Bethan
@bethan.bsky.social
neurosalty desert rat / tech policy & sci fi nerd / regulatory PM for some game studios / mender / former USARNG
Reposted by Bethan
Writing something where I will be liberally citing @lilymasonphd.bsky.social's latest and realizing that I can't cite every single thing I would like to because then I'm just reprinting her work. So, I've gotta thread about it instead.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...
October 2, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Writing something where I will be liberally citing @lilymasonphd.bsky.social's latest and realizing that I can't cite every single thing I would like to because then I'm just reprinting her work. So, I've gotta thread about it instead.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...
Reposted by Bethan
Sarah Engelberg-Nolan, Emma Haberman, and Nicole Brosnan map out the legal questions raised by ICE's use of Palantir's Enhanced Leads Identification & Targeting for Enforcement (ELITE) targeting tool, from Fourth Amendment search issues to due process and standing hurdles.
From Records to Raids: The Questionable Legality of ICE’s Palantir ELITE System
There are important legal considerations implicated by ICE’s use of ELITE, write Sarah Engelberg-Nolan, Emma Haberman and Nicole Brosnan.
buff.ly
September 23, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Sarah Engelberg-Nolan, Emma Haberman, and Nicole Brosnan map out the legal questions raised by ICE's use of Palantir's Enhanced Leads Identification & Targeting for Enforcement (ELITE) targeting tool, from Fourth Amendment search issues to due process and standing hurdles.
Reposted by Bethan
If I picked the wrong direction, I could start to see and course correct, but I had to pull myself above the panic fog first. The manufacturers of panic are counting on the fog to make us nullify our own agency.
September 20, 2026 at 3:25 PM
If I picked the wrong direction, I could start to see and course correct, but I had to pull myself above the panic fog first. The manufacturers of panic are counting on the fog to make us nullify our own agency.
Reposted by Bethan
As a former megachurch youth pastor I can tell you that Hegseth is running the military like a megachurch youth pastor, which as a former megachurch youth pastor I can tell you is a bad idea.
Hegseth kicks off “Send Me” tour invoking the biblical words of “whom shall I send” amid Iran war backlash
September 20, 2026 at 5:48 AM
As a former megachurch youth pastor I can tell you that Hegseth is running the military like a megachurch youth pastor, which as a former megachurch youth pastor I can tell you is a bad idea.
Reposted by Bethan
Reposted by Bethan
Non Black artists who come up on Black music need to be contractually obliged to be political. You can make a lot of money out of the 'appreciation' of our culture, but as a consequence, you need to give your opinions on *everything* when asked
September 15, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Non Black artists who come up on Black music need to be contractually obliged to be political. You can make a lot of money out of the 'appreciation' of our culture, but as a consequence, you need to give your opinions on *everything* when asked
Whew. Here’s one to read with your coffee this morning
The drink was an Amazon bestseller and the company even asked Butler if he wanted them to help him scale up his deliveries:
pluralistic.net/2023/10/20/r...
pluralistic.net/2023/10/20/r...
Pluralistic: Amazon’s bestselling “bitter lemon” energy drink was bottled delivery driver piss (20 Oct 2023) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
pluralistic.net
September 15, 2026 at 10:29 AM
Whew. Here’s one to read with your coffee this morning
Reposted by Bethan
HOLY SHIT - Tapper plays Johnson footage of GOP candidate Brandon Herrera describing moms as "cum trophies," mentions he called Nazi machine guns "the original ghetto blasters," & asks Johnson how he can support him. Mike says "he has run a very effective campaign ... that was his persona online"
September 13, 2026 at 2:06 PM
HOLY SHIT - Tapper plays Johnson footage of GOP candidate Brandon Herrera describing moms as "cum trophies," mentions he called Nazi machine guns "the original ghetto blasters," & asks Johnson how he can support him. Mike says "he has run a very effective campaign ... that was his persona online"
Reposted by Bethan
Extraordinary reporting: "Kremlev’s previously unreported relationship with Trump Jr. represents an extraordinary development: a member of Putin’s circle financially supporting the president’s son and gaining intimate access to the Trump family."
Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch
The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...
www.propublica.org
September 14, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Extraordinary reporting: "Kremlev’s previously unreported relationship with Trump Jr. represents an extraordinary development: a member of Putin’s circle financially supporting the president’s son and gaining intimate access to the Trump family."
Reposted by Bethan
I wish I would have FU money and listen to somebody whose president is a deranged pedophile tell me what to do. Not on my best day or my worst, honey.
September 14, 2026 at 6:15 PM
I wish I would have FU money and listen to somebody whose president is a deranged pedophile tell me what to do. Not on my best day or my worst, honey.
Fixed it. Very tiresome and also very satisfying. I had to redo the wall mount, then the tv was still crooked because the bracket on the back of the tv was loose. Now it’s sturdy and straight and my arms are jelly.
September 11, 2026 at 4:19 AM
Fixed it. Very tiresome and also very satisfying. I had to redo the wall mount, then the tv was still crooked because the bracket on the back of the tv was loose. Now it’s sturdy and straight and my arms are jelly.
Reposted by Bethan
Of course you can use math to described some parts of some music, but this silly notion that “music IS math” is propaganda pure and simple. They’re saying to you “That thing that everyone loves, music, that’s not art. You don’t need art. It’s just data and analytics. That’s what you really love.”
September 10, 2026 at 11:32 AM
Of course you can use math to described some parts of some music, but this silly notion that “music IS math” is propaganda pure and simple. They’re saying to you “That thing that everyone loves, music, that’s not art. You don’t need art. It’s just data and analytics. That’s what you really love.”
Reposted by Bethan
“His legal team said his lawsuit is ‘the first complaint against OpenAI that details the specific risks posed to members of the disabled community as a result of the company’s recklessness.’”
Man told ChatGPT he was feeling delusional. ChatGPT insisted he was Jesus.
Man with bipolar disorder sued OpenAI after surviving ChatGPT-linked suicide attempt.
arstechnica.com
September 9, 2026 at 12:33 PM
“His legal team said his lawsuit is ‘the first complaint against OpenAI that details the specific risks posed to members of the disabled community as a result of the company’s recklessness.’”
Reposted by Bethan
Astrophotographer Adam (AJ) Smadi caught this image a few hours ago from Washington state.
A thin crescent Moon, sunlight illuminating the rugged lunar surface.
And 2,400 times farther away—and on the other side of the Sun—mighty Jupiter, and its moons Io (left) and Ganymede (right).
A thin crescent Moon, sunlight illuminating the rugged lunar surface.
And 2,400 times farther away—and on the other side of the Sun—mighty Jupiter, and its moons Io (left) and Ganymede (right).
September 9, 2026 at 12:24 AM
Astrophotographer Adam (AJ) Smadi caught this image a few hours ago from Washington state.
A thin crescent Moon, sunlight illuminating the rugged lunar surface.
And 2,400 times farther away—and on the other side of the Sun—mighty Jupiter, and its moons Io (left) and Ganymede (right).
A thin crescent Moon, sunlight illuminating the rugged lunar surface.
And 2,400 times farther away—and on the other side of the Sun—mighty Jupiter, and its moons Io (left) and Ganymede (right).
As a little kid, I was regularly hungry for school. I didn’t even try to pay attention to lessons in class, I’d just try to be quiet and respectful.
I am so thankful for programs like this - I don’t know how many kids need it, we just know that many kids, and society all-up, will benefit.
I am so thankful for programs like this - I don’t know how many kids need it, we just know that many kids, and society all-up, will benefit.
Today, Seattle's kindergartners took their very first steps into Seattle Public Schools, joining their fellow scholars for a brand new year! This year, every single one of them - from kindergarten through 12th grade - starts the year with something new: free breakfast and lunch for each student.
September 9, 2026 at 3:19 AM
As a little kid, I was regularly hungry for school. I didn’t even try to pay attention to lessons in class, I’d just try to be quiet and respectful.
I am so thankful for programs like this - I don’t know how many kids need it, we just know that many kids, and society all-up, will benefit.
I am so thankful for programs like this - I don’t know how many kids need it, we just know that many kids, and society all-up, will benefit.
Reposted by Bethan
Tetris was a real bridge-builder at the height of the Cold War. Remarkable story, remarkable man.
Alexey Pajitnov - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
September 5, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Tetris was a real bridge-builder at the height of the Cold War. Remarkable story, remarkable man.
Reposted by Bethan
We are in for hell. People are going to die. This is because of nestle and yall not listening to indigenous peoples. CONGRATS U PLAYED YASELF
Constitution Doesn’t Cover Right to Clean Water, Court Rules
Constitution Doesn’t Cover Right to Clean Water, Court Rules (1)
The US Constitution doesn’t provide a right to clean drinking water or accurate information from public officials, a divided federal appeals court ruled.
news.bloomberglaw.com
September 6, 2026 at 12:19 AM
We are in for hell. People are going to die. This is because of nestle and yall not listening to indigenous peoples. CONGRATS U PLAYED YASELF
Reposted by Bethan
Using an advanced new instrument, scientists observed Einstein’s equivalence principle on a free-falling quantum object, demonstrating that this prediction of general relativity also holds up in quantum physics.
Breakthrough Quantum Test Resolves a Major Cosmic Mystery
Using an advanced new instrument, scientists observed Einstein’s equivalence principle on a free-falling quantum object, demonstrating that this prediction of general relativity also holds up in quantum...
www.404media.co
September 5, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Using an advanced new instrument, scientists observed Einstein’s equivalence principle on a free-falling quantum object, demonstrating that this prediction of general relativity also holds up in quantum physics.
I installed my flat screen very crookedly. Probably too crooked for me to watch without having anxiety.
This is very disappointing.
Tonight I’ll read a book and tomorrow I’ll fix it.
This is very disappointing.
Tonight I’ll read a book and tomorrow I’ll fix it.
September 4, 2026 at 3:45 AM
I installed my flat screen very crookedly. Probably too crooked for me to watch without having anxiety.
This is very disappointing.
Tonight I’ll read a book and tomorrow I’ll fix it.
This is very disappointing.
Tonight I’ll read a book and tomorrow I’ll fix it.
Reposted by Bethan
Good lord. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
September 4, 2026 at 1:50 AM
Good lord. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by Bethan
Man the first paragraph came out of the gate with a haymaker.
Holy shit dude
Holy shit dude
September 4, 2026 at 1:58 AM
Man the first paragraph came out of the gate with a haymaker.
Holy shit dude
Holy shit dude
Reposted by Bethan
An analysis of defense contracts charts the rise of defense spending — often in heavily Democratic districts
Defense tech has unleashed a new weapons boom in Southern California – The Markup
An analysis of defense contracts charts the rise of defense spending — often in heavily Democratic districts
bit.ly
September 3, 2026 at 7:00 PM
An analysis of defense contracts charts the rise of defense spending — often in heavily Democratic districts
Reposted by Bethan
Google was ahead of its time in establishing creepiness as a prominent feature of Progress & Innovation. Eric Schmidt promised/threatened a long time ago that Google’s business model was delivering you what you wanted before you even knew you wanted it, & that privacy only mattered to wrongdoers.
September 3, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Google was ahead of its time in establishing creepiness as a prominent feature of Progress & Innovation. Eric Schmidt promised/threatened a long time ago that Google’s business model was delivering you what you wanted before you even knew you wanted it, & that privacy only mattered to wrongdoers.
Reposted by Bethan
I love Yahya but Mark Wahlberg is always a no
September 3, 2026 at 3:45 PM
I love Yahya but Mark Wahlberg is always a no