erikr
@erik-the-rau.bsky.social
Middle-aged ethnic Minnesotan (he/him)—emergency management & public safety; climate change; civil rights; the labor movement; state-tribal relations; libraries; canoeing; astronomy. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Reposted by erikr
I never ever want to hear anyone say that this is not America because people have been shot by law enforcement for nothing for YEARS. That being said , the woman in Minneapolis was murdered.. just like George Floyd.
January 7, 2026 at 6:58 PM
I never ever want to hear anyone say that this is not America because people have been shot by law enforcement for nothing for YEARS. That being said , the woman in Minneapolis was murdered.. just like George Floyd.
Reposted by erikr
Guys, with understanding that everyone is angry right now, I am honestly going to start blocking people who say things like, "Who cares? The law doesn't matter anymore," or "They can do whatever they want, they can't be stopped" etc. I mean, if you really feel that way, you're a part of the problem.
January 7, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Guys, with understanding that everyone is angry right now, I am honestly going to start blocking people who say things like, "Who cares? The law doesn't matter anymore," or "They can do whatever they want, they can't be stopped" etc. I mean, if you really feel that way, you're a part of the problem.
Reposted by erikr
i am extremely proud to announce my latest journalism
this piece is about DuPont, General Motors, TEFLON, PFOA, PFOS, and our POISONED world
we keep each other safe, and it begins with free, trustworthy information
read it for free: junoryleejournalism.com/2025/12/18/d...
this piece is about DuPont, General Motors, TEFLON, PFOA, PFOS, and our POISONED world
we keep each other safe, and it begins with free, trustworthy information
read it for free: junoryleejournalism.com/2025/12/18/d...
December 18, 2025 at 1:23 PM
i am extremely proud to announce my latest journalism
this piece is about DuPont, General Motors, TEFLON, PFOA, PFOS, and our POISONED world
we keep each other safe, and it begins with free, trustworthy information
read it for free: junoryleejournalism.com/2025/12/18/d...
this piece is about DuPont, General Motors, TEFLON, PFOA, PFOS, and our POISONED world
we keep each other safe, and it begins with free, trustworthy information
read it for free: junoryleejournalism.com/2025/12/18/d...
Reposted by erikr
A good review of what to expect in our warming world as climate shocks are more frequent and severe. 2025 was only the beginning.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Heat, drought and fire: how extreme weather pushed nature to its limits in 2025
National Trust says these are ‘alarm signals we cannot ignore’ as climate breakdown puts pressure on wildlife
www.theguardian.com
December 29, 2025 at 11:40 AM
A good review of what to expect in our warming world as climate shocks are more frequent and severe. 2025 was only the beginning.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by erikr
'Why you are probably a hero: Even when facing violence, people tend to intervene to prevent harm'
spectator.com/article/why-...
spectator.com/article/why-...
Why you are probably a hero
Studies have found that in emergencies people tend to look after each-other rather than look after themselves
spectator.com
December 29, 2025 at 8:57 PM
'Why you are probably a hero: Even when facing violence, people tend to intervene to prevent harm'
spectator.com/article/why-...
spectator.com/article/why-...
Reposted by erikr
Windmill workers are fighting for a union! Support their boycott! This holiday season, don’t buy Windmill mushrooms! #BoycottWindmillmushrooms
December 22, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Windmill workers are fighting for a union! Support their boycott! This holiday season, don’t buy Windmill mushrooms! #BoycottWindmillmushrooms
Reposted by erikr
Would Starbucks rather lose value AND good-will with their customers instead of just listening to their workers? 🤔
nocontractnocoffee.org
nocontractnocoffee.org
“Historic Union Busting”: Starbucks Stock (NASDAQ:SBUX) Slips as Strikes Gain Ground, Draw Congress Reps - TipRanks.com
Coffee giant Starbucks’ ($SBUX) labor troubles seem to be getting worse. The strikes that were confined to a handful of stores, and often not for very long in the c...
www.tipranks.com
December 22, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Would Starbucks rather lose value AND good-will with their customers instead of just listening to their workers? 🤔
nocontractnocoffee.org
nocontractnocoffee.org
Reposted by erikr
This is written with a child’s (lack of) understanding of workers rights, at-will employment, and human dignity. As someone who has argued forever against at-will employment and for workers’ right to dignity, it is dismaying but not surprising to see the worst version of an important argument here
“Those of us on the left should be fighting to improve protections for workers of all races, and thereby for the betterment of people’s material conditions regardless of their views,” Arash Azizi argues:
Why the Cinnabon Story Doesn’t Make Me Happy
The left should be promoting working-class solidarity, not delighting in seeing workers summarily dismissed.
bit.ly
December 12, 2025 at 4:10 PM
This is written with a child’s (lack of) understanding of workers rights, at-will employment, and human dignity. As someone who has argued forever against at-will employment and for workers’ right to dignity, it is dismaying but not surprising to see the worst version of an important argument here
Reposted by erikr
In my 25yrs in the academy I 👀 the proliferation of expensive enterprise software that shifted the burden of sooo many basic administrative functions — reconciling receipts, paying honoraria, booking travel — from competent, efficient staff to faculty + students. I’d spend entire days on this crap.
Workday project at Washington University hits $266M
Workday project at Washington University hits $266M
Protests force disclosure of costs totaling $16,000 per student over 7 year rollout replacing 80 legacy systems
The total cost of a Workday implementation project at Washington University in St. Louis is set to hit almost $266 million, it was revealed after the project was the subject of protests from students.…
dlvr.it
December 12, 2025 at 4:30 PM
In my 25yrs in the academy I 👀 the proliferation of expensive enterprise software that shifted the burden of sooo many basic administrative functions — reconciling receipts, paying honoraria, booking travel — from competent, efficient staff to faculty + students. I’d spend entire days on this crap.
Reposted by erikr
NEW: Doxing-for-hire services are using forging emergency data requests from law enforcement to trick major tech companies like Apple and Amazon into handing over people's private information. @davidgilbert.bsky.social w/ the scoop: www.wired.com/story/doxers...
Doxers Posing as Cops Are Tricking Big Tech Firms Into Sharing People's Private Data
A spoofed email address and an easily faked document is all it takes for major tech companies to hand over your most personal information.
www.wired.com
December 11, 2025 at 6:57 PM
NEW: Doxing-for-hire services are using forging emergency data requests from law enforcement to trick major tech companies like Apple and Amazon into handing over people's private information. @davidgilbert.bsky.social w/ the scoop: www.wired.com/story/doxers...
Reposted by erikr
And this here is the reason you explain to kids why AI can’t write your essay
i strongly, strongly believe that good writing is downstream of clear thinking and a strong understanding of the subject matter at hand. without fail, tortured writing comes from writers who don’t know and can’t think clearly about anything.
Oh man! This paragraph is brutal. The best thing about this review is it's not trying to be mean. It's just listing how bad the writing is.
December 3, 2025 at 7:25 PM
And this here is the reason you explain to kids why AI can’t write your essay
Reposted by erikr
i strongly, strongly believe that good writing is downstream of clear thinking and a strong understanding of the subject matter at hand. without fail, tortured writing comes from writers who don’t know and can’t think clearly about anything.
Oh man! This paragraph is brutal. The best thing about this review is it's not trying to be mean. It's just listing how bad the writing is.
December 3, 2025 at 4:14 PM
i strongly, strongly believe that good writing is downstream of clear thinking and a strong understanding of the subject matter at hand. without fail, tortured writing comes from writers who don’t know and can’t think clearly about anything.
Reposted by erikr
There is a movement to "prove that the datacenter water issues is fake". If you venture into Muskrat's hell site, you can see the community note these people put on this great piece of investigative journalism, accusing them of unfairly implicating datacenters.
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
'The Precedent Is Flint': How Oregon's Data Center Boom Is Supercharging a Water Crisis
Amazon data centers constructed in eastern Oregon's farmland have worsened a water pollution problem that’s been linked to cancer and miscarriages.
www.rollingstone.com
December 1, 2025 at 10:21 PM
There is a movement to "prove that the datacenter water issues is fake". If you venture into Muskrat's hell site, you can see the community note these people put on this great piece of investigative journalism, accusing them of unfairly implicating datacenters.
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
Reposted by erikr
Will continue to bang this drum: this is the system university admins are cramming into every aspect of education. This is the system we are told “isn’t going anywhere” so we all have to adjust to it.
New from 404 Media: ChatGPT told a violent stalker to continue running his misogynistic and threat-filled podcast despite the “haters,” and to visit more gyms to find women. The man stalked women in multiple states, including touching and following from work
www.404media.co/chatgpt-spot...
www.404media.co/chatgpt-spot...
ChatGPT Told a Violent Stalker to Embrace the 'Haters,' Indictment Says
A newly filed indictment claims a wannabe influencer used ChatGPT as his "therapist" and "best friend" in his pursuit of the "wife type," while harassing women so aggressively they had to miss work a...
www.404media.co
December 3, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Will continue to bang this drum: this is the system university admins are cramming into every aspect of education. This is the system we are told “isn’t going anywhere” so we all have to adjust to it.
Reposted by erikr
“The National AIDS Memorial, through a partnership with the AIDS Quilt Touch team, presents all 50,000 panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in an interactive experience so people around the world can experience the beauty of the Quilt and witness the love and stories stitched into each panel.”
Interactive AIDS Quilt
The National AIDS Memorial, through a partnership with the AIDS Quilt Touch team, presents all 48,000 panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in an interactive experience People around the world can experie...
www.aidsmemorial.org
December 1, 2025 at 11:19 PM
“The National AIDS Memorial, through a partnership with the AIDS Quilt Touch team, presents all 50,000 panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in an interactive experience so people around the world can experience the beauty of the Quilt and witness the love and stories stitched into each panel.”
Reposted by erikr
As we go through your replies and show off the skills behind your favorite dishes, you can help us protect farm workers with a #Thanksgiving donation: act.seiu.org/a/thanksgivi... or paypal.com/paypalme/ufw... #WeFeedYou
We can’t do Thanksgiving without farm workers
We can’t do Thanksgiving without farm workers: Make a donation during this season of thanks and giving and help fund change all year long. #WeFeedYou
act.seiu.org
November 26, 2025 at 6:13 PM
As we go through your replies and show off the skills behind your favorite dishes, you can help us protect farm workers with a #Thanksgiving donation: act.seiu.org/a/thanksgivi... or paypal.com/paypalme/ufw... #WeFeedYou
Reposted by erikr
As you may have noticed, white supremacists want to stop the influx of hardworking young people (aka immigration) while somehow forcing white women to have lots more babies to compensate, but they refuse to make having kids more affordable and less arduous an experience.
RFK Jr: "When my uncle was president, the fertility rate in this country was 3.5%. Today it is 1.6%. The replacement rate -- in other words the amount of fertility you need to keep your population even -- is 2.1%. We are below replacement. That is a national security threat to our country."
October 16, 2025 at 9:46 PM
As you may have noticed, white supremacists want to stop the influx of hardworking young people (aka immigration) while somehow forcing white women to have lots more babies to compensate, but they refuse to make having kids more affordable and less arduous an experience.
Reposted by erikr
Since it resonated with the audience, I’ll recap my main argument against AGI here. ‘General intelligence’ is like phlogiston, or the aether. It’s an outmoded scientific concept that does not refer to anything real. Any explanatory work it did can be done better by a richer scientific frame. 1/3
This was a truly heartening day, with deeply thoughtful challenges to the dominant narrative framed around AGI, coming from across disciplines and perspectives. Felt like the tide might finally be turning a bit, at least among the scientific community. Thanks @royalsociety.org!
1/2 I'm looking forward to taking part in a panel on AGI and the Turing Test, tomorrow afternoon (Thurs 2nd Oct) at the @royalsociety.org, w/ Dame Wendy Hall, Shannon Vallor, William Isaac, & Sir Nigel Shadbolt. royalsociety.org/science-even...
October 2, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Since it resonated with the audience, I’ll recap my main argument against AGI here. ‘General intelligence’ is like phlogiston, or the aether. It’s an outmoded scientific concept that does not refer to anything real. Any explanatory work it did can be done better by a richer scientific frame. 1/3
Reposted by erikr
For @spitfirenews.com, I found that increasingly realistic AI-generated videos are being deployed to harass, smear, and create endless offensive content of influencers, whose likenesses are already readily available online. It’s happening to private figures, too.
spitfirenews.com/p/ai-generat...
spitfirenews.com/p/ai-generat...
AI-generated influencer scandals are here
Now anyone can play with the hyperrealistic likenesses of public figures.
spitfirenews.com
October 16, 2025 at 6:03 PM
For @spitfirenews.com, I found that increasingly realistic AI-generated videos are being deployed to harass, smear, and create endless offensive content of influencers, whose likenesses are already readily available online. It’s happening to private figures, too.
spitfirenews.com/p/ai-generat...
spitfirenews.com/p/ai-generat...
Reposted by erikr
More than a thousand people in Western Alaska are sleeping in their local school after a massive storm Sunday made their homes unlivable.
(From @alaskapublic.org)
(From @alaskapublic.org)
'Miserable': Hundreds sheltering in Western Alaska schools in dire conditions
The state is evacuating the vulnerable and trying to find safe shelter for all. "We're moving as fast as we can," the incident commander said. "We know that folks are miserable."
www.ktoo.org
October 15, 2025 at 7:41 PM
More than a thousand people in Western Alaska are sleeping in their local school after a massive storm Sunday made their homes unlivable.
(From @alaskapublic.org)
(From @alaskapublic.org)
Reposted by erikr
Are you looking for our Public Lecture Series? The 2024 and 2025 lectures are now available on this YouTube channel playlist. 🔭 🧪
STScI Public Lecture Series - YouTube
The STScI Public Lectures Series held monthly presentations on all aspects of astronomy and space telescopes for several decades. Due to changes in funding, ...
youtube.com
October 13, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Are you looking for our Public Lecture Series? The 2024 and 2025 lectures are now available on this YouTube channel playlist. 🔭 🧪
Reposted by erikr
The offices now being cut are the parts of government we use to take care of each other. This is a consistent theme with Trump, starting with the destruction of USAID.
The Office of Special Education. The CDC on-the-ground operations. Attacking vaccines.
They want to divide us. Don't let them.
The Office of Special Education. The CDC on-the-ground operations. Attacking vaccines.
They want to divide us. Don't let them.
October 11, 2025 at 5:01 PM
The offices now being cut are the parts of government we use to take care of each other. This is a consistent theme with Trump, starting with the destruction of USAID.
The Office of Special Education. The CDC on-the-ground operations. Attacking vaccines.
They want to divide us. Don't let them.
The Office of Special Education. The CDC on-the-ground operations. Attacking vaccines.
They want to divide us. Don't let them.
Reposted by erikr
“A longtime TV news produced at Chicago-based station WGN on Friday was forcefully pinned to the ground and then hauled off in an unmarked van by masked federal agents.” www.commondreams.org/news/ice-chi...
ICE Pins Chicago TV News Producer to the Ground, Hauls Her Off in Unmarked Van | Common Dreams
WGN producer Debbie Brockman forcefully arrested by ICE agents in Chicago. Video shows aggressive tactics used in the arrest.
www.commondreams.org
October 10, 2025 at 7:52 PM
“A longtime TV news produced at Chicago-based station WGN on Friday was forcefully pinned to the ground and then hauled off in an unmarked van by masked federal agents.” www.commondreams.org/news/ice-chi...
Reposted by erikr
there have always been people who like to write, and people who like to say they have written, and the latter really love the idea of AI and the former can not understand why you'd let a computer do the fun part.
there’s this weird idea a lot of people seem to have about how all of us writers and artists must secretly want to use AI and are merely resisting temptation for ethical reasons, and like, no, it’s not hard for me to resist drinking the bowl of Piss With Glass In It actually
October 10, 2025 at 12:07 AM
there have always been people who like to write, and people who like to say they have written, and the latter really love the idea of AI and the former can not understand why you'd let a computer do the fun part.
Reposted by erikr
A reminder (from my 2019 @theatlantic.com reporting) that as military families go without pay this shutdown, many of them are single-paycheck households relying on the servicemember's income because the spouses have been pushed out of the workforce.
www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...
www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...
The Dismal Career Opportunities for Military Spouses
For the partners of America’s active-duty service members, finding a stable, well-paid job is often impossible.
www.theatlantic.com
October 10, 2025 at 8:25 PM
A reminder (from my 2019 @theatlantic.com reporting) that as military families go without pay this shutdown, many of them are single-paycheck households relying on the servicemember's income because the spouses have been pushed out of the workforce.
www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...
www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...