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skryptical.bsky.social
skryptical
@skryptical.bsky.social
Gardening, wandering, cats. US politics, tech ethics, equality, diversity, climate, science, human rights, social justice, accessibility.
Reposted by skryptical
Oregon Field Guide travels all over the region, capturing some beautiful and hard-to-reach areas. But the team's stories often include just a few location shots. Inspired by Norwegian "Slow TV," the team began setting up a camera to capture long, slow takes. Here's their first foray into the genre.
Explore the scenic Pacific Northwest ... slowly ... with ‘OPB’s Slow TV’
Linger in some of the region’s most wondrous sites and moments as OPB cinematographers take you on a barge through the Gorge, or on a train up Mount Hood, or in a canoe around Upper Klamath Lake.
www.opb.org
November 26, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by skryptical
James Bond supervillains threaten to blow up the world with their big laser unless you pay them a trillion dollars.

Real American supervillains embed themselves in the economy and threaten to cause a depression unless you subsidize their sex robots and the weird chatbots they use to avoid humans.
November 26, 2025 at 7:25 PM
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The photos of the Hong Kong fire are heartbreaking. What makes it even worse is knowing that the lack of press freedom and the absence of democratically elected leaders will only hinder a real investigation and meaningful accountability. 香港平安!香港加油!
November 27, 2025 at 4:30 AM
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4 flats on fire in Hong Kong, flames still coming out of them, and yet 3 members of the construction company have already been arrested and charged with manslaughter.

How many people have red or blue tories arrested over grenfell tower which was destroyed 8 years ago?
November 27, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Reposted by skryptical
“Hong Kong fire: police blame construction firm’s ‘gross negligence’ as death toll rises.. alleged buildings were covered with protective mesh sheets & plastic that may not meet fire standards & discovered some windows were sealed with a foam material” #HongKong www.theguardian.com/news/2025/no...
Hong Kong fire: police blame construction firm’s ‘gross negligence’ as death toll rises to 55
Three construction industry employees arrested after police allege unsafe scaffolding materials may have been behind fire’s rapid spread
www.theguardian.com
November 27, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Reposted by skryptical
Homeland Security ICE Barbie, Kristi Noem made the decision to allow a group of deportees to be handed over to El Salvador after a judge said their flights must be returned to the United States, the Justice Department said in a court filing Tuesday.

www.cbsnews.com/news/noem-de...
Noem made decision not to turn around deportation flights bound for El Salvador after judge's order, DOJ says
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem made the final decision to allow a group of deportees to be handed over to El Salvador after a judge said their flights must be returned to the U.S., the DOJ said.
www.cbsnews.com
November 27, 2025 at 2:30 AM
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The National Guard members respond when called. Our hearts weep for the two Guard members who were shot — we weep with their families, their state, and their nation.
November 27, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Reposted by skryptical
In an interview about Wednesday's Northwest DC shooting, a National Guard veteran said, "Had this deployment not happened, the shooting wouldn't have happened."
National Guard veteran speaks on Wednesday's shooting in Northwest DC | INTERVIEW
YouTube video by WUSA9
youtu.be
November 27, 2025 at 6:33 AM
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The suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members near the White House on Wednesday was granted asylum by Trump's administration. www.newsweek.com/national-gua...
National Guard shooting suspect granted asylum by Trump admin: Report
Suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal was reportedly granted asylum in the U.S. this year, after arriving as part of Operation Allies Welcome.
www.newsweek.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Reposted by skryptical
Last year at this time, National Endowment for the Humanities staff were gearing up to make the calls to award grants that were recommended at the November 2024 Nat'l Council.

This year, 70% of #NEH staff are fired, 85% of Nat'l Council members are fired, and nearly all grants are terminated. #DOGE
Last year at this time, I had just learned that I would receive a 12-month NEH, and I was excitedly starting to lay plans for a year of research. DOGE halted those plans by canceling my grant outright. Now DOGE is gone too, having accomplished nothing but harm to others. What a year.
November 24, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Reposted by skryptical
Third unvaccinated Kentucky baby dies of whooping cough.

Pertussis, best prevented with a vaccine, has killed three Kentucky babies in the last 12 months.

kentuckylantern.com/2025/11/25/t...
Third unvaccinated Kentucky baby dies of whooping cough • Kentucky Lantern
A third unvaccinated infant in Kentucky has died of pertussis as public health officials urge Kentuckians to get vaccinated against the disease.
kentuckylantern.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:28 PM
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Dr. Vahid Abedini, an Iranian Studies professor boarding a flight to attend an academic conference in DC, was detained by ICE & jailed: “This guy is illegally detained. He's following all the laws. He's been impeccable about doing everything,” said his Univ of Oklahoma colleague Joshua Landis.
November 24, 2025 at 10:53 PM
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Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield joined 20 other Democratic attorneys general in the lawsuit. It marks the 48th lawsuit Rayfield has filed against the Trump administration.
Oregon AG Dan Rayfield sues Trump over latest changes to SNAP benefits
In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield argued the Trump administration is permanently cutting off legal immigrants, such as people who came to the U.S. seeking asylum, from receiving their food assistance benefits.
www.opb.org
November 26, 2025 at 10:59 PM
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"An essential step in the fascist march to acceptance and power was to persuade law-and-order conservatives and members of the middle class to tolerate fascist violence as a harsh necessity in the face of Left provocation."

- Robert O. Paxton, The Anatomy of Fascism
(2004)
November 26, 2025 at 11:39 PM
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strategia della tensione - "the strategy of tension"
BREAKING: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Trump administration would send hundreds of additional National Guard soldiers to the nation’s capital after two soldiers were shot in the city Wednesday.
Trump Admin to Escalate D.C. Military Takeover After Two National Guard Members Shot
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:51 PM
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Carney: We know that this decades-long process of our ever-closer economic relationship between Canada and the US has ended. And as a consequence of that, many of our strengths have become our vulnerabilities, particularly in those industries that are most tightly integrated with the US….
November 27, 2025 at 6:43 AM
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World’s Worst Diplomat — ever. But Trump didn’t hire a diplomat. He hired a goon to threaten Canada.
November 27, 2025 at 7:01 AM
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This was two days ago.
The folks at @afghanevac.bsky.social have in hand a new USCIS directive which largely targets Afghan refugees who fled the Taliban in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal in 2021.

In case you needed a reminder that the most loathsome people in the world work for DHS.
November 27, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Reposted by skryptical
Nano Banana Pro also seems to be good at moving the camera when recreating images, which can add a false sense of authenticity to sets of images, for example:
November 27, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Reposted by skryptical
Alberta has collected more than $1 billion in cannabis revenue.

That's the most, per capita, of all provinces and territories.

By far.

It's nearly quadruple what Quebec has collected, per person.
Canada collected over $5.4B in cannabis tax revenue since legalization | CBC News
Ottawa and the provinces raked in more than $5.4 billion in cannabis tax revenue since the drug was legalized for recreational use in October 2018.
www.cbc.ca
November 25, 2025 at 10:58 PM
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I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
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Considering Eric Adams deliberately, as one of his last acts, left a huge $5 billion hole in the budget to screw over Mamdani, feel like Zohran's justified in purging all Adams staffer actually
SCOOP: More than 170 staffers in Mayor Eric Adams’ administration will be notified Wednesday that they will not be working under the administration of incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

www.thecity.nyc/2025/11/25/m...
Mamdani Team to Terminate 179 Adams City Hall Staffers
Mayor’s Office shakeup in store “as is standard practice for a mayoral transition.”
www.thecity.nyc
November 26, 2025 at 4:18 AM
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This article heavily implies that ICE is being used in a custody dispute to help Karoline Leavitt's brother get his son and have the mother locked up in ICE detention
"A woman with a family connection to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Massachusetts."

www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
November 26, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Reposted by skryptical
Waymo privatized another public street:

Chanel approaching 4th, San Francisco

Possibly queued for a Billie Eilish show at Chase Center ~half mile away.

The light rail train on 4th seen passing in front of this roboherd has more passenger capacity than all of them combined.

OP: .tiktok.renaspam18
November 24, 2025 at 3:41 PM
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Gov. Tina Kotek’s move is aimed at keeping enough fuel arriving to the state by ships and trucks partly by waiving certain regulations on how long commercial drivers hauling fuel can operate. In Washington, Gov. Bob Ferguson has declared a similar state of emergency.
Oregon’s governor declares emergency to ensure the state gets enough fuel after pipeline leak
Oregon's governor has declared a state of emergency to ensure fuel supplies continue despite the shutdown of the Olympic Pipeline due to a leak. The pipeline supplies 90% of the state's fuel.
www.opb.org
November 25, 2025 at 3:30 PM