David [spicy greetings]
@plaindavid.bsky.social
Apparently with no surprise
To any happy Flower
The Frost beheads it at it’s play –
In accidental power –
The blonde Assassin passes on -
The Sun proceeds unmoved
To measure off another Day
For an Approving God –
~ Emily Dickinson (ca. 1880)
To any happy Flower
The Frost beheads it at it’s play –
In accidental power –
The blonde Assassin passes on -
The Sun proceeds unmoved
To measure off another Day
For an Approving God –
~ Emily Dickinson (ca. 1880)
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
One of the things with the biggest gap between what's normalized with the current admin and what should be a 5-alarm national scandal is who's running our foreign policy and how they're doing it
FT on how our "diplomatic capacity is being decimated from within" 🎁 giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
FT on how our "diplomatic capacity is being decimated from within" 🎁 giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
December 16, 2025 at 6:02 PM
One of the things with the biggest gap between what's normalized with the current admin and what should be a 5-alarm national scandal is who's running our foreign policy and how they're doing it
FT on how our "diplomatic capacity is being decimated from within" 🎁 giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
FT on how our "diplomatic capacity is being decimated from within" 🎁 giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
Scientists have found a way to track molecule movement during plastic recycling using NMR spectroscopy. This approach could revolutionize how we design and recycle plastics, bringing us closer to a truly circular economy. https://bit.ly/3KNBXow
Why is plastic recycling so hard, and how can we improve it? | College of Chemistry
chemistry.berkeley.edu
December 16, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Scientists have found a way to track molecule movement during plastic recycling using NMR spectroscopy. This approach could revolutionize how we design and recycle plastics, bringing us closer to a truly circular economy. https://bit.ly/3KNBXow
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
Pardon my dark sense of humor, but Rob Reiner and Anthony Geary were both 78. Since these things come in 3's I wonder how many 78 year olds in Hollywood are nervous right now.
December 15, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Pardon my dark sense of humor, but Rob Reiner and Anthony Geary were both 78. Since these things come in 3's I wonder how many 78 year olds in Hollywood are nervous right now.
Bonnie Glaser interviews Professor Akio Takahara on Sino-Japanese tensions.
China Global Podcast, 29m
www.gmfus.org/news/taiwan-...
China Global Podcast, 29m
www.gmfus.org/news/taiwan-...
Taiwan Sparks Tensions: Inside the China-Japan Dispute
A conversation between Professor Akio Takahara with Bonnie Glaser on recent tensions in the Sino-Japanese relationship. A conversation between Professor Akio Takahara with Bonnie Glaser on recent tens...
www.gmfus.org
December 16, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Bonnie Glaser interviews Professor Akio Takahara on Sino-Japanese tensions.
China Global Podcast, 29m
www.gmfus.org/news/taiwan-...
China Global Podcast, 29m
www.gmfus.org/news/taiwan-...
cable news shows seek to focus attention on the diarrhea of words exiting Trump's mouth. Americans should ignore all this. Through his actions, discern his fundamental attitude on all things Russia, which hasn't varied since 1987 when he was first pitched the idea of Trump Tower Moscow
December 15, 2025 at 4:56 PM
cable news shows seek to focus attention on the diarrhea of words exiting Trump's mouth. Americans should ignore all this. Through his actions, discern his fundamental attitude on all things Russia, which hasn't varied since 1987 when he was first pitched the idea of Trump Tower Moscow
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
Steve isn’t here anymore, but he always posted this picture on Hanukkah so I thought we could carry on his tradition and remember him.
Happy Hanukkah to our friends who celebrate. Rachel Posner, a rabbi’s wife in Kiel, Germany, took this photograph in 1931 -- a potent reminder that fascism must be fought in every generation, even if it's wrapped in an American flag and a red hat.
December 14, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Steve isn’t here anymore, but he always posted this picture on Hanukkah so I thought we could carry on his tradition and remember him.
detailed, truthful, infuriating analysis of current stance of Europe vis Russian war on Ukraine. i did not get blocked by a paywall
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/w...
The Challenges to Europe’s Security Go Beyond Trump’s Lack of Support
www.nytimes.com
December 14, 2025 at 8:19 PM
detailed, truthful, infuriating analysis of current stance of Europe vis Russian war on Ukraine. i did not get blocked by a paywall
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/w...
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
renata adler speedboat is a kiiiiiii
December 14, 2025 at 6:33 PM
renata adler speedboat is a kiiiiiii
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
Lovely to see a Glossy Ibis over Worth Marsh.
December 13, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Lovely to see a Glossy Ibis over Worth Marsh.
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
It’s the holidays, so please buy my book. It’s a great gift for anyone who’s ever thought about destroying their student loan company, and it weighs enough to throw at your relatives who say shit like “but in 1972, college only cost a quarter!” www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Pa...
December 13, 2025 at 6:43 PM
It’s the holidays, so please buy my book. It’s a great gift for anyone who’s ever thought about destroying their student loan company, and it weighs enough to throw at your relatives who say shit like “but in 1972, college only cost a quarter!” www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Pa...
Gift Article
wapo.st/4q4Lx58
wapo.st/4q4Lx58
VA plans to abruptly eliminate tens of thousands of health care jobs
Strains on the Veterans Affairs system could grow with the elimination of as many as 35,000 mostly unfilled health care positions, including doctors and nurses.
wapo.st
December 13, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Gift Article
wapo.st/4q4Lx58
wapo.st/4q4Lx58
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
60,000 is the *low end* estimate.
So, El Fasher looks like one of the worst single event atrocities to happen this century so far, but the evidence has come in such a trickle it seems to only now be getting verified
At least 60,000 murdered in Sudanese city, which resembles ‘a slaughterhouse’
Satellite evidence shows extent of paramilitary massacre in El Fasher
www.irishtimes.com
December 13, 2025 at 5:04 AM
60,000 is the *low end* estimate.
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
Robin of the Day:
Western Yellow Robin
📷 Gerald Allen
Western Yellow Robin
📷 Gerald Allen
December 13, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Robin of the Day:
Western Yellow Robin
📷 Gerald Allen
Western Yellow Robin
📷 Gerald Allen
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
This does actually change the entire story. Assuming it's correct, it was an entirely lawful seizure.
December 11, 2025 at 1:18 AM
This does actually change the entire story. Assuming it's correct, it was an entirely lawful seizure.
Pirates of the Caribbean
December 11, 2025 at 5:15 AM
Pirates of the Caribbean
Hawaiitalian is the perfect pizza, and baked pineapple chunks are perfect for dropping on a polished hardwood floor, stepping on them, and then "tracking them all over the place" as my mother would say it. They leave a stubborn glaze.
December 11, 2025 at 4:35 AM
Hawaiitalian is the perfect pizza, and baked pineapple chunks are perfect for dropping on a polished hardwood floor, stepping on them, and then "tracking them all over the place" as my mother would say it. They leave a stubborn glaze.
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
This has largely been memory-holed but in Trump 1.0, he picked a big public trade fight with China. They retaliated by cutting off agriculture purchases, farmers got squeezed, Trump mailed them checks and had to go crawling back to Xi for a face-saving "deal".
Sound familiar?
Sound familiar?
December 9, 2025 at 2:09 PM
This has largely been memory-holed but in Trump 1.0, he picked a big public trade fight with China. They retaliated by cutting off agriculture purchases, farmers got squeezed, Trump mailed them checks and had to go crawling back to Xi for a face-saving "deal".
Sound familiar?
Sound familiar?
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
A reminder to anyone in Chicago & Illinois: Raja Krishnamoorthi is the candidate for Dick Durbin's Senate seat who is most likely to be exactly as wishy-washy as Durbin if he gets elected.
U.S. Senate candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi on Monday said he may “revisit” contributions from Shyam Sankar, a prolific GOP donor and chief technology officer for a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement contractor.
Krishnamoorthi says he may 'revisit' contributions from ICE contractor, Trump adviser Shyam Sankar
chicago.suntimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 1:51 PM
A reminder to anyone in Chicago & Illinois: Raja Krishnamoorthi is the candidate for Dick Durbin's Senate seat who is most likely to be exactly as wishy-washy as Durbin if he gets elected.
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
Antitrust doesn't really get at it (in fact it's kind of part of the problem), but we need to start thinking about ways to specifically punish this. One point would be that ex post facto only applies to criminal laws. A future statute could still specifically target this behavior retroactively.
"During a visit to Washington in recent days, David Ellison [of Paramount] offered assurances to Trump administration officials that if he bought Warner, he’d make sweeping changes to CNN, a common target of President Trump’s ire..." (gift link)
www.wsj.com/business/med...
www.wsj.com/business/med...
Behind Paramount’s Relentless Campaign to Woo Warner Discovery and President Trump
David Ellison has launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Discovery, taking his case directly to shareholders after Netflix clinched a deal.
www.wsj.com
December 9, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Antitrust doesn't really get at it (in fact it's kind of part of the problem), but we need to start thinking about ways to specifically punish this. One point would be that ex post facto only applies to criminal laws. A future statute could still specifically target this behavior retroactively.
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
Think of it this way (and I’m hardly the first to make this point): In a real U.S.-China war, most of the fanciest stuff that takes a long time to produce would get used up quickly. Then what?
That’s harder than saying “public-private partnerships,” “innovation,” “AI,” and “don’t get left behind.”
That’s harder than saying “public-private partnerships,” “innovation,” “AI,” and “don’t get left behind.”
December 9, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Think of it this way (and I’m hardly the first to make this point): In a real U.S.-China war, most of the fanciest stuff that takes a long time to produce would get used up quickly. Then what?
That’s harder than saying “public-private partnerships,” “innovation,” “AI,” and “don’t get left behind.”
That’s harder than saying “public-private partnerships,” “innovation,” “AI,” and “don’t get left behind.”
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
“.. By my count, today's $12B farmer bailout is the FIFTH thing that Trump's tariffs were gonna pay for.”
- @scottlincicome.bsky.social
- @scottlincicome.bsky.social
December 8, 2025 at 11:08 PM
“.. By my count, today's $12B farmer bailout is the FIFTH thing that Trump's tariffs were gonna pay for.”
- @scottlincicome.bsky.social
- @scottlincicome.bsky.social
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
FWIW DOJ still has not appealed the ruling disqualifying Halligan, nor have they appealed the Third Circuit ruling disqualifying Alina Habba on similar grounds (and nor did they respond to my request for comment about whether they plan to appeal)
December 8, 2025 at 3:41 PM
FWIW DOJ still has not appealed the ruling disqualifying Halligan, nor have they appealed the Third Circuit ruling disqualifying Alina Habba on similar grounds (and nor did they respond to my request for comment about whether they plan to appeal)
Reposted by David [spicy greetings]
Posting pictures of birds I have taken to stop my feed here just being depressing politics #birds #birdsofbluesky #ukwildlife #ukbirds Redwing, London, December 2021
December 8, 2025 at 5:54 AM
Posting pictures of birds I have taken to stop my feed here just being depressing politics #birds #birdsofbluesky #ukwildlife #ukbirds Redwing, London, December 2021