John Buball
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pcho.bsky.social
John Buball
@pcho.bsky.social
140 followers 730 following 44 posts
Praised bar skills, raised bar bills
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Reposted by John Buball
brenttoderian.bsky.social
“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back to a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.”

IT SAVES PUBLIC MONEY to house people.
Finland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need - scoop.me
In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Why? The country applies the "Housing First" concept agains homelessness.
thebetter.news
February 6, 2026 at 4:45 AM
Reposted by John Buball
chrisosieck.bsky.social
This reporting on settler-only units linked to the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank is important. It documents a pattern long described by human rights groups and investigators: blurred lines between state security structures and settler violence.
Settler-only IDF units functioning as ‘vigilante militias’ in West Bank
Exclusive: ‘Regional defence’ settler units are escalating violent displacement of Palestinians, Israeli reservists and activists say
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2026 at 10:19 AM
Reposted by John Buball
verfassungsblog.de
The new draft Regulation on the return of migrants introduces return hubs, reduces protections, and aims to speed up and simplify the return process.

BERND PARUSEL warns that this new approach weakens human rights standards and punishes desperate people.

verfassungsblog.de/a-draconian-...
Fairness towards people who come to Europe in search of protection, safety, or better opportunities does not seem to be something the Member States care much about.
February 6, 2026 at 10:08 AM
Reposted by John Buball
jacobsilverman.com
Tragic waste of capital and time
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Big Tech to Spend $650 Billion This Year as AI Race Intensifies
Four of the biggest US technology companies together have forecast capital expenditures that will reach about $650 billion in 2026 — a mind-boggling tide of cash earmarked for new data centers and the...
www.bloomberg.com
February 6, 2026 at 11:22 AM
Reposted by John Buball
oldtrotter.bsky.social
Remember the controversy when Obama was accused of intervening in UK politics? This is the current US government openly seeking to undermine liberal democracy in Europe.
The US state department is set to fund Maga-aligned think-tanks and charities across Europe to disseminate Washington's policy positions and challenge perceived threats to free speech. Senior state department official Sarah Rogers travelled to Europe in December to meet influential rightwing think-tanks and has spoken to key figures in Nigel Farage's populist Reform UK party about deploying a pot of money to spread American values, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. The funding was linked to the 250th anniversary celebrations of US independence later this year, the people said. It is likely to cause consternation among Washington's allies, particularly centre-left governments such as Labour in the UK, which will be concerned that US government funds are being deployed to undermine their policies.
February 6, 2026 at 7:14 AM
Reposted by John Buball
thomasig.bsky.social
What would the reaction be if this were Russia, or China?
pickardje.bsky.social Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 3d
FT exclusive:

“The US state department is set to fund Maga-aligned think-tanks and charities across Europe to disseminate Washington’s policy positions and challenge perceived threats to free speech.”

via @annasophiegross.bsky.social and colleagues
February 6, 2026 at 8:29 AM
Reposted by John Buball
newsjennifer.bsky.social
This is a remarkable @nytimes.com split screen:

A huge 3,526 word + photos profile on Sen Britt who "can't stop thinking about the boy ICE detained"

But Rep Jaoquin Castro- who actually got Liam Ramos out of detention & back home- gets no interview, no pix, just 116 words inside a story. WOW.
The G.O.P. Senator Who Can’t Stop Thinking About the Boy ICE Detained Katie Britt is uniquely positioned to reason with the Trump administration — when she chooses to speak up. Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas said in a post on social media that he had picked up Liam and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, from the Dilley detention center on Saturday night and escorted them to Minnesota on Sunday morning. He shared photos of the two on social media, including one showing Liam at the airport clutching what appeared to be a Pikachu toy and wearing a Pikachu backpack. Mr. Castro was part of a delegation of Democratic lawmakers who visited Liam and his father at the detention center last week, where he said Liam’s father had reported that the child was “very depressed” and hadn’t been eating well since they were detained earlier this month.
February 5, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Reposted by John Buball
atrupar.com
KIM: When Binance founder Zhao pleaded guilty to violating money laundering laws & was sent to prison, Binance injected billions into Trump's business & Zhao was pardoned. Is that a conflict?

BESSENT: I'm unfamiliar with any of that

KIM: Is it a conflict?

BESSENT: Again, I'm not going to respond
February 5, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Reposted by John Buball
technicien.doctriz.com
L'absence de logement ou le mal logement est vraiment le symbole de la faillite politique totale de nos gouvernements.

On pourrait LARGEMENT loger tout le monde, mais on le fait juste pas. Parce qu'on estime que les gens qui sont à la rue le "mérite".
C'est : horrible.
February 5, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Reposted by John Buball
zoejardiniere.bsky.social
I know the govt is in meltdown again…

but meanwhile I wrote about how their immigration policies create a subclass of migrant workers exposed to abuse in an increasingly “Dubai-style” rightless immigration model

& I explain what to do about it
February 5, 2026 at 7:16 AM
Reposted by John Buball
kashana.blacksky.app
We gotta come up with a better system than “everything rests on whether these twelve billionnaires are nice”
February 4, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Reposted by John Buball
sethcotlar.bsky.social
Speaking on behalf of a religion that actively sought to spread itself to every country in the world whether invited or not, Speaker Johnson would like to share with you the Biblical case for strong borders.
Speaker Mike Johnson • • Follow ... X 8h • 0 In the press gaggle following today's vote, I was asked to defend the Biblical case for border security and immigration enforcement. I did so, and then promised to post a longer explanation that I drafted during the Biden Administration. Here it is, and I hope it's helpful: Despite the insistence of the progressive Left, people of all religious faiths should support a strong national border-and Christians CERTAINLY should. Critics are fond of citing particular Bible verses out of context to claim that Christians and Jews are being "unfaithful" if we oppose their radical open borders agenda. It has become increasingly important for us to set this record straight. Perhaps the verse most often cited by the Left is Leviticus 19:34. Whether they know it or not, that passage happens to be from the instructions Moses delivered to the Israelites when they were on their journey through the wilderness in Sinai, before they reached their own Promised Land. The verse reads as follows: "But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God." (KJV) CONTEXT IS CRITICAL It is, of course, a central premise of Judeo-Christian teaching that strangers should be treated with kindness and hospitality. We are each called to love God first and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Deut. 6:5, Lev. 19:18, Matt. 22:36-40, KJV). However, that "Greatest Commandment" was never directed to the government, but to INDIVIDUAL believers.
February 4, 2026 at 4:57 AM
Reposted by John Buball
andycraig.bsky.social
There's both the dumb Trump angle and the cynical strategy aspect to this. Former is he doesn't understand any of the details and so this tumbles out as his mangled version. The latter is it's deliberately overshooting what they might actually do, to make their actual attacks seem less extreme.
nytimes.com The New York Times @nytimes.com · 5d
President Trump doubled down on his call for the Republican Party to “nationalize” voting in the U.S., even as the White House tried to walk it back and members of his own party criticized the idea.
Trump Repeats Call to ‘Nationalize’ Elections, as White House Walks It Back
President Trump’s extraordinary comments were the latest iteration of his unsubstantiated claims that U.S. elections are rigged as Republicans face potentially big losses next year.
nyti.ms
February 4, 2026 at 11:01 AM
Reposted by John Buball
motherjones.com
How to get away with anything: Trump's sordid year of pardons
How to get away with anything: Trump's sordid year of pardons
No president has ever forgiven this much fraud—or stiffed this many victims.
www.motherjones.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by John Buball
cato.org
The US immigrant population generated more in taxes than they received in benefits from all levels of government every year from 1994 to 2023.

The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets.

https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3
February 3, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by John Buball
eji.org
On this day in 1948, an all-white jury sentenced a Black woman and two of her teenage sons to death for killing an armed white man in self-defense.
Feb. 3, 1948 | Black Woman and Her Children Sentenced to Die for Defending Themselves
Learn more about our history of racial injustice.
calendar.eji.org
February 3, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by John Buball
asharangappa.bsky.social
The indictment of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers revealed that they had a cache of weapons, entered the Capitol in military formation, and were prepared to harm lawmakers. They were all pardoned and no doubt many of them are now in ICE
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 6d
Bondi accuses Don Lemon of "performing an attack-style infiltration of a church"
February 3, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Reposted by John Buball
protos.com
Brock Pierce’s dark and disturbing friendship with Jeffrey Epstein protos.com/brock-pierce...
Brock Pierce’s dark and disturbing friendship with Jeffrey Epstein
It’s impossible for Brock Pierce to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein. The pair's legacies will be tied together forever.
protos.com
February 2, 2026 at 10:34 PM
Reposted by John Buball
ravenbooks.bsky.social
"You have to put a lot of effort into not going mad." - @rolandoliphant.bsky.social relaying a message from his friend in Kyiv
It's not just a physical toll, it's a psychological one. I stayed in my apartment for 40 hours where it was -15. I didn't have electricity or water, you cannot flush the toilet, you cannot take a shower, you cannot make warm food. Everything is dark outside so it feels like the end of the world when you look out your window. You have to put a lot of effort into not going mad.
January 31, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Reposted by John Buball
metacurity.com
So Musk intentionally forced xAI to embrace making sexualized material to increase user active seconds, and the AI chatbot had, throughout 2025, only two employees devoted to safety compared to dozens of staffers on similar teams at OpenAI or other rivals.
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Inside Musk’s bet to hook users that turned Grok into a porn generator
Under pressure to boost its popularity, Elon Musk’s xAI loosened guardrails and relaxed controls on sexual content, setting off internal concern.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 2, 2026 at 12:22 PM
Reposted by John Buball
tryangregory.bsky.social
You keep using that word "ceasefire". I do not think it means what you think it means.

www.cbc.ca/news/world/i...
Israeli strikes kill at least 30 Palestinians, as Gaza ceasefire inches forward | CBC News
Hospitals in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians on Saturday, one of the highest tolls since the October ceasefire aimed at stopping the fighting.
www.cbc.ca
February 2, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Reposted by John Buball
nicolashenin.net
"On n'est plus tout à fait dans l'État de droit" en France, alerte la magistrate @magalilafourcade.bsky.social sur @franceinter.fr

"On n'en est pas du tout à la situation américaine mais on voit tout à fait ce qui peut nous arriver demain."
January 28, 2026 at 6:49 AM
Reposted by John Buball
normative.bsky.social
“I don’t think about her” is hilarious. He mentions Ilhan Omar more often than he talks about all his children combined.
anthonylfisher.bsky.social Anthony L. Fisher @anthonylfisher.bsky.social · 12d
I'm sure the heterodox civility cops will be all over this one
January 28, 2026 at 4:49 AM
Reposted by John Buball
barackobama.bsky.social
The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
January 25, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Reposted by John Buball
duncanweldon.bsky.social
I’m really quite surprised at the BBC website today. ‘Here is a video, some people say it does not show what it very obviously shows’ is not how you report this.
January 25, 2026 at 9:52 AM