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Dr Maha

@maharafiatal.bsky.social

1.2K followers 200 following 480 posts

New Yorker abroad. Adam Smith Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Political Economy at University of Glasgow studying governance by/of corporations. Sometimes journalist. Always feminist.

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Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · Aug 1

New from Pamela Mondliwa and me in @bigdatasoc.bsky.social: the wild story of how South African banks launched mobile apps and chat-bots that compromised their customer data while patting themselves on the back for promoting "financial inclusion." doi.org/10.1177/2053...

Afrofuturist ambiguities: Inclusion and consolidation in South African digital finance - Maha Rafi Atal, Pamela Mondliwa, 2025

In recent years, two changes have begun to transform the South African banking sector. First, financial technology startups have emerged, offering payments and ...

doi.org

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Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 1d

Credit to Rice, McMahon, Judge, Schlittler, Bednar, who did what was asked of them and deserved better from their teammates and coaches. Shame on pretty much everyone else. See you all in the spring.

Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 1d

Whelp. That result has had the faint air of inevitability about it all week. You cannot swing blind at first pitches, flub easy defensive plays, or run a "platoon" system where one half of the platoon is dead, and expect not to be bulldozed at this level.

Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 1d

Bearing witness for sure. Husband went to bed too and it's almost 3am here so I can't even yell at my TV, so glad to have someone to vent to myself.

Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 1d

Oh no, I know, I am familiar with the sensation of "oh no, it's Volpe again," but like even in the narrow context of this postseason, a deranged thing to have done.

Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 1d

And like clockwork, the pinch-hitter makes a fielding error that results in another run. I am sleep-deprived and haven't played since I left high school and even I could have told Boone how that would go.

Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 1d

How do you pinch hit for the guy that scored our only run today...and not for the guy who has been dead since game 1 of the WC?

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Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 1d

And while the pinch hitter got a hit, no runs came of it, *and* we have no McMahon in the field now when he's actually making the plays he's supposed to. 🤦‍♀️

cromulentdoh.bsky.social @cromulentdoh.bsky.social · 1d

Let’s him hit and pinch hits for the guy that hit a homer. Great moves

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Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 1d

One of the greatest ever New Yorkers has died. This obit is good, but the deep New York cuts in the comments are the real tribute to an immense legacy.

Desperate cravings for Zabar's smoked whitefish on rye crackers with a few pickles right now. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/d...

Saul Zabar, Smoked Fish Czar of Upper West Side, Dies at 97

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Dr Maha

Brian Floyd @brianmfloyd.bsky.social · 2d

the guy who caught cal raleigh’s homer was wearing a shirt that said dump 61 here and he immediately took it off and had a shirt that said dump 62 here

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Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 1d

buzz lightyear from toy story says " there seems to be no sign of intelligent life anywhere .. "

ALT: buzz lightyear from toy story says " there seems to be no sign of intelligent life anywhere .. "

media.tenor.com

Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 1d

Me, in February: the Trump Admin is going to try to force the EU to withdraw or weaken CBAM and the CSDDD. www.gla.ac.uk/explore/glas...

The FT this morning: www.ft.com/content/678f...

The planet cannot afford for Brussels to give Washington what it wants here.

Moreover, the EU is moving forward with its own trade restriction, a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which imposes tariffs on imports that don’t meet European environmental standards. The UK will adopt a similar system in 2027, aligning itself with Europe to secure smooth UK access to critical commodities. While the Biden Administration was in discussions about a plan to bring the US into this “climate club,” the Trump Administration is rapidly reversing US climate commitments. Indeed, the Administration has singled out countries imposing regulatory tariffs as potential targets for its country-by-country tariffs. As a result, by 2027, the UK will face a binary choice between regulatory alignment with (and market access to) Europe and a trade confrontation with the United States. The current “wait-and-see” approach prolongs, but does not resolve, this dilemma.

FT headline: US demands EU dismantle green regulations in threat to trade deal

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Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 2d

Waking up to some good news for a change is nice. How good of you to join us in October at last, Aaron.

MLB (Bot) @mlbbot.bsky.social · 2d

AARON JUDGE OFF THE FOUL POLE!

TIE GAME!!! #ALDS

Reposted by Dr Maha

Ned Hartley @nedhartley.com · 3d

French PM Lecornu resigning after 13 hours now makes the Lecornu the shortest length to measure political time. For those of you using old measures this is 1/18 of a Scaramucci or about 1.2% of a Truss

James Ball @jamesrball.com · 4d

France’s latest government lasted 13 hours and 47 minutes

FinTwitter @fintwitter.bsky.social · 4d

FRENCH PM LECORNU RESIGNS

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Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 4d

That this book isn't better known is astonishing to me. Prescient about so many things.

Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 5d

Well you got this wish, and it was absolutely earned. See you again tomorrow.

Reposted by Dr Maha

River Ave. Blues @riveraveblues.bsky.social · 5d

The Yankees had the bases loaded with no outs and the 2-3-4 hitters due up in the sixth, and scored one run. The Blue Jays had the bases loaded with one out and the 2-3-4 hitters due up in the seventh, and have scored three runs and counting. That's the game right there.

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 5d

What an admirably clear statement from the Jewish Leadership Council, especially when all of those involved must surely have been dealing with so many other urgent challenges in safety, security and grief + shock today before having this further divisive and distracting intervention to address too.

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Marcus Blumberg @marcusblumberg.bsky.social · 5d

If anyone was asking why Gil was left off the Wild Card roster instead of Schlittler. That's why! 🙄 #yankees

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Reposted by Dr Maha

River Ave. Blues @riveraveblues.bsky.social · 5d

It's time for Yankees baseball.

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Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 5d

Curtis Sliwa, rat czar in the Mamdani administration, is the appointment we deserve.

Giggle Tits' Disembodied Voice from a Frank's Box @gi66let1ts.bsky.social · 6d

Sliwa just in charge of entire brigade of street cats in little Guardian Angels' berets

Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 6d

This is true, but there's a difference between media covering "Glasman has influence over McSweeney, who has influence over PM" - which frames it as a few key individuals - and covering "Blue Labour" as a "movement," which implies representing a big tendency in the party. That's much less true.

Reposted by Dr Maha

Pinstripe Alley @pinstripealley.bsky.social · 7d

I can't believe that he just got up like it was nothing after this, I would be a puddle of goo amid the dip & sunflower seeds in the Red Sox dugout

MLB (Bot) @mlbbot.bsky.social · 7d

RYAN MCMAHON!!!!! 😱

#POSTSEASON

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Reposted by Dr Maha

Elijah Ackerman @elijahack12.bsky.social · 7d

1 of 5 to do it with 10+ K’s, along with Verlander (twice), Arrieta, Bumgarner, and Koufax.

Elijah Ackerman @elijahack12.bsky.social · 7d

Cam Schlittler is the first pitcher in MLB history with 8+ scoreless innings and 12 strikeouts in a winner-take-all postseason game.

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Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 7d

I actually enjoyed a play in the eighth inning in October? What is this feeling?

River Ave. Blues @riveraveblues.bsky.social · 7d

Holy crap Ryan McMahon.

Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 7d

Jazz' base-running last night, from first to home (82 meters): 9.16 seconds.

Usain Bolt 100m world record: 9.58 seconds.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/668...

How Jazz Chisholm Jr. cleared his head after getting benched and saved the Yankees' season