Aditya M

A thing that is funny about the moral grandstanding by Repubs re: Christopher Columbus is that nobody knew or cared about him 100 years ago. His "holiday" is barely 50 years old and was pushed through by Italian-American lobby groups in response to...anti-immigrant prejudice.

For those looking for freelance work in the wake of WaPo layoffs: I'm an editor at large overseeing Ideas & Culture at Bloomberg, including our Books coverage. Find me at skillingswo2@bloomberg.net

N.H. weighs felony-level offense to stop illegal immigrants from renting an apartment - The Boston Globe “Illegal aliens are not welcome in the Granite State,” said the bill’s sponsor. “We will continue to make sure that there is nowhere they can live.”

This is like laws preventing Germans from giving Jews safe harbor www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/28/m...

My position at The Post was eliminated, along with many other journalists of color hired after the 2020 racial reckoning.

All kids today care about is their phones and the specter of human extinction

HOTDUCK.GIF

sticker of a guy made out of books that says 'bring me the head of jeff bezos'

anyway

As @erindwyer.bsky.social mentions below, these laws were gradual with the enslaver in mind, to blunt the economic impact of freedom.

New York had the most slavery in the North, and it didn’t fully end until 1827! However most enslaved people had self-emancipated and moved to the city by then.

njs.libraries.rutgers.edu NJS: An Interdisciplinary Journal Summer 2025 The New Jersey Miscount: The 1860 Census and the Accidental Humanization of Enslaved Individuals By Luke Voyles DOI: 10.14713/njs.v1112.362 Abstract: The 1860 census is the only example in U.S. history when the U.S. government systematically recorded the names and ages of enslaved individuals of a state. Because government officials underestimated the number of enslaved people in New Jersey, there was no slave schedule in the state. Therefore, the names of enslaved individuals appeared within the households of their enslavers in the regular 1860 census. The official census statistics only listed 18 individuals as enslaved in 1860, but a close examination of every 1860 census page for New Jersey uncovers 64 names tied to slavery. This essay explores the context behind the census, and how the census accidentally humanized people whom it often marginalized.

Some years ago, I was chatting with a Retropolis reader, a young history student, and I mentioned there were several dozen people enslaved in New Jersey up until the day the 13th Amendment kicked in in December 1865.

Y’all. He identified every one of them.
njs.libraries.rutgers.edu/index.php/nj...

I've reread this like 3 times. Freed herself from slavery by running away, *went back a week later bc the slaver was talking shit, set his house on fire, and then escaped again is absolutely incredible queen shit

They're seeking a $1.5 trillion valuation for the combined SpaceX / xAI IPO. If you assume they want to avoid banks in the UK and France since xAI is possibly going to be banned there, the complete list of non-US banks capable of handling a trillion dollar IPO is UBS and Deutsche Bank and that's it.

Dropkick Murphys Officially Release "Citizen I.C.E." in Response to Deadly ICE Shootings Dropkick Murphys have officially released their new anti-ICE song "Citizen I.C.E." in response to the deadly shootings at the hands of ICE officers in Minneapolis.

Dropkick Murphys have officially released "Citizen I.C.E.," a reworked version of their song “Citizen C.I.A.,” in response to the recent deadly shootings by ICE agents in Minneapolis.

this is blueskys funniest and most serious self own yet. handing twitter the biggest fucking own goal on earth

Tooting the horn again, but I wrote a whole book about this. Tom Homan has been promising this.

Ive watched this about 100 times.

This is why the internet was invented.

Right here.

Peak content.

How many Melania movies is that?

Following the Italian controversy, the US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, clarified last week that only the agency's Homeland Security Investigations unit will be operating in Italy during the Olympics and its agents won't be on the streets. Homeland Security Investigations is a global investigative unit that monitors and provides intelligence on cybercrime, human trafficking and counterterrorism that has a history of helping secure large sporting events. It has over 90 offices worldwide — including in Vancouver and Toronto, as well as Calgary, Ottawa and Montreal.

Not enough people are talking about the fact that the Department of Homeland Security has offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa and Montreal, and might in fact be involved in World Cup security operations *in Canada*.

www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/03/n...

A job not worth the salary.

Most of the Washington Post’s tech reporters were laid off today, including me. I have loved my time at the paper, which is where I wanted to work from age 15. I take some consolation in not being among the survivors who will have to work harder with less for fewer readers. On to better things.

acab includes people who suspend wint (dril)

Since a ceasefire was agreed to on October 11, Israel has murdered 556 Palestinians and injured 1,500, in most cases offering the same pretext to continue its slaughter: that its occupation forces felt “threatened,” without presenting any evidence. Today, Israel claimed one of its occupation soldiers was fired upon, then went on to murder 21 defenseless Palestinian civilians in tents and densely packed civilian sites, including 5 children, 2 babies under one year old, 7 women, and a Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic. 🔽

See new posts Conversation كابتن إيلا Captain Ella @CaptainElla1 Translated from Arabic #Breaking | ⭕️ Last night (Wednesday), during operational activity by forces of the Alexandroni Brigade (3) in the Yellow Line area north of the Gaza Strip, saboteurs fired toward a force from the Israel Defense Forces. ⭕️ A reserve forces officer was seriously injured as a result of the shooting and was evacuated to the hospital; his family has been notified. ⭕️ Immediately following the shooting, IDF tanks opened fire on the saboteurs, and in parallel, airstrikes were conducted in the area. This constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement. Rate this translation:

Since a ceasefire was agreed to on October 11, Israel has murdered 556 Palestinians and injured 1,500, in most cases offering the same pretext to continue its slaughter: that its occupation forces felt “threatened,” without presenting any evidence.

Today, Israel claimed one of its occupation...

I'm totally pinching myself announcing this, but a film about my life journey rewilding a West Cork farm, An Irish Atlantic Rainforest, will get its first screening at the Dublin International Film Festival on Saturday the 28th of this month.

Tickets are available here:
www.diff.ie/programme/an...

These are all spectacular, but my favorite is the crab riding the jellyfish. Micromobility for the win!

The cover spread of the memoir.

A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy by Bhekh Bahadur Thapa (my dad🙂) and translated by Prawin Adhikari is out in South Asia. The official launch takes place in ten days, but you can ask for it at your favourite bookshop now. 💙 📚

Hey, any articles about the bUdGet DeFiCiT lately? lol

My mother died from cancer in 1992. She was 37. I was 8.

These trials offered hope that fewer 8 year old boys would bury their 37 year old mothers due to cancer.

Periodic reminder that what's marketed as 'youth social media bans' actually amounts to requiring people to provide personally identifying information in order to access whatever content a given government disfavours.

Couple of months, till he can make the deposit