"China unveils sweeping rare earth export controls to protect ‘national security’" www.ft.com/content/c4b2...

Move to the EU and your grandkids will stress over Russia. Stay in Canada and you’ll be side-eyeing the US. Head to Asia and they’ll be watching China’s every move. The future, gotta love it.

"Top US researchers rush to relocate to Europe. U.S.-based applicants to a prestigious EU research scheme have increased five-fold." 🤔 www.politico.eu/article/euro...

The impact of these intelligence operations are still with us today. The Soviet Operation Denver campaign spread false stories about the U.S. inventing HIV, and while it wasn’t about vaccines, it helped create broader distrust in science and public health that still fuels vaccine skepticism today.

Democratic leaders waiting for the midterms is our modern Waiting for Godot, a collective pause for change that may never come, while the present quietly unravels. By the time they arrive, what’s broken now may already be beyond repair, a ritual of hope in a moment that demands action.

Story time: Here's a little-noticed story that came out in 2024 regarding a US clandestine operation: The Pentagon ran a secret anti-vax disinfo campaign in the Philippines to undermine China during the pandemic. www.reuters.com/investigates...

#propaganda #foreignintereference #contestedspaces

They know it's not true, but that's not the point.

"Republicans post fake image of Oregon protest – using photos of South America" www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

"New KM Compass App From the Social Media Lab Helps Researchers Translate Knowledge Into Real-World Impact" socialmedialab.ca/2025/10/02/n...

This is why we fund scientists to study things like oyster slobber even if you don’t think it sounds important

1/ Around the world, governments are tripping over themselves as they abandon the centre and lean right. But what they are ignoring is that you don’t beat fascism by borrowing from its playbook. Copying the far right’s language or tactics doesn’t weaken them; it normalizes them.

Without rule of law, citizenship is no shield. "Rodrick Johnson, 67, is one of many residents who were detained by federal agents during the South Shore raid. A U.S. citizen, he said agents broke through his door and dragged him out in zip ties." chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

If you're a scientist or researcher sharing your work online, here are some resources to help you manage the risks of being public. socialmedialab.ca/km-compass/

Pro Tip: Share them with your communications office and encourage them to form a rapid response team, with a plan of action in place.

"Elon Musk’s SpaceX Took Money Directly From Chinese Investors, Company Insider Testifies"
www.propublica.org/article/elon...

Drones have been sighted over Munich tonight, forcing the airport to cancel flights. Out of all the cities in Germany, Munich seems like a deliberate target, with Oktoberfest currently underway. The aim appears clear: Russia (Who else?) wants to maximize chaos. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

"New KM Compass App From the Social Media Lab Helps Researchers Translate Knowledge Into Real-World Impact" socialmedialab.ca/2025/10/02/n...

But the icing on the cake is the patent non-aggression pledge where Bluesky is pledging not to use its intellectual property (like patents) offensively against others who are building on the protocol.

If people disagree with Bluesky’s direction, they can fork the codebase and build alternatives. This strengthens #decentralization and resilience and future-proofs Bluesky against capture by random billionaires.🤞

Bravo 👏 to @jay.bsky.team, @pfrazee.com and the other folks behind @bsky.app!

They just released the Bluesky software SDKs and reference implementations under open source licenses and are also making a patent non-aggression pledge. bsky.social/about/blog/1...

"What happens to American kids when their parents are deported" www.cnn.com/2025/09/24/p...

The US can get out of this. "The US has suffered crises of legitimacy before. Arguably, the 1964 Civil Rights Act emerged from just such a crisis." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Inside the everyday Facebook networks where far-right ideas grow: "The Guardian spent a year studying an online community trading in anti-immigration sentiment and misinformation. Experts say such spaces can play a role in radicalisation" www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

👀"Amid rising tensions, Poland urges citizens to 'immediately' leave Belarus" kyivindependent.com/amid-rising-...

There's obviously too much money in Silicon Valley. The manosphere gave the world Jordan Peterson and the Tate brothers, but this takes the cake.

Are you ready for sperm racing? (Is anyone?) "Sperm-racing investors blow $10 million on ‘seed round’ for sports venture" sfstandard.com/2025/09/27/s...

Only an administration intent on committing war crimes in the present and future would stoop to calling Wounded Knee a "battle" rather than what it truly was: a massacre of over 250 Lakotas, mainly women, children, and the elderly. 1/