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ccahen.bsky.social
@ccahen.bsky.social
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returnstosender.bsky.social
A massive attack on several humanities units (Arabic Studies, Judaic Studies, Holocaust Studies, Classics, Religion, German & Scandinavian, Russian/East European/Eurasian Studies) *and* tenure now unfolding at the University of Oregon (a blue state!). Closure of units and faculty layoffs threatened.
I've now been allowed and asked to share more details about what's going down at the University of Oregon, which involves imminent announcement of firings, among others, of tenure-track and tenured faculty. Given the units impacted (see below), please share this with your professional networks in related disciplines and start getting ready to put pressure (or begin putting pressure already) on the University of Oregon upper admin to abandon this alleged plan before they finalize it. It appears that, with no prior consultations, the departments of Religion and Classics (two separate units), and the programs in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, German & Scandinavian, Judaic Studies, Arabic Studies, and Holocaust Studies (the latter five all parts of a previously-consolidated mega unit called the Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages) are facing imminent announcement of elimination (expected the week of Sept 7), with layoffs of pre-tenure, tenured, and career faculty in these units. The reason given is "financial exigency" -- upper administrations of several universities across the country (and in blue states like Oregon also) appear to be giddy to use the context of Trump attacks on higher ed to dismantle the humanities. Faculty at OU won a faculty union not long ago; this may be, in part, a retaliation for that, I've been told. The union is working with AAUP, etc.; my understanding is that the maximum spotlight is needed at this point.
August 18, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Reposted
jvl.bsky.social
Basically: I don’t think people understand that 36 hours from now it’s possible that America will have a formalized system for abducting enemies of the regime and stashing them in foreign gulags, indefinitely.

www.thebulwark.com/p/bukele-abr...
Bukele, Abrego Garcia, and Red Lines
Emergency Triad: Are we now a country of political prisoners and gulags?
www.thebulwark.com
April 14, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Reposted
nberlat.bsky.social
Trump's approval is tanking, the economy is in free fall, people hate Musk. Just fucking say no for once in your fucking lives, you ridiculous invertebrates. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/after-h...
After Heated Dem Meeting, Schumer Says Dems Will Push For Vote On Short Term CR First
With less than three days to go before government funding runs out,...
talkingpointsmemo.com
March 12, 2025 at 10:43 PM
ccahen.bsky.social
trying to figure out what to believe about air quality is giving me serious COVID flashbacks.
January 20, 2025 at 6:50 AM
Reposted
moira.bsky.social
I'm seeing stories from people about how they moved out of LA cuz of climate risks. They make me uneasy.

Yes there are super-risky places & we have to get people housing in less-risk places.

AND climate change causes increased risk in lots of places, especially considering how risks overlap.
Map of the US with colors filling in various counties across the country. The key indicates that the colors correspond to number of risks (more detail in explanatory note below), with grey representing 1 risk, purple 2, blue 3, green 4, and yellow 5+. The coasts and middle of the country are smattered with a variety of colors. The explanatory text reads: Figure 3. Insurance industry perspective: counties with high absolute expected losses, across multiple unique risk categories. Note: This figure shows the number of unique risks with “high” annual expected loss totals by county (i.e., the expected total loss of property value each year), where “high” is any expected loss total greater than the 90th percentile across all county-level risks nationally.
January 10, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Reposted
climateadam.bsky.social
the world is heading for ~ 3°C of heating by 2100. and more beyond.

+3°C would mean many cities face COVID level heatwave deaths every 5-10 years.

we need to bend the (temperature) curve. now.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Rapid climate action is needed: comparing heat vs. COVID-19-related mortality
Scientific Reports - Rapid climate action is needed: comparing heat vs. COVID-19-related mortality
www.nature.com
January 10, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Reposted
pyrogeog.bsky.social
Here's the reality about the #LAFires this week: this isn't the first time ANY of these places have burned. Not even close. In 2018, we mapped CA fire history to look at fire frequency across SoCal. Santa Monica Mtns area burns more than anywhere else -- up to once per decade in a given spot. 🧵
Map showing the number of times a location has burned in SoCal and which kind of fire it was: one burning under Santa Ana winds, or one that was a summer, fuel-driven fire without Santa Ana winds. Malibu area had burned at least 8 times from 1900-2017, and has burned twice now since. Image from Kolden and Abatzoglou (2018): https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/1/2/19
January 9, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted
moira.bsky.social
Having spent the last year studying disaster insurance, I want to share thoughts about insurance & the #LAFires.

I will, but first, as a Californian born in LA (and also as a human being) I need to say how scary and devastating these fires are & how big the health & safety consequences will be.
1/9
January 8, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Reposted
pmbigger.bsky.social
In the NYT @cplusc.bsky.social co-directors @triofrancos.bsky.social & @aldasky.bsky.social chart a path for climate politics based on months of discussions we've been having- tl;dr, climate politics must meet the challenges people face in their everyday lives as the cost of living crisis escalates
Opinion | How to Turn Climate Into a Working-Class Issue Under Trump
Climate issues are fueling the cost-of-living crisis, especially for the poor and working class.
www.nytimes.com
January 7, 2025 at 1:33 PM