Ilene Frank
@ifrank.bsky.social
I'm a reference librarian at a community college and UoPeople.edu and an instructor at UMGC.edu and I'm an excellent lurker
Reposted by Ilene Frank
Reposted by Ilene Frank
Reposted by Ilene Frank
The first school to market itself as AI free is going to corner the market on people interested in actually learning. And I would not be surprised if rich families and the children of people creating this tech were the first movers.
My employer, Dartmouth College, today boasts it's 1st Ivy "to launch AI at an institutional scale." It is doing this by partnering--"more than a collaboration"--with Anthropic, a company that stole the books of many faculty, me included, which many of us are suing.
December 5, 2025 at 1:40 AM
The first school to market itself as AI free is going to corner the market on people interested in actually learning. And I would not be surprised if rich families and the children of people creating this tech were the first movers.
Reposted by Ilene Frank
FBI arrests Virginia man in January 6 pipe bomb case MSNow breaks
Steve Baker and The Blaze STILL have their defamatory story accusing a female Capitol police officer of being the bomber up and live.
www.ms.now/news/fbi-arr...
Steve Baker and The Blaze STILL have their defamatory story accusing a female Capitol police officer of being the bomber up and live.
www.ms.now/news/fbi-arr...
FBI arrests suspect in Jan. 2021 pipe-bombing case
Authorities say the suspect placed viable explosive devices outside RNC and DNC offices the night before the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
www.ms.now
December 4, 2025 at 1:44 PM
FBI arrests Virginia man in January 6 pipe bomb case MSNow breaks
Steve Baker and The Blaze STILL have their defamatory story accusing a female Capitol police officer of being the bomber up and live.
www.ms.now/news/fbi-arr...
Steve Baker and The Blaze STILL have their defamatory story accusing a female Capitol police officer of being the bomber up and live.
www.ms.now/news/fbi-arr...
Reposted by Ilene Frank
Reposted by Ilene Frank
The stages of repentance and repair outlined in my book, as I read Maimonides:
December 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM
The stages of repentance and repair outlined in my book, as I read Maimonides:
Reposted by Ilene Frank
#ArtHistory 🗃️ 🐡 🎨
This documentary about artist Anselm Kiefer by Wim Wenders is something I truly loved watching.
There’s less narration than usual because the stunning cinematography lets viewers connect with the art on a more intimate level.
(now available on streaming)
This documentary about artist Anselm Kiefer by Wim Wenders is something I truly loved watching.
There’s less narration than usual because the stunning cinematography lets viewers connect with the art on a more intimate level.
(now available on streaming)
Anselm - Official US Trailer
YouTube video by Janus Films
www.youtube.com
December 3, 2025 at 1:45 AM
#ArtHistory 🗃️ 🐡 🎨
This documentary about artist Anselm Kiefer by Wim Wenders is something I truly loved watching.
There’s less narration than usual because the stunning cinematography lets viewers connect with the art on a more intimate level.
(now available on streaming)
This documentary about artist Anselm Kiefer by Wim Wenders is something I truly loved watching.
There’s less narration than usual because the stunning cinematography lets viewers connect with the art on a more intimate level.
(now available on streaming)
Reposted by Ilene Frank
This is honestly it, for me. The suspicion of students with accommodations is just so ludicrous; who appointed us doctor, cop, judge and jury? I went through undergrad and grad school with an invisible disability-epilepsy-and it was never easy. NEVER.
I teach big classes, so I get a lot of accommodation letters and I simply follow them and go on with my day because why the hell wouldn‘t I. If I wanted to be a cop, I would have applied.
We need to be able to see that the line "accommodations have gone too far" is an expression of the ableist notion that disabled students do not belong in higher ed. Its fundamentally an anxiety about the fact that disabled students get an "advantage" over abled students.
December 2, 2025 at 10:51 PM
This is honestly it, for me. The suspicion of students with accommodations is just so ludicrous; who appointed us doctor, cop, judge and jury? I went through undergrad and grad school with an invisible disability-epilepsy-and it was never easy. NEVER.
Reposted by Ilene Frank
The Trump admin has paused all immigration and naturalization processes for people from one of the 19 travel ban countries; including Cuba and Venezuela.
Even people who fully passed the citizenship exam are having their cases put on hold, just inches from the finish line.
Even people who fully passed the citizenship exam are having their cases put on hold, just inches from the finish line.
Scoop: The Trump administration has paused all immigration applications filed by people from 19 countries banned from travel to the United States earlier this year, halting green card and U.S. citizenship processing for broad swaths of people.
More coming soon.
More coming soon.
December 2, 2025 at 9:19 PM
The Trump admin has paused all immigration and naturalization processes for people from one of the 19 travel ban countries; including Cuba and Venezuela.
Even people who fully passed the citizenship exam are having their cases put on hold, just inches from the finish line.
Even people who fully passed the citizenship exam are having their cases put on hold, just inches from the finish line.
Reposted by Ilene Frank
Trump again claims that all documents signed by Biden, including pardons, are “hereby null, void, and of no further force or effect.”
December 2, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Trump again claims that all documents signed by Biden, including pardons, are “hereby null, void, and of no further force or effect.”
Reposted by Ilene Frank
What's happening with the Chicago Public Libraries right now is terrible. The proposed budget of the city would CUT 89 CPL positions. Importantly, 78 positions were lost LAST year. That would be 167 positions in 2 YEARS while COPS KEEP GETTING MORE MONEY. ENOUGH. SAY NO.
December 2, 2025 at 10:51 PM
What's happening with the Chicago Public Libraries right now is terrible. The proposed budget of the city would CUT 89 CPL positions. Importantly, 78 positions were lost LAST year. That would be 167 positions in 2 YEARS while COPS KEEP GETTING MORE MONEY. ENOUGH. SAY NO.
Reposted by Ilene Frank
If you or someone you know is looking for a post-doctoral position working on mycobacterial envelope biology, please get in touch. I am recruiting here at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada.
December 2, 2025 at 3:21 PM
If you or someone you know is looking for a post-doctoral position working on mycobacterial envelope biology, please get in touch. I am recruiting here at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada.
Reposted by Ilene Frank
Imagine if they had donated $6B to providing meals, healthcare, or literally anything else a child might urgently need.
“Hey kids, we’re taking away your food stamps and healthcare and not providing paid parental leave or any socialist shit like that, but when you turn 18 you can have some theoretical capital gains!”
apnews.com/article/mich...
apnews.com/article/mich...
Michael and Susan Dell donate $6.25 billion to encourage families to claim 'Trump Accounts'
Billionaires Michael and Susan Dell pledged a historic $6.25 billion on Tuesday to provide an incentive to families to adopt new investment accounts for children.
apnews.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Imagine if they had donated $6B to providing meals, healthcare, or literally anything else a child might urgently need.
Reposted by Ilene Frank
Cashless bail in New Mexico is under attack by Trump - he supports returning to money bail system that pressures the accused to take a plea in order to avoid indefinite detention, even when they not guilty
✏️ by @bloomberg.com 🧵
✏️ by @bloomberg.com 🧵
December 2, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Cashless bail in New Mexico is under attack by Trump - he supports returning to money bail system that pressures the accused to take a plea in order to avoid indefinite detention, even when they not guilty
✏️ by @bloomberg.com 🧵
✏️ by @bloomberg.com 🧵
Reposted by Ilene Frank
the dystopia stuff is just caricature level now … next up “new start up is testing how to use AI to deactivate the part of your brain that experiences emotion and makes you feel alive”
Several new tech start-ups are building replicas of sites so A.I. can learn to use the internet and maybe replace white-collar workers.
Silicon Valley Builds Amazon and Gmail Copycats to Train A.I. Agents
Several new start-ups are building replicas of sites so A.I. can learn to use the internet and maybe replace white-collar workers.
nyti.ms
December 2, 2025 at 10:56 PM
the dystopia stuff is just caricature level now … next up “new start up is testing how to use AI to deactivate the part of your brain that experiences emotion and makes you feel alive”
Reposted by Ilene Frank
Once again, ILL remains the purest representation of scholarly community. I use it so much I often write little notes back and forth with the librarians when I’ve borrowed a lot from their library. It’s the closest you can get to those old penpal schemes and I love it.
Requested a book through ILL over break. It arrived today. Libraries man.
December 2, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Once again, ILL remains the purest representation of scholarly community. I use it so much I often write little notes back and forth with the librarians when I’ve borrowed a lot from their library. It’s the closest you can get to those old penpal schemes and I love it.
Reposted by Ilene Frank
"Datacentre power demand in Australia could triple in five years and is forecast to exceed by 2030 the energy used by electric vehicles."
Another reason to detest AI. It gobbles up power and water, and pushes up power prices for everyone.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Another reason to detest AI. It gobbles up power and water, and pushes up power prices for everyone.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Datacentres demand huge amounts of electricity. Could they derail Australia’s net zero ambitions?
Banks of servers operating 24/7 generate massive amounts of heat, requiring power to run and cool them
www.theguardian.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:41 PM
"Datacentre power demand in Australia could triple in five years and is forecast to exceed by 2030 the energy used by electric vehicles."
Another reason to detest AI. It gobbles up power and water, and pushes up power prices for everyone.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Another reason to detest AI. It gobbles up power and water, and pushes up power prices for everyone.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Reposted by Ilene Frank
I have come to the idea that we have to collectively, brutally, ritualistically kill Target just to show capital that we truly aren’t fucking around.
December 1, 2025 at 7:39 PM
I have come to the idea that we have to collectively, brutally, ritualistically kill Target just to show capital that we truly aren’t fucking around.
Reposted by Ilene Frank
🚨 Monday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the lowest on record (JAXA data)
• about 1,110,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 1,600,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 2,310,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 2,810,000 km² below the 1980s mean
More: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
• about 1,110,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 1,600,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 2,310,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 2,810,000 km² below the 1980s mean
More: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
December 1, 2025 at 4:04 PM
🚨 Monday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the lowest on record (JAXA data)
• about 1,110,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 1,600,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 2,310,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 2,810,000 km² below the 1980s mean
More: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
• about 1,110,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 1,600,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 2,310,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 2,810,000 km² below the 1980s mean
More: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
Reposted by Ilene Frank
In recent days, posts & videos with hundreds of thousands of views or shares falsely claimed Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's appointment is void because Trump claimed to void Biden's autopen actions (Jackson was confirmed by the Senate). This includes a deepfake video of Trump pushing the falsehood.
![Left: YouTube videos with hundreds of thousands of views falsely claiming that Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was "panic[king]" and had been "FORCED TO RESIGN" because "Trump WIPES OUT Biden's Autopen Judges."
Right: One of the those YouTube videos, a deepfake of Trump discussing his Biden autopen claim and falsely suggesting it would force Jackson off the bench.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:af7tqcetuyt352aolf3znlxe/bafkreieil4j42ukrvvtf6i7emmkhxcmwhl32ny4kustbskv7blzbzshroy@jpeg)
December 1, 2025 at 9:22 PM
In recent days, posts & videos with hundreds of thousands of views or shares falsely claimed Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's appointment is void because Trump claimed to void Biden's autopen actions (Jackson was confirmed by the Senate). This includes a deepfake video of Trump pushing the falsehood.
Reposted by Ilene Frank
For the first time since 1988 the U.S. government is not officially commemorating World AIDS Day. So, I'm posting a few photos from a 2015 exhibition at the Tacoma Art Museum. Hard to pick just one. Here is an Altar Piece by Keith Haring, his last before his death. #WorldAIDSDay
December 2, 2025 at 1:29 AM
For the first time since 1988 the U.S. government is not officially commemorating World AIDS Day. So, I'm posting a few photos from a 2015 exhibition at the Tacoma Art Museum. Hard to pick just one. Here is an Altar Piece by Keith Haring, his last before his death. #WorldAIDSDay
Reposted by Ilene Frank
faculty governance is at the heart of academic freedom
I support faculty members of all ranks as they make expert choices about what to assign, why to assess, and how to evaluate student work.
December 2, 2025 at 12:54 AM
faculty governance is at the heart of academic freedom
Reposted by Ilene Frank
My wife has been HIV+ for 34 years. She’s alive today b/c work of activists who destigmatized the virus, pushed medical science to adapt & find ways to treat it, & advocated for gov health programs that helped fund her care. The current U.S. regime may want to go back in time, but we won’t let them.
December 2, 2025 at 1:27 AM
My wife has been HIV+ for 34 years. She’s alive today b/c work of activists who destigmatized the virus, pushed medical science to adapt & find ways to treat it, & advocated for gov health programs that helped fund her care. The current U.S. regime may want to go back in time, but we won’t let them.
Reposted by Ilene Frank
“The fabric of this country is forever being torn apart by hate & exclusion; it is forever being stitched into new patterns, new connections, new relationships… a quilter's art of bringing the fragments together into a whole”
An essay for World AIDS Day and the 70th anniversary of Rosa Parks's valiant act of resistance, an essay on quilts and solidarity, on stitching the fragments together.
Solidarity Stitches Us Together: Today, World AIDS Day, Is Also the 70th Anniversary of Rosa Park's Historic Protest
I saw two radically different versions of what a quilt could be yesterday and yet they spoke to the same issues. I caught the show Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California ...
www.meditationsinanemergency.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:36 AM
“The fabric of this country is forever being torn apart by hate & exclusion; it is forever being stitched into new patterns, new connections, new relationships… a quilter's art of bringing the fragments together into a whole”
Reposted by Ilene Frank
HUGE news for sharks and rays!! 🎉🦈 All shark and ray proposals were passed at #CITESCoP20 on Friday! More than 70 species of threatened sharks and rays have been granted stronger protections against international trade.
#CITES #shark #sharkconservation
newsroom.wcs.org/News-Release...
#CITES #shark #sharkconservation
newsroom.wcs.org/News-Release...
WCS Celebrates Historic and Sweeping Trade Protections for Sharks and Rays Adopted at CITES CoP20
Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Nov. 28, 2025 – The following statement was issued today from CITES CoP20, celebrating the sweeping and historic adoption of new international trade protections for sharks and r...
newsroom.wcs.org
December 2, 2025 at 1:03 AM
HUGE news for sharks and rays!! 🎉🦈 All shark and ray proposals were passed at #CITESCoP20 on Friday! More than 70 species of threatened sharks and rays have been granted stronger protections against international trade.
#CITES #shark #sharkconservation
newsroom.wcs.org/News-Release...
#CITES #shark #sharkconservation
newsroom.wcs.org/News-Release...