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Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

@ashponders.bsky.social

5.1K followers 610 following 18K posts

I was a poet but then I wanted to get paid worse. I make photos for news. @ashponders.01 on signal. http://ashponders.com

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Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest @ashponders.bsky.social · Nov 20

Ok! A buncha people came through & suggested some images I've made that might find a home on the walls of my many many admirers.

Because of their wonderful labor, I've increased the 'bluesky' discount to 50% and refunded the difference to those of you who've used the code when it was only 25%.

Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest @ashponders.bsky.social · Nov 18

Hey friends. I'm doing a holiday printsale over on ashponders.darkroom.com. Please take a look, I make images of pretty things like monkeys who are disappointed in you and rainbows that aren't. If you can buy a print, do!

A capuchin monkey stares out judgmentally from a wall of leaves.

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Reposted by Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

stacy-marie ishmael @smi.bsky.social · 1h

pain assessment / treatment is one of those “how racist and sexist can science and medicine be? oh buddy let me tell you just how much” areas so i am sure this will go just fine

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 2h

“In nursing homes, neonatal units, and ICU wards, researchers are racing to turn pain—medicine’s most subjective vital sign—into something a camera or sensor can score as reliably as blood pressure.”

AI is changing how we quantify pain

Artificial intelligence is helping health-care providers better assess their patients’ discomfort.

www.technologyreview.com

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Reposted by Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

Alex Tomlinson @alextomlinson.com · 1h

Flat, graphic illustrated poster entitled "Red-Eyed Birds of North America" featuring shadowy gray-blue silhouetted birds punctuated by bright red eyes. 23 birds are depicted in total, some highlights being the Snail Kite, Roseate Spoonbill, Common Loon, and Wood Duck.

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Reposted by Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

Autonomy News @autonomynews.co · 4h

NEW: Recordings from a crisis pregnancy center conference, shared exclusively with Autonomy News, reveal that anti-abortion physicians are reluctant to prescribe abortion pill “reversal”—even as the conservative legal movement uses the supposed treatment to expand CPCs’ free speech rights.

Abortion Pill “Reversal” Is a Hoax. It's Also a Powerful Right-Wing Legal Strategy.

Speakers at a crisis pregnancy center conference made rare admissions about the challenges of providing so-called abortion “reversal,” and indicate its importance as a litigation tool.

www.autonomynews.co

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Reposted by Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

Asher Hellbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 4h

When did big multicellular organisms evolve — and how many times did it happen? In my first big print feature for @sciam.bsky.social, I wrote about *extremely* controversial 2.1 billion year old specimens from the Francevillain, and the question of how to recognize life on a basically alien planet

These Enigmatic ‘Fossils’ Could Rewrite the History of Life on Earth

Controversial evidence hints that complex life might have emerged hundreds of millions of years earlier than previously thought—and possibly more than once

www.scientificamerican.com

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Reposted by Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

Leah Millis @leahmillis.bsky.social · 11h

I’ve seen this a few times & this is why context w content & media literacy matters. This person is a professional photojournalist who knowingly puts his name next to his photos every time he covers something. I’m asking people to respect that. & crediting professional journalism is helpful context.

Patti T. @ptuller.bsky.social · 11h

Will highlighting and crediting the photographer also make him a target???

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Reposted by Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 9d

The ESA protects wildlife and its habitat by preventing illegal “Take“, a legal word meaning “harass, harm, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect or attempt to engage in any such conduct“ except by federal permit. Removing HARM protection will increase their greatest threat: habitat loss.

Sierra Magazine @sierramagazine.bsky.social · 9d

The Endangered Species Act has protected species and their habitats for over 50 years. A single word change could significantly alter the way the law is implemented. The only beneficiaries of this plan are extractive industries. 🌎 by @morgansjogren.bsky.social

This One Word Change Could Gut Our Strongest Conservation Law

The bipartisan Endangered Species Act is on the line as the federal government proposes a new change

www.sierraclub.org

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Reposted by Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

ProPublica @propublica.org · 14h

After signing up for self-deportation, Emily and Deybis sold their car and moved to an unfinished basement. But DHS never sent them the promised plane tickets.

Now they worry about surviving winter. Weeks ago, they sold their daughter’s bed to pay rent.

➡️ Read more: https://propub.li/4ohnDm6

Article excerpt: Emily said she made clear the family didn’t have Venezuelan passports but was told that wouldn’t be a problem; the U.S. government would procure any necessary documents for them. They said the operator gave them an Aug. 1 departure date and told them to expect their plane tickets by email.

Emily and Deybis sold their car and moved with their children to Columbus, Ohio, where Deybis’ nephew let them stay in his unfinished basement apartment until their departure. The plane tickets never came.

Then the nephew was detained in a traffic stop and deported. Panicked, Emily and Deybis said they called the toll-free number again and again, leaving messages that went unanswered. Emily submitted a new application and sent more emails.

Article excerpt: ...They found travel agencies that offer to procure travel documents at a cost but said they were told the Venezuelan government requires an arrival date and proof that plane tickets have been purchased. Emily and Deybis can’t afford them.

“Thank you so much for your patience and we understand your frustration,” they heard back in another email. “Wait for new instructions from DHS.”

As they wait, they worry about how they’ll survive when winter comes. Most days, Deybis visits local food pantries and looks for discarded items in alleys and on street corners that they can resell. A few weeks ago, they sold their daughter’s bed to help pay the rent.

“We’d rather be in Venezuela with our family than suffer here,” he said.

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Reposted by Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

Leah Millis @leahmillis.bsky.social · 15h

While we are on the subject of journalist safety in the field: follow along as I build up this space to share tips and eventually provide training and resources to journalists who would like to or expect to work in hostile environments.

@protect-the-press.bsky.social

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Reposted by Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

Leah Millis @leahmillis.bsky.social · 15h

The @chicago.suntimes.com photographer who risked their personal health and safety to take this photograph is Anthony Vazquez. Please credit photographers and media outlets. In this age of misinformation, a photo with no context could be anything at all.

50501: The People’s Movement ❌👑 @50501movement.bsky.social · 15h

Please remind us who the domestic terrorists are again.

Photo from Chicago: DHS militarized agent holding a gun up directly in someone’s face as the victim has their hands up, pleading for them not to shoot.

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Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest @ashponders.bsky.social · 16h

I’ll never quite understand why businesses have tvs showing broadcast television.

Why are you paying money to show your customers advertisements for other businesses, often your competitors.
Apart from sports bars, it just doesn’t seem worth it.

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Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest @ashponders.bsky.social · 16h

Does MLS have matches or games?

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Reposted by Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

Buzz Andersen @andersen.buzz · 23h

“What I’ve observed are traces of deep fear…”

This is a really great piece about Peter Thiel’s idiosyncratic take on Christian philosopher René Girard and how it has influenced his counterintuitive (and often seemingly contradictory) worldview.

www.wired.com/story/the-re...

The Real Stakes, and Real Story, of Peter Thiel’s Antichrist Obsession

Thirty years ago, a peace-loving Austrian theologian spoke to Peter Thiel about the apocalyptic theories of Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt. They’ve been a road map for the billionaire ever since.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

Dee Phunk @deephunk.bsky.social · 23h

He deserved to grow old. He deserved the space to be more creative and share more art w/ the world. He deserved to be adorned in praise while he was still able to receive it in the physical. Luckily, music and spirit is eternal.

RIP Michael Eugene Archer aka D'ANGELO. 🕊️

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Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest @ashponders.bsky.social · 23h

Oh the entire 2020 presidential race I was crushing elfbars endlessly. Regulations hadn’t caught up yet and being able to drag inside was amazing.

Staring at politicians through my camera everyday: essentially mainlining nic was the only way I got through it.

Did dreadful things to my body tho.

Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest @ashponders.bsky.social · 23h

And fun!

Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest @ashponders.bsky.social · 23h

I can manage to quit for five years or so at a time—haven’t touched more than five since Covid—but there hasn’t been a day since 1997 that I haven’t wanted to.

Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest @ashponders.bsky.social · 23h

Started Benson & Hedges when I was 10 or 11, cause I read that’s what the Gallaghers smoked.
Switched to a tiny Gauloises filterless when I decided they looked good hanging on the lip around 18.
Mixed them up with Chesterfield for a while, too. Parliaments and Spirits if that’s what was around.

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Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest @ashponders.bsky.social · 23h

Gutting.

Saeed Jones @theferocity.bsky.social · 1d

D’Angelo?????????????????

Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest @ashponders.bsky.social · 23h

That’s my favorite city in the nation txt me if you need reccs.

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Reposted by Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

ProPublica @propublica.org · 1d

Ka’ila Farrell-Smith grew up deeply involved in the fight for Indigenous rights. “I’ve been warned my entire life, ‘The FBI’s watching us.’”

Now the agency is focused on her and a new generation of activists challenging a lithium mine in Nevada.

(Published July)

“Under the Microscope”: Activists Opposing a Nevada Lithium Mine Were Surveilled for Years, Records Show

Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, have collaborated with private security to surveil largely peaceful protesters opposed to the Thacker Pass mine, according to a ProPublica review of thousa...

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

Garnet Henderson @garnethenderson.com · 2d

We're in the process of getting media liability insurance for @autonomynews.co. One carrier turned us down because of the "sensitive nature of the content."

Anyway! You can support reporting that normalizes conversations about bodily autonomy with a paid sub, one-time tip, or by buying our merch!

Support Autonomy News

We will never put our reporting or analysis behind a paywall. Your support makes that possible. Here are a few different ways to power our work: Become a member Support our journalism and help comb...

www.autonomynews.co

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Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest @ashponders.bsky.social · 2d

>:{

Reposted by Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

Sara Luterman @slooterman.bsky.social · 3d

If you work in the Office of Special Education, have been RIF'd and want to talk to a journalist about it, please hit me up on Signal at slooterman.18.

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Reposted by Ash Ponders is judging the Smithsonian Photo Contest

ProPublica @propublica.org · 2d

Few patients appeal a health insurance denial, but a little-known process that requires insurers and plans to seek an independent opinion can force insurers to pay for what can be lifesaving treatment.

Here’s what experts say you need to know.

How to Fight Your Health Insurance Denial with an External Appeal

When a health insurer refuses to pay for your treatment, you may have the right to have the denial reviewed — and potentially overturned — by an independent provider. Here are six steps experts sugges...

www.propublica.org

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2d

This two-parter below is exactly why it's hard to make clothes in the United States.

Let's look at how much it costs to produce a button-up shirt in the US. 🧵

Someone on Twitter replies to me: "meh. buy american or stfu."

Two hours later, in a separate thread, the write: "$30 for a single button-up is ridiculous unless it is decent quality silk."

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