Bailey Poletti

Primaries for senators

a picture of a whale in the ocean with the words bbc america rica on the bottom Alt: a picture of a whale in the ocean with the words bbc america rica on the bottom

... and the risk isn't OVER.

Climate change, human habitation of the seas, changing ocean chemistry and undersea mining & detonations all pose substantial risks for the humpback.

But for now, there's reason to celebrate, to even leap for joy a bit. 🐳

As Scotty said: "There be whales here."

Too hot for humpbacks: The race to protect Pacific whales Humpback whales have been making a conservation comeback – but warming seas are putting their recovery at risk.

But the story in the North Pacific is the opposite: from virtual extinction, a single pregnant female ("Big Mama") signaled the return of Salish Sea humpback migrations.

Big Mama has had 7 calves since 2003.

There's politics in removing these whales from Endangered Species protections...

Arabian Sea humpback whales are one of only four populations still considered Endangered under the United States revised Endangered Species Act listing. - Arabian Sea Whale Network The following statement was posted by WWF International:  and is copied here below: Following an extensive review process that started in 2009 and was finalized in September 2016, the United States’ N...

... hosts a non-migratory population of humpbacks isolated from other populations for ~70,000 years. Heavy fishing and cargo movement has put an enormous strain on their numbers.

Where once there were thousands, there are only ~100 of these Arabian Sea humpbacks left.

Humpback whale population grows, animals proposed to be removed from Endangered Species Act Humpback whale population grows, animals proposed to be removed from Endangered Species Act

But a little nuance: there are at least 14 distinct populations of humpbacks, categorized by their annual migrations, and some of them are still facing localized extinction.

5 are either endangered or threatened, while 9 are not.

For example, the Arabian sea, a busy shipping area...

a humpback whale is jumping out of the ocean Alt: a humpback whale is jumping out of the ocean, then splashes a big splash.

From a global low of 5,000 individuals in the 1960's, their numbers today are 135,000 globally.

That's an astonishing recovery driven by research, regulation and public support that led to international cooperation on whaling bans.

Take a victory lap, whale supporters!

a man with a mustache says there be whales here in a dark room Alt: Scotty from Star Trek Original Series (played by Jimmy Doohan) says there be whales here in a Klingon vessel's cargo hold.

Another species no longer on the global Endangered list:
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).

A few decades after a Star Trek movie where the central conflict was the total extinction of the humpback, their numbers are rising fast enough to put them at "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List.

WHAT YOUR FAVORITE MEDIEVAL LATIN SCRIPT SAYS ABOUT YOU Rustic Caps HOCROCU: QUIDIRIA CANIHAGE SIRNINISI IDEMANDI HISTLIAMS VOCIDIOS You are a nerd Uncial NONOmNITqu @isaziocis th propanmaNo You are a nerd Merovingian or aesfeaello mmlanplo,mledr o You are a nerd Visigothic รวมปรแทนไขกัน manaf celebri gukunair di สุแต่แลแกตปี่ fimal din wouct You are a nerd Insular quodoranni NOSt Perprophem LCCCOREUSDO IHorcusanue ten tobam Beneventan monafthomet eqa'tuluf meg Fsbeftmara. el Egot fuul-fetpf. Carolingian Sounda gu inter le prope contentof 미 homencbur de Gothic woace deliccus puca!! segena You are a nerd fegulom fei De monafieho Co You are a nerd You are a nerd tr.ntoged máne fana: fligut cure naly telle You are a nerd

Who made this and why are you choosing nerd violence? ✍️ I mean, it is true, but still.

Her eyes widened in delight when I showed her the skeet. Thanks for this and the terrific book.

If you know anyone who works on medieval Judaism, please send them this! Binghamton is hiring a Talmud/Rabbinics assistant prof: half in Judaic Studies, half in the Med/Ren center. A killer R1 job for the right person, and not a ton of applicants so far....

I regret to announce that, after 5 pages, my 8yo decided she wanted me to stop reading Edward Said. Instead, she wanted me to return to our usual bedtime book: @ahpodany.bsky.social 's excellent "Weaves, Scribes, and Kings."
So, all is well!

Guys you will be SHOCKED at what the literal Gospels say about Jesus and sex workers

Mamdani is going to implement Saria law. The Kokiri Children must never leave the forest, save only the Boy With No Fairy.

Me, explaining to my 8yo what Said's "Culture and Imperialism" (which she requested I read to her) is about:

"This book is post-colonial literary theory. It's ok if you don't understand what that means. Few people do."

As a former academic, I love how Bluesky allows me to keep abreast of historiographical debates.

She goes back and forth.

Sometimes it's, "Let's have a Big Talk about why Tawain exists separate from China." Sometimes it's, "Ugh! Not history again!"

But she wanted me to read Edward Said to her last night, so it's generally a positive trajectory.

a spry young man (ok, it's Matt. He's very tall and like two years younger than me) with his palms out, talking to an audience.

an old man in a tweet jacket talking to an audience. His palms are in.

Are you a palms in or palms out historian. @profgabriele.com

Palms out.

(I had to step away from my family and pretend to lecture in order to check)

Authoritarian Christianity not only discriminates against non-Christians but against all other forms of Christianity, too.

They envision a "Christian Nation" in which only certain kinds of Christianity can exist.

Christians should stand with Jews, Muslims, Hindus, unaligned, etc., to resist.

UPDATE: Reached out to the Rev. Hannah Kardon, a United Methodist minister who was there that day and has been active in religious demonstrations at Broadview.

“They are making it clear that they are scared of prayer … it speaks the truth that what they are doing in that building is evil.”

I fully endorse reading this.

Also, in school today, they were talking about "Great Americans." I asked which was her favorite mentioned. She said, "Someone-Brown." At first, I happily thought John Brown.

No, but to my delight she explained it was actually "the Brown who fought education to end segregation."

Linda Brown ftw!!!

8yo: "What are you reading? Culture and Immerioroisum?"

Me: "Culture and Imperialism. By Edward Said."

8yo: "What's it about?"

Me: [attempts to explain]

8yo: "Cool. Can you read C.I. to me for bedtime?"

Me, blink-blink: "Uh, sure."

I love my daughter.

Trump demands supreme court intervene after judges reject bid to halt Snap funding Appeals court rejects administration’s legal effort and orders officials to pay November’s food aid benefits in full

He has done so much in plain sight that he doesn't think shouting into a bullhorn that he wants 40 million people to starve might look bad.

While institutions haven't held him accountable, I think more regular people are cluing in, as evidenced by this past week.

ChatGPT is poison. Jail EVERYONE associated with it.

Note: this is projection. It is what Christofascists want: top-down enforcement of a single ideology that does not brook any alternatives, even within the Christian tradition.

Not only will the Christofascists attack non-Christians but also any non-Christofascist Christians. Like Mamdani voters.

1: Fucking bigot.
2: No.
3: That's not how conversion works. Alledged rapid, total, top-down conversions are largely historical myths.
4: You are afraid Islam will spread, but what the hell ever happened to the market place of ideas? Or is that seat only reserved for Nazis?
5: Fucking bigot.

This is my first serious attempt reading Moby Dick, and I just discovered the line "y[ou] sons of bachelors."

It is a tragedy this isn't part of common profanity.

Once again, @yaelrice.bsky.social and I published this article in 2020 so that no one ever has to debunk this vile nonsense point-by-point ever again. As we write (see the next post in this thread)...

hyperallergic.com/604897/how-s...