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Esther Tseng

@estarla.bsky.social

3.6K followers 430 following 110 posts

Food, drinks & culture writer estarla.com

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Esther Tseng @estarla.bsky.social · Jan 23

Wrote about 13 community food solutions amid the Eaton and Palisades fires for @civileats.com. Through nourishment of our bodies and souls, we can rebuild. Hope this can be a resource on how we can sustain while we take it day by day to reconstruct what has been lost.

civileats.com/2025/01/22/i...

In LA’s Altadena Neighborhood, Community Food Solutions Feed Wildfire Recovery

With thousands of acres burned and homes lost, this historic L.A. suburb finds nourishment and solace through local food. Here’s how to help.

civileats.com

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Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · Sep 15

Some personal news:

I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting.

Thread incoming.

substack.com/@karenattiah...

The Washington Post Fired Me — But My Voice Will Not Be Silenced.

I spoke out against hatred and violence in America — and it cost me my job.

substack.com

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · Sep 11

One professor on the watchlist who 404 Media is granting anonymity for his safety said once he was added to the list, he started receiving anonymous letters in his campus mailbox.
''You're everything wrong with colleges,'
'watch your step, we're watching you' kind of stuff," he said, "One anonymous DM on Twitter had a picture of my house and driveway, which was chilling." His president and provost also received emails attempting to discredit him with "all the allegedly communist and subversive stuff I was up to," he said. "It was all certainly concerning, but compared to colleagues who are people of color and/or women, I feel like the volume was smaller for me. But it was certainly not a great feeling to experience that stuff. That watchlist fucked up careers and ruined lives."

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Rob Talks Nonsense @robtalksnonsense.com · Jul 19

Good column by the often wonderful @mollyjongfast.bsky.social .
And yeah, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social gave us gift link so go read it please.

Jeff (Gutenberg Parenthesis) Jarvis @jeffjarvis.bsky.social · Jul 19

By @mollyjongfast.bsky.social: "Like Mr. McCarthy, Mr. Trump is not a fan of antifascism. In 1950, Grandpa ended up in Mill Point Federal Prison."
Gift link:
Canceling Stephen Colbert Isn’t Funny
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/o...

Opinion | Canceling Stephen Colbert Isn’t Funny

www.nytimes.com

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Nicholas Slayton @nslayton.bsky.social · Jul 14

This is a great list of some fantastic spots in Los Angeles. Good stuff from @estarla.bsky.social. And glad to see the bar I work at made the cut. www.bonappetit.com/story/best-b...

The 8 Best Bars in Los Angeles Right Now

Big, national names are building a local audience, while homegrown talent dazzle with their attention to craft.

www.bonappetit.com

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Sophia Babai @swingingstorm.bsky.social · Jul 3

My mom and stepdad are from the same diaspora group as Zohran Mamdani’s dad (same like “my stepdad was kicked out of the same town and knows some of his classmates”) and apparently the New York Times doesn’t understand how diaspora works, so I am going to tell you a little about my mom’s people!

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Hyperlexic @hyperlexic.bsky.social · Jul 2

documenting what we all knew: Trump was teetering on financial collapse until he won the election, now he’s cashing in

(gift link)

Trump’s Finances Were Shaky. Then He Began to Capitalize on His Comeback.

www.nytimes.com

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El Norte Recuerda @elnorterecuerda.bsky.social · Jul 2

The entire Latino population in the U.S. is 65 million. She means all of us.

Laura Loomer‘s tweet: Alligator lives matter. The good news is, alligators are guaranteed at least 65 million meals if we get started now.

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Anil Dash @anildash.com · Jul 1

This @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social video is absolutely INCREDIBLE. The numbers he cites, the strategy and results they produced — it’s the future. When have you heard *any* campaign talk about this, ever? (Video split in 2 to fit in Bluesky’s limits)

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Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · Jul 1

How does anyone justify this? Seriously, how?

74 killed in Gaza as Israeli forces strike a cafe and fire on people seeking food

Witnesses and medics in Gaza say an Israeli airstrike on a seaside cafe has killed at least 30 people in Gaza City.

apnews.com

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Helen Rosner @hels.bsky.social · Jun 28

As an anti-Zionist Jew, I’d love advice from progressive, anti-nationalist Christians on how you navigate connection to your religious identity while its most visible & influential face is a faction of racist, empire-seeking supremacists

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Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov · Jun 28

Mark and Melissa saw the humanity in everyone. Let’s honor them by doing the same.

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · Jun 28

If the GOP reconciliation bill passes, ICE gets through FY2029:

- $45 billion for detention, on top of the current annual budget of $3.4 billion
- $14.4 billion for transportation and removal, on top of the current annual budget of $750 million
- $8 billion for hiring/retention
- Billions more.

Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · Jun 28

‼️‼️

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🇬🇾🗽Sydette The Dreaded Gorgon🗽🇬🇾 @blackamazon.bsky.social · Jun 26

Black people are over represented in deportations, many of the most questionable ones are to the Caribbean and specifically Jamaica

I would like to fight

Grant Stern @grantstern.bsky.social · Jun 26

Deporting children of military veterans because they were born on an overseas military base.

This man has no citizenship now.

Texas Man Born to U.S. Soldier on U.S. Army Base Abroad Deported

He has no citizenship to any country, despite SCOTUS case

www.austinchronicle.com

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People’s City Council - Los Angeles @pplscitycouncil.bsky.social · Jun 21

Important coverage of today’s press conference from @lataco.bsky.social. Please share:

L.A. TACO @lataco.bsky.social · Jun 21

The lawyer and family of Anthony, the photographer who was arrested by LAPD while covering an ICE operation where a tamal vendor was being detained held a press conference this morning in his support.

🎥 Noe Adame

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makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · Jun 12

three years ago, Vox Media reached an agreement with its union securing one of the *strongest* contracts in digital media.

and now they won't budge on basic protections? shame on management. solidarity with my vox media union pals!!!!

i hear they're ready to strike!!!

Vox Media Union @voxmediaunion.bsky.social · Jun 11

It’s been a long day of bargaining with Vox Media, fighting hard to get a fair contract with better salaries, AI protections, the inclusion of the Dodo in our union, and much more. Come tomorrow, there’s only two days left in our contract — Vox Media, stop dragging your feet.

People standing around a conference table room.

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Matt da Silva @mdasilva.bsky.social · Jun 8

Seeing a massive divide online between Angelenos of all political stripes who understand that the protests in LA yesterday were mostly peaceful and any violence was ICE-initiated and East Coast establishment liberals lecturing “the left” on how riots just amplify right wing talking points.

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People’s City Council - Los Angeles @pplscitycouncil.bsky.social · Jun 10

FUCK RICKY LINTON! FUCK LAPD!

People’s City Council - Los Angeles @pplscitycouncil.bsky.social · Jun 10

LAPD officer Rick Linton is fucking unhinged and unloading on protesters at point blank range. FUCK THIS PIG!!

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People’s City Council - Los Angeles @pplscitycouncil.bsky.social · Jun 10

LAPD FIRING ON US AT POINT BLANK. TAKING MULTIPLE SHOTS AY THE CHEST AND HEAD AREA!!

FUCK LAPD!!

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Tina-Desiree Berg @tinadesireeberg.com · Jun 10

Protesters sitting in front of police chanting peaceful protest

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · Jun 10

Just watching on local news now, but there are maybe 100 protesters carrying signs, being blocked by a line of police cars that stretch for three city blocks.

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Soraya Nadia McDonald @sorayanadiamcdonald.com · Jun 9

Rep. Maxine Waters calmly attempts to access LA Federal Building to check on David Huerta and is denied, recalling lawless shabby treatment of mayor Ras Baraka and Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez and LaMonica McIver when they attempted to access a NJ ICE facility

Maxine Waters barred entry to Los Angeles Federal Building amid riots

Rep. Maxine Waters, D- Calif., on Sunday was barred from entering the Los Angeles Federal Building by the National Guard.

kutv.com

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Adam Rose @adamrose.bsky.social · Jun 9

Dozens of journalists were assaulted by law enforcement in Los Angeles this weekend.

The press were just doing their job -- a sacred one explicitly protected by law.

Press rights orgs will follow up collectively tomorrow.

Tonight, I emailed evidence to local/state/federal officials. My sign off:

I recognize this is an exceedingly difficult time and for many of you this is a crisis on several levels. I respect those challenges and I don't consider press rights superior to the rights of others. However, all other rights depend on press rights. We cannot allow them to be chilled. This was explained by civil rights icon and longtime congressmember John Lewis:

"If it hadn't been for the media, for brave, courageous journalists, the civil rights movement would have been like a bird without wings."

Democracy cannot function without an informed public. The public cannot be informed without a free press. It is your shared responsibility to ensure press are able to do their job. Several of you have been supportive over the years and I thank you for that. But your support is now needed more than ever. Please ensure your teams are aware of these egregious violations and ensure you take all possible steps to protect the press, and thereby the public and our country itself.

Sincerely,
Adam Rose
Press Rights Chair
Los Angeles Press Club

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Chad Loder @chadloder.bsky.social · Jun 9

Content warning: blood, serious head injury. A woman was run down and trampled and clubbed by LAPD officers on horseback. She appears to be seriously injured and bleeding from the head as an officer drags her limp body along the pavement.

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Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · Jun 4

This seems important from Jake Sherman

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utopia deferred @utopia-defer.red · May 28

the national "fell for it again" awards competition has come to southern missouri.

big fan of watching people delude themselves that this isn't what they voted for while the guy next to them smiles and speaks the truth: yes you did, you just feel bad about it now.

For 20 years, Carol Hui has served waffles, raised her children and embraced the small
town of Kennett, Mo. Her detention and pending deportation to Hong Kong has hit the
community hard.
Listen to this article · 9:40 min Learn more
By Jack Healy Photographs by Jamie Kelter Davis
Jack Healy interviewed residents in Kennett, Mo., and spoke by phone with Ming Li Hui from jail.
May 28, 2025
The first sign of trouble came early this month when Carol didn’t show up for her
shift at John’s Waffle and Pancake House.
She was as reliable as the sun rising over rice and melon fields in her adopted
hometown, Kennett, Mo., a conservative farming hub of 10,000 people in the state’s
southeastern boot heel, where “Missouri” becomes “Missour-uh.”
In the 20 years since she arrived from Hong Kong, she had built a life and family in
Kennett, working two waitressing jobs and cleaning houses on the side. She began
every morning at the bustling diner, serving pecan waffles, hugging customers and
reading leftover newspapers to improve her English.

That all ended on April 30, when federal immigration officials summoned Carol, 45,
whose legal name is Ming Li Hui, to their office in St. Louis, a three-hour drive
from Kennett. Her partner, a Guatemalan immigrant, had voiced suspicion about
the sudden call. But “I didn’t want to run,” Ms. Hui said in a jailhouse phone
interview. “I just wanted to do the right thing.”
She was arrested and jailed to await deportation.
Ms. Hui’s detention has forced a rural Missouri county to face the fallout of
President Trump’s immigration crackdown, which was supported in theory by
many residents in this Trump-loving corner of an increasingly red America.

Many are now asking how you can support Carol and also Mr. Trump.
“I voted for Donald Trump, and so did practically everyone here,” said Vanessa
Cowart, a friend of Ms. Hui from church. “But no one voted to deport moms. We
were all under the impression we were just getting rid of the gangs, the people who
came here in droves.”
She paused. “This is Carol.”
Adam Squires, a onetime candidate for mayor of Kennett, saw it differently. He did
not bear any ill will for Ms. Hui, he said, but he voted for Mr. Trump, as did 80
percent of voters in Dunklin County, and he was glad to see the deportation
campaign reach home.
“They vote for Trump, and then they get mad because the stuff starts happening,”
he said of his neighbors. “We’ve got to get rid of all the illegals. This is just a start.”

Nonetheless, she was working, which people who enter as tourists are generally
not allowed to do, and her tourist visa had lapsed. Her status in the country
became a matter of dispute.
Many people in Kennett expressed outrage that a hardworking mother had spent
the past month jailed by immigration authorities.
Supporters described her as an ideal addition to a rural town where the population
is declining and the only hospital has closed.
“She’s exactly the sort of person you’d want to come to the country,” said Chuck
Earnest, a farmer. “I don’t know how this fits into the deportation problem with
Trump.”

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