douglaslucas.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

Scientific publishing behemoth #Elsevier, infamous for suing SciHub in 2015, is poorly defending use of nonsensical, likely #AI -regurgitated phrase "vegetative electron microscopy", which in past 2+ yrs wormed its way into ~2 dozen scientific articles, almost none of which have been retracted.[1/2]

submitted 2 hours ago • 1 comment

With 1/3 to 1/2 million players or more daily, online 3rd-person shooter Marvel Rivals--a U.S. franchise, but developed by #China 's NetEase Games--is de facto social networking. But CCP censorship means you can't type into the chat "free Tibet," "Uyghur camps" "Taiwan is a country" or similar.[1/2]

submitted 3 hours ago • 1 comment

Xtortion: In Dec., a call from an X lawyer to advertising conglomerate Interpublic essentially said: 'Get your clients to spend more on Elon Musk’s social-media platform, or else' CEO of consultancy for advertisers: "they are afraid of legal and political ramifications of not" returning to X [1/3]

submitted 3 hours ago • 1 comment

Feb.21) Trump2 fired Air Force General "CQ" Brown Jr. as Joint Chiefs chair, part of efforts to end DEI in military & elsewhere, & part of his desire to weaken #Ukraine. Brown focused on Ukraine & had publicly supported BLM. SecDef Pete Hegseth had asked whether Brown got the job because black.[1/4]

submitted 14 hours ago • 4 comments

Feb.21) DHS Sec. Kristi Noem said at CPAC that Trump2 told her to make ads that "thank me for closing the border" apparently to illegal or purportedly illegal crossings. Versions to run domestically, in M.East, & C.America. Extremely expensive propaganda to scare off migrants & flatter Trump. [1/2]

submitted 14 hours ago • 1 comment

#Virginia based #Akima revealed as firm locking up migrants/refugees in #Gitmo. 2000+ US gov contracts, global services from IT to armed security. Its parent, NANA Regional Corp, hides from SEC oversight behind Alaska Native stock ownership that can't be sold off, due to Nixon-era land deal. [1/2]

submitted 15 hours ago • 1 comment

Founded 1846, AP had been a member of White House press pool since inception. Banned by Trump2 admin because, with billions of international readers, they're still using "Gulf of #Mexico", AP filed a lawsuit Feb.21, alleging violations of 1st & 5th Amendments (18p. PDF): www.ap.org/wp-content/u...

submitted 15 hours ago • 0 comments

Idea of a state run by a master engineering class—walled in from public disapproval Overriding message is "Buy #Palantir!" delivered with many clichés of urgency: "More than ever." "The moment is now." "The stakes are high." "The stakes are high and growing." "The stakes could not be higher."

submitted 22 hours ago • 2 comments

In 2017, centrists and liberals told antifascist activists that the institutions would hold and the State would preserve basic democratic rights. Now the country is being hollowed out by literal billionaires making Hitler salutes. This should be on the cover of every newspaper.

submitted 22 hours ago • 13 comments

Blue Öyster Cult, live '81, "Extra Terrestrial Intelligence" (5min): youtu.be/PMC2p_mWueY I hear the #music, daylight disc 3 men in black said "Don't report this" "Ascension" & that's all they said Sickness now, hour's dread All praise He's found the awful truth Balthazar He's found the saucer news

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

Remember those recorders many of us played in elementary school, sounding awful in our tiny hands? Well, this dude goes to town on one, or its Baroque flautino cousin, in Spain--I believe in 2014--playing Vivaldi's Recorder Concerto in C Major,composed 1728-29 www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO7i... #music

submitted 1 day ago • 11 comments

The 85th day of continuous protests against the Kremlin backed government in Georgia. (📹 @vatless ) #3E #EndOligarchy #GeorgiaProtests

submitted 2 days ago • 119 comments

Very interesting thread.

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NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out USAID told me it can’t release documents via #FOIA due to “recent developments” Meanwhile, a memo I obtained sent to DHS FOIA officers this week directs them to “maximize transparency” when processing FOIA requests www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

submitted 2 days ago • 11 comments

BREAKING: A new coronavirus with the ability to spread to humans similar to the Covid-19 pandemic has been discovered in China, per researchers at Wuhan Institute of Virology and Newsweek.

submitted 1 day ago • 46 comments

Voting vendor #VRSystems exited #Indiana, saying no longer profitable for them. State's Brown Cty was relying on VR e-pollbooks to help establish, in time for May '26 primaries, #vote centers (likely 5 total); they've received an Indiana SecState grant for that. But a wild wrinkle appeared... [1/2]

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

Jan. 23: 74-25, Senate confirmed John #Ratcliffe as #CIA dir. Former GOP Congressman from Texas was #ODNI for Trump1, first ODNI confirmed sans opposition votes. Favors warrantless spying (Sec.702) & harder covert ops abroad. Vocally supports Trump. Declassif'd info for him for '20 prez debate.[1/2]

submitted 2 days ago • 3 comments

After ACLU/CCR lawsuit pressure, 177 of the 178 detainees flown to #Honduras, then #Venezuela. Castillo is supposed to be among the headed back to V. The 1 other, to detention facility in US, no deets yet. Honduras said, took flight of 174 Venezuelans; no evidence clarifying number "discrepancy" yet

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

Feb. 20: 51-49, Senate confirms #KashPatel to #FBI head. The Trump loyalist lately spoke of going after "conspirators" in media & gov, downsizing the bureau & spy agencies, & wrote a kids' book, The Plot Against the King, depicting Trump as an unfairly maligned monarch saved by the wizard Kash.[1/2]

submitted 2 days ago • 3 comments

Per a Feb. 16 email to RISKS list, the Fatality Analysis Reporting System ( #FARS ) data is back online as of Feb. 12, w/ release notice stating that for 23 people in the year 2022 data set, sex info has been deleted down memory hole catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/34/57#... static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downlo...

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

#SouthKorea data regulator: #DeepSeek chatbot,by #China #AI co. w/ downloads lately suspended by SK, gave SK user data to #ByteDance, China owner of #TikTok. What data+how much: unknown. SK law requires user consent; long-game CCP sez oops, has emissary in SK to make up. en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2025...

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

“Either it’s an agency covered by FOIA with the authority to do what it’s doing, or it’s purely advising the president and can’t be directing agencies in the way it now is.” www.propublica.org/article/doge...

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

“As the clock ticks toward the scheduled 2 p.m. start time, Bove’s solitary presence at the prosecution table is both conspicuous and telling. ‘Is he really going to do this alone?’ I hear someone in the gallery wonder aloud. He is, as it turns out.” www.lawfaremedia.org/article/a-lo...

submitted 2 days ago • 10 comments

If Trump and his gang aren't bound by the law nor the constitution, why are you? Currently the system of checks and balances is being destroyed at a speed that would have launched most countries into riots or open revolt. This is a constitutional crisis and your constitution isn't doing so well.

submitted 3 days ago • 259 comments

Kash Patel, now FBI Director, authored The Plot Against the King, a children’s book casting Trump as a king besieged by conspirators. His rise from crafting monarchical fables to leading federal law enforcement underscores the entrenchment of Trumpist mythmaking within state power.

submitted 2 days ago • 11 comments

With Ratcliffe at CIA and Patel at FBI, both close Trump allies, concerns mount over the politicization of U.S. security agencies. Trump’s tightening grip on intelligence and law enforcement fuels fears of selective justice as he cements the foundations of his dictatorship.

submitted 2 days ago • 17 comments