Josh Bartok
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joshbartok.bsky.social
Josh Bartok
@joshbartok.bsky.social
270 followers 300 following 110 posts
He/they | Photographer | Life & Writing Coach | Author | Editor | Birder 🪶

http://www.contemplativelifecoach.org/

https://www.shobophoto.us/
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Josh Bartok
dropsitenews.com
⚡️ In a new Drop Site investigation, Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain reveal that Jeffrey Epstein quietly helped Alan Dershowitz orchestrate the smear campaign against John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt’s 2006 paper “The Israel Lobby,” newly obtained emails show.

The scholars had argued in the paper...
The scholars had argued in the paper that a network of pro-Israel donors and advocacy groups routinely pulled U.S. Middle East policy away from what was truly in America’s interest. Their analysis triggered a fierce backlash: institutions denounced them as antisemites, The Atlantic killed the article, and the Kennedy School stripped its logo from the paper. Emails from Epstein’s Yahoo account show him reviewing early drafts of Dershowitz’s attack piece, accusing the authors of recycling “neo-Nazi trash,” and agreeing to distribute it through his network. The cache also highlights Epstein’s influence at Harvard and his role managing the finances of billionaire Leslie Wexner, whose foundation poured nearly $20 million into the Kennedy School. The covert effort to smear the scholars mirrored the very dynamics the paper described: wealthy, well-connected actors mobilizing elite institutions to police criticism of Israel. The emails also show Epstein, during that same week, working with his lawyer on strategies to discredit a young woman who had accused him of sexual abuse. 🔗 Read: https://dropsitenews.com/p/jeffrey-epstein-aided-alan-dershowitz-mearsheimer-walt-israel-lobbym @ryangrim | @MazMHussain
November 25, 2025 at 11:03 PM
joshbartok.bsky.social
More great 🪶 sightings in New Orleans
Little blue heron (two tone bill, dark at point) blue grey body, reddish head) in the water Close up of head and neck of tricolored heron (blue/grey head and neck, ruddy line on neck, yellow near eye Limpkin (spotted shore bird) with oyster in beak standing in grass at shore of lake White ibises (pink curved beaks, white bodies) in a tree
November 24, 2025 at 5:01 PM
joshbartok.bsky.social
We saw three lifers within 5 hours of landing in New Orleans! 🪶
White ibis (white body, red long curved beak, red around eye, red legs) feeding in a pond with algae on it Black-bellied whistling duck (orange beak, pink legs and feet, brown and grey body, white eye ring) perched on a branch in the water, next to yellow flowers Anhinga (black bird with white and black wing pattern and long yellowish bill) lying on a branch
November 19, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Reposted by Josh Bartok
lizroemer.bsky.social
We didn’t see the Northern Lights. But we did get to practice joy for others’ joy read our @psychologytoday.com post for guidance on cultivating joy for others to enhance connection.

#psychology #therapysky #therapistsky

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind...
Cultivating Joy in Others’ Joy
Developing a habit of joy in other people’s joy can counter naturally arising envy and promote connection and well-being. These practices can help.
www.psychologytoday.com
November 17, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Josh Bartok
lizroemer.bsky.social
Some suggestions for cultivating joy amid pain and suffering to increase your ability to continue doing what matters to you, from @joshbartok.bsky.social and me in @psychologytoday.com #joy #psychology #therapistsky

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind...
Blooming in the Mud
Inspired by the example of a lotus growing amid mud, we can notice and cultivate joy and awe amid pain and suffering, preparing us to thrive.
www.psychologytoday.com
October 27, 2025 at 1:03 PM
joshbartok.bsky.social
Some bird images during New England fall 🪶
Black capped chickadee perched on a branch with fall leaves blurry in the background White crowned sparrow, looking at the camera with dead leaves behind it Morning Dove with its head tilted looking at the camera while perched on a bridge with blurry fall colors behind it A female northern cardinal meaning of of a red railing with fall leaves blurred in the background
October 26, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Reposted by Josh Bartok
paradox789.bsky.social
🌻🌻🌻
October 2, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by Josh Bartok
burrowingowl.bsky.social
Good morning!🪶
Burrowing owl peeking out of the entrance to her cave-like burrow.
September 29, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Reposted by Josh Bartok
dotmakes.bsky.social
Might be worth mentioning, for those considering using Betterhelp for therapy for various reasons (ease of access, cost etc), please know that they will ignore your request to connect you with an LGBT friendly therapist, and also they will sell your sensitive data to meta, and other advertisers...
September 29, 2025 at 9:28 AM
joshbartok.bsky.social
A new @psychologytoday.com post about #photography as a #mindfulness practice. Try it out and share your 📷s below! www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind...
3 Ways to Do Photography as a Mindfulness Practice
These three simple photography practices can expand your perspective. Regular practice can help you drop rigid narratives and cultivate openness and compassion.
www.psychologytoday.com
September 26, 2025 at 12:29 PM
joshbartok.bsky.social
Love this pose from this red-breasted nuthatch. 🪶
Red-breasted nuthatch (black stripe across eye, white stripe above eye, grey back, reddish breast and belly) hanging upside down from a pine cone, arching its back
September 13, 2025 at 7:54 PM
joshbartok.bsky.social
Bird yoga! 🪶
A yellowlegs standing on one long yellow leg, with the other leg bent so its foot is under his chin. He’s looking at the camera. He’s standing in water with a few pieces of grass around him.
September 7, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Reposted by Josh Bartok
lizroemer.bsky.social
@joshbartok.bsky.social captured this #borb today 🪶
Juvenile Titmouse fluffed up so its body is a circle. Perched on a branch, tail hanging below branch, two blue feet on branch, blue grey beak and top of head, greyish white body
September 1, 2025 at 8:44 PM
joshbartok.bsky.social
This tricolored heron was a lifer for us. 🪶
Heron walking through water toward the camera. White belly, reddish back, blue grey head and yellow eye, spotted neck. Side view of heron with front leg lifting out of watched. Blue grey head and back, white belly, reddish brown neck, yellow eye
September 1, 2025 at 7:46 PM
joshbartok.bsky.social
Loved seeing this juvenile great blue heron.
A close up of a great blue heron in the grass. Slate blue head and body, blue and yellow beak, yellow eye, brown and white neck and chest
August 31, 2025 at 2:09 AM
joshbartok.bsky.social
Great to see these oystercatchers before they migrate south. 🪶
Two oystercatchers (orange beaks, yellow and orange eyes, black heads, white chest and bellies, black backs) standing on rocks with seaweed and surf behind them)
August 24, 2025 at 11:18 PM
joshbartok.bsky.social
It was exciting to see this sandhill crane family last weekend. They’re rare in southeastern Massachusetts. 🪶
Adult sandhill crane grazing. Red on top of head, white neck and white and buff body. Grazing in a field with yellow grass in the foreground and taller green plants in the background Juvenile sandhill crane grazing. White and brown body, yellow eye, head slightly raised
August 17, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Reposted by Josh Bartok
chanda.blacksky.app
This should get WIDE circulation:
MIT stating that it “has no confidence in the provenance, reliability or validity of the data and has no confidence in the veracity of the research contained in the paper.”

gizmodo.com/mit-backs-aw...
MIT Backs Away From Paper Claiming Scientists Make More Discoveries with AI
The retracted paper had impressed a Nobel Prize winner in economics.
gizmodo.com
August 16, 2025 at 4:42 PM
joshbartok.bsky.social
We spent quality time with this American Bittern yesterday. 🪶
Close up shot of the head and neck of an American bittern - brown streaks on neck, yellow eyes, brown head, green reeds in the background
August 11, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Reposted by Josh Bartok
lizroemer.bsky.social
With @joshbartok.bsky.social

“Perhaps it’s possible—even as we notice and honor the pain, suffering, and hurt all around us—that we might cultivate, look for, and touch small moments of joy, brightness, relief, and release”

#buddhism #psychology

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind...
Blooming in the Mud
Inspired by the example of a lotus growing amid mud, we can notice and cultivate joy and awe amid pain and suffering, preparing us to thrive.
www.psychologytoday.com
August 9, 2025 at 7:26 PM
joshbartok.bsky.social
Hummingbirds are so magical. 🪶
A ruby-throated hummingbird hovering over a res flower with a green leaf below it. Her wings are folding forward
August 9, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by Josh Bartok
lizroemer.bsky.social
@joshbartok.bsky.social and I wrote about cultivating joy amid suffering for @psychologytoday.com

#therapysky #psychscisky www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind... Blooming in the Mud | Psychology Today
Blooming in the Mud
Inspired by the example of a lotus growing amid mud, we can notice and cultivate joy and awe amid pain and suffering, preparing us to thrive.
www.psychologytoday.com
August 7, 2025 at 5:31 PM
joshbartok.bsky.social
@lizroemer.bsky.social and I saw our first fledgling cedar waxwing today! 🪶
Fledgling cedar waxwings (black eye mask, light belly, brown body, yellow line on tail, crest) Adult cedar waxwing (black eye mask, yellow belly, warm brown head) with a red berry in their mouth and a feeling next to them (brown with crest and black eye mask and yellow beak)
August 3, 2025 at 9:06 PM
joshbartok.bsky.social
We saw our first little blue heron in Scarborough Marsh, Maine, US on Sunday! 🪶
A little blue heron (two toned beak with black tip, purple-maroon head and neck, slate blue body) looking to the right, reflecting in the water.
July 29, 2025 at 1:46 PM
joshbartok.bsky.social
We went to Scarborough Marsh outside Portland Maine today while it was raining and saw these flocks of birds perched on trees. 🪶
9 snowy egrets perched on a dead tree in a salt marsh 5 barn swallows and 1 tree swallow perched on a dead tree in a salt marsh
July 28, 2025 at 1:27 AM