Home in Oppenheim,” reports Allgemeine Zeitung, a regional newspaper in western Germany. On Instagram, the com…
www.middleeastmonitor.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:23 AM
My hot take is Germany’s unflinching support for Israeli actions against Palestinians is less about the legacy of the holocaust than it is about pervasive racism against Muslims.
Colleagues at my law school are doing a similar assignment for incoming 1Ls, designed to prevent them from embarrassing themselves with AI written briefs once they enter the profession.
November 24, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Colleagues at my law school are doing a similar assignment for incoming 1Ls, designed to prevent them from embarrassing themselves with AI written briefs once they enter the profession.
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
I didn't jump on this because I didn't want to argue with people, but... yes — Google's AI is not reading your email anymore than they _always_ are. But if you're worried about your privacy with Google? *Don't use their email*! They have literally always been gathering data on you.
Turns out this was all much ado about nothing and Google isn’t using your Gmail to train AI and if wanna turn all that stuff back on you can get your spam filters back
Looks like the article has been updated to suggest maybe they misread the policy.
I see people complaining that this also disabled their spam filters, though I still see new messages showing up in spam so it's still working fine for me after disabling things.
I see people complaining that this also disabled their spam filters, though I still see new messages showing up in spam so it's still working fine for me after disabling things.
November 23, 2025 at 8:11 AM
I didn't jump on this because I didn't want to argue with people, but... yes — Google's AI is not reading your email anymore than they _always_ are. But if you're worried about your privacy with Google? *Don't use their email*! They have literally always been gathering data on you.
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
re: roblox dude's interview crashout. the thing he wants to say but can't is "at scale, kids are gonna get hurt. that is the price for scale." the thing nobody wants to say out loud is "maybe scaling to a level where harm isn't manageable is bad, and scale should be contained"
November 21, 2025 at 6:35 PM
re: roblox dude's interview crashout. the thing he wants to say but can't is "at scale, kids are gonna get hurt. that is the price for scale." the thing nobody wants to say out loud is "maybe scaling to a level where harm isn't manageable is bad, and scale should be contained"
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
📺 Watch our Bay Path University #Cybersecurity Summit! We had a packed room & 100+ attendees. I spoke about #TikTok data & #privacy issues and demo'd a #smartphone side channel attack 👻
Our guest speaker was @scottjshapiro.bsky.social of @yalelawschool-yls.bsky.social👇
vimeo.com/1139078347/8...
Our guest speaker was @scottjshapiro.bsky.social of @yalelawschool-yls.bsky.social👇
vimeo.com/1139078347/8...
Bay Path University Cybersecurity summit 2025
Professors Scott J. Shapiro & Sean O’Brien discuss AI, Innovation, and the Future of Security at Bay Path's 13th annual Cybersecurity summit.
vimeo.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:23 AM
📺 Watch our Bay Path University #Cybersecurity Summit! We had a packed room & 100+ attendees. I spoke about #TikTok data & #privacy issues and demo'd a #smartphone side channel attack 👻
Our guest speaker was @scottjshapiro.bsky.social of @yalelawschool-yls.bsky.social👇
vimeo.com/1139078347/8...
Our guest speaker was @scottjshapiro.bsky.social of @yalelawschool-yls.bsky.social👇
vimeo.com/1139078347/8...
I remember Trump having a very chummy conversation with Mark Carney when he was first elected. Lots of talk about turning the corner. Then he imposed tariffs.
As soon as Mamdani is in office Trump is going to make some demand (like NYPD supporting ICE raids) and they'll be at each others' throats.
As soon as Mamdani is in office Trump is going to make some demand (like NYPD supporting ICE raids) and they'll be at each others' throats.
post leftist intercept comment section types are just so eager to buy into the delusion that fascism can be negotiated with
Trump is shallow and was briefly charmed by a charismatic man, by tomorrow he'll be threatening to nuke woke daycare centers again
there is no coalition with fascism
Trump is shallow and was briefly charmed by a charismatic man, by tomorrow he'll be threatening to nuke woke daycare centers again
there is no coalition with fascism
just bleak, man
November 22, 2025 at 1:06 AM
I remember Trump having a very chummy conversation with Mark Carney when he was first elected. Lots of talk about turning the corner. Then he imposed tariffs.
As soon as Mamdani is in office Trump is going to make some demand (like NYPD supporting ICE raids) and they'll be at each others' throats.
As soon as Mamdani is in office Trump is going to make some demand (like NYPD supporting ICE raids) and they'll be at each others' throats.
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
In the Globe and Mail, @vassb.bsky.social asks the basic question: Should we just let big tech companies insist that consent to use data for AI training is part and parcel of using their service?
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
Opinion: With AI, you are now the product: The hidden costs of staying online
More platforms are tying data surveillance for AI training as a condition to use services. Canada needs to reject this
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:05 PM
In the Globe and Mail, @vassb.bsky.social asks the basic question: Should we just let big tech companies insist that consent to use data for AI training is part and parcel of using their service?
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
The CDC is no longer an authoritative source for citation purposes.
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 12:00 PM
The CDC is no longer an authoritative source for citation purposes.
Good riddance.
#BREAKING: Former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers will immediately leave his role as an instructor at Harvard while the University investigates his ties to child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.
Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.
Summers Will Not Finish Semester of Teaching as Harvard Investigates Epstein Ties | News | The Harvard Crimson
Former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers will immediately leave his role as an instructor at Harvard while the University investigates his ties to child sex trafficker Jeffrey E. Epstein.
www.thecrimson.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Good riddance.
A generation from now, we're going to be talking about Canada's involvement in the crimes against Palestinians the same way we talk about residential schools today, and it's maddening our leadership can't see that.
Hundreds of shipments of explosives and fighter jet components have made their way from Canada to Israel by passing through the U.S. over the last two years, a new report by a group of four NGOs alleges, examining export data and U.S. Department of Defence contracts.
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
Canadian-made jet fighter maintenance parts, bombs shipped to Israel via U.S., report suggests | CBC News
Hundreds of shipments of explosives and fighter jet components have made their way from Canada to Israel by passing through the U.S. over the last two years, a new report by a group of four NGOs alleg...
www.cbc.ca
November 20, 2025 at 2:40 AM
A generation from now, we're going to be talking about Canada's involvement in the crimes against Palestinians the same way we talk about residential schools today, and it's maddening our leadership can't see that.
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
Scholastica is just a fancier version of Mailchimp. Why are we even having to pay $6.60, let alone $7.35?
November 18, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Scholastica is just a fancier version of Mailchimp. Why are we even having to pay $6.60, let alone $7.35?
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
New: Reuters has tallied job losses, suspensions and investigations stemming from the reaction to Charlie Kirk's Sept. 10 assassination. Its findings: More than 600 Americans have been punished, and the figure is likely to be an under-count.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
November 19, 2025 at 11:35 AM
New: Reuters has tallied job losses, suspensions and investigations stemming from the reaction to Charlie Kirk's Sept. 10 assassination. Its findings: More than 600 Americans have been punished, and the figure is likely to be an under-count.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
eminem petitions to cancel a beachwear co's registration for SWIM SHADY as a trademark for swimsuits, bags, & other swim gear based on his trademark rights in SLIM SHADY
shady alleges likelihood of confusion, false association, & dilution by blurring & tarnishment
shady alleges likelihood of confusion, false association, & dilution by blurring & tarnishment
November 18, 2025 at 11:12 PM
eminem petitions to cancel a beachwear co's registration for SWIM SHADY as a trademark for swimsuits, bags, & other swim gear based on his trademark rights in SLIM SHADY
shady alleges likelihood of confusion, false association, & dilution by blurring & tarnishment
shady alleges likelihood of confusion, false association, & dilution by blurring & tarnishment
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
What makes a banana republic a banana republic is not any prosecution of the outgoing administration, but baseless, politically motivated prosecution. There is a whole literature which teaches that, if crimes against the public order occurred, failing to prosecute them hastens democratic decline.
November 17, 2025 at 3:18 PM
What makes a banana republic a banana republic is not any prosecution of the outgoing administration, but baseless, politically motivated prosecution. There is a whole literature which teaches that, if crimes against the public order occurred, failing to prosecute them hastens democratic decline.
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
When you call out and warn about attacks on academic freedom by the AfD but you are silent on cancellations by @lmumuenchen.bsky.social due to pressure from the CSU and others you have not understood the concept of academic freedom.
The LMU announces the cancellation of a seminar on the topic "the targeting of Palestinian academia". The cancellation announcement is titled "LMU as a place of pluralistic discourse". Couldn't make this up.
www.lmu.de/en/about-lmu...
www.lmu.de/en/about-lmu...
LMU as a place of pluralistic discourse
Statement on the Planned Event “The Targeting of the Palestinian Academia” at LMU Munich
www.lmu.de
November 18, 2025 at 9:01 AM
When you call out and warn about attacks on academic freedom by the AfD but you are silent on cancellations by @lmumuenchen.bsky.social due to pressure from the CSU and others you have not understood the concept of academic freedom.
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
The debate over whether this is 'fascism' is a silly semantic one in which a small minority mean 'completed fascist authoritarianism' and the vast majority mean 'the people in power say and do things that demonstrate completed fascist authoritarianism is what they want to achieve.'
November 17, 2025 at 9:06 AM
The debate over whether this is 'fascism' is a silly semantic one in which a small minority mean 'completed fascist authoritarianism' and the vast majority mean 'the people in power say and do things that demonstrate completed fascist authoritarianism is what they want to achieve.'
This has got to be it right? I know Harvard has a nearly bottomless tolerance for scummy behavior by famous and well-connected men, but even this has got to be over the line, right? Right…?
gosh I wonder why they called her peril www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
November 17, 2025 at 2:30 AM
This has got to be it right? I know Harvard has a nearly bottomless tolerance for scummy behavior by famous and well-connected men, but even this has got to be over the line, right? Right…?
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
Former UN special rapporteur Richard Falk was detained by 🇨🇦 customs agents and, for four hours, was asked a series of questions about his participation in the conference, his involvement in the Israel-Palestine conflict, and his position on Israel. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Border officers detain well-known legal scholar travelling to conference on Palestine | CBC News
A prominent academic and former UN special rapporteur says he was detained by customs agents in Toronto while on his way to speak at a conference on human rights violations against Palestinians.
www.cbc.ca
November 15, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Former UN special rapporteur Richard Falk was detained by 🇨🇦 customs agents and, for four hours, was asked a series of questions about his participation in the conference, his involvement in the Israel-Palestine conflict, and his position on Israel. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Even ignoring the Epstein ties, his admitted behavior should be more than enough for any functional institution to kick him to the curb. This man should not be allowed near students ever again: not at Harvard, not at his local community college.
The emails have Summers reporting to Epstein about his attempts to date a Harvard economics student & to hit on her during a seminar she was giving.
November 16, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Even ignoring the Epstein ties, his admitted behavior should be more than enough for any functional institution to kick him to the curb. This man should not be allowed near students ever again: not at Harvard, not at his local community college.
Larry Summers feels very strongly that the biggest threat to campus safety is pro-Palestinian students, and definitely not creepy 70-year-old professors who condition academic mentorship on students’ willingness to submit to sexual harassment.
His sincere updates on his attempted relationship with a student are so creepy and cringe, and then you remember the person Larry Summers is pouring his heart out to is DISGRACED CHILD SEX TRAFFICKER JEFFREY EPSTEIN, IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHTEEN
The emails have Summers reporting to Epstein about his attempts to date a Harvard economics student & to hit on her during a seminar she was giving.
November 16, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Larry Summers feels very strongly that the biggest threat to campus safety is pro-Palestinian students, and definitely not creepy 70-year-old professors who condition academic mentorship on students’ willingness to submit to sexual harassment.
Even the language of “caving” lets these schools off too easy. They’re collaborating: participating in and contributing to an authoritarian takeover of higher education.
The Vichy government didn’t “cave” to the Nazis.
The Vichy government didn’t “cave” to the Nazis.
One reason why elite schools (Columbia, Brown, Cornell) caving to Trump’s illegal impoundment and extortion is so galling — a betrayal, really — is that they would have won had they fought. By giving up, they guaranteed every other school will have to fight harder.
Judge bars Trump from immediately cutting funding to the University of California | CNN Politics
The Trump administration cannot immediately cut federal funding to the University of California or issue fines against the school system over claims it allows antisemitism or other forms of discrimina...
www.cnn.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Even the language of “caving” lets these schools off too easy. They’re collaborating: participating in and contributing to an authoritarian takeover of higher education.
The Vichy government didn’t “cave” to the Nazis.
The Vichy government didn’t “cave” to the Nazis.
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
This has gotten surprisingly little attention — it's not even on the front page of @science.org right now — but it's really hard to describe what the SAFE Research Act would do to US science and scientists without sounding insane
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
November 14, 2025 at 5:16 PM
This has gotten surprisingly little attention — it's not even on the front page of @science.org right now — but it's really hard to describe what the SAFE Research Act would do to US science and scientists without sounding insane
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
Boston’s Mayor has to pick up the Christmas tree in person this year because if we shipped it it’d be tariffed.
With Mayor @wutrain.bsky.social in Nova Scotia to watch Boston's tree start its journey, a reminder of how this tradition started on December 6, 1917. 🧵
By December 1917, Canada had been at war for three years, and the port of Halifax was a key part of the war effort, moving goods and troops to the European front. As two ships steamed through "the Narrows" that morning, they tried to make up time, passed too close, and collided.
November 12, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Boston’s Mayor has to pick up the Christmas tree in person this year because if we shipped it it’d be tariffed.
Boston’s Mayor has to pick up the Christmas tree in person this year because if we shipped it it’d be tariffed.
With Mayor @wutrain.bsky.social in Nova Scotia to watch Boston's tree start its journey, a reminder of how this tradition started on December 6, 1917. 🧵
By December 1917, Canada had been at war for three years, and the port of Halifax was a key part of the war effort, moving goods and troops to the European front. As two ships steamed through "the Narrows" that morning, they tried to make up time, passed too close, and collided.
November 12, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Boston’s Mayor has to pick up the Christmas tree in person this year because if we shipped it it’d be tariffed.