brian816.bsky.social

Alt-text: A young woman with blood streaming from her left eye sits in a wheelchair, making a peace sign with her right hand. Her eye is swollen shut from the injury. She wears a black coat, a face mask pulled below her chin, and a calm expression despite the visible trauma. The photo appears to be taken in a hospital or clinic hallway. ⸻ Who she is: This is Mersedeh Shirvani, an Iranian woman who became a powerful symbol during the 2022–2023 protests in Iran following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, who was killed in morality police custody. Mersedeh was shot in the eye with a pellet or rubber bullet, reportedly by Iranian security forces, during a protest. Rather than showing fear or defeat, she took this now-iconic photo flashing the peace sign, which quickly spread across social media and news outlets as a striking image of resistance, courage, and dignity in the face of brutality. She is one of many women who suffered eye injuries during the protests—targeted deliberately, according to several reports, as part of a broader crackdown intended to silence dissent. Her image helped bring international attention to the brutal tactics used by the Iranian regime and the extraordinary bravery of women on the front lines of the uprising.

1. Friends, wondering if I could have a moment of your time.

In 2022, many of you likely saw this image coming out of Iran during the Women, Life, Freedom uprisings.

While protesting for women’s rights and an end to the regime, Mersedeh Shahinkar was blinded by Islamic Republic of Iran authorities

This is the op-ed she's been disappeared for. These motherfuckers. All of you motherfuckers.

www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2024...

Texas Banned Abortion. Then Sepsis Rates Soared. ProPublica’s first-of-its-kind analysis is the most detailed look yet into a rise in life-threatening complications for women experiencing pregnancy loss under Texas’ abortion ban.

Dozens more pregnant and postpartum women have died in Texas hospitals since the state banned abortion, our analysis shows.

As the maternal mortality rate dropped nationally, it rose in Texas by 33%.

Damn

This is horrible to post, but I may as well post it. We are essentially shutting down research operations in my group, which is focused on treatments for pediatric brain cancer. I’m a well funded investigator, and there’s no choice. Science can’t function without the stability of NIH

DOGE moves to cancel NOAA leases at critical forecasting centers NOAA's nerve center of national weather forecasting is on a lease cancellation list.

NEW: The Trump admin has informed NOAA that two buildings that are critical for weather forecasting will have their leases canceled. If this comes to pass, it's a really big deal. Includes weather fcst nerve center in College Park, Md.: www.axios.com/2025/03/03/d...

Lol

Standing up in a time like this matters because this flavor of authoritarianism relies on the public’s passive acceptance, rather than active popular support.

When We The People sit there dumbfounded when inhumane and abnormal policies are enacted, we play into their hand.

We must stand up!

Once these Let Billions Suffer voters see how gruesome letting billions suffer gets they will surely come crawling back to the Let Millions Suffer party and we’ll finally be able to win elections without catering to those troublesome Nobody Should Suffer radicals

We should be in the streets already

I’ve been trying to tell people for years that not every complaint deserves the same attention

The North Carolina General Assembly’s GOP supermajority just approved a hugely corrupt power grab, seizing authority from the governor and the courts to prevent any meaningful check on legislative abuses. Authoritarian stuff. A very dark day for democracy in NC. amp.newsobserver.com/news/politic...

gotta say I’m surprised by how many Europeans are flying to get home for thanksgiving this year. Really thought they preferred trains over there

Pretty amazing that the House (likely 220R-215D) would have flipped to Dems this year while the White House/Senate flipped to the GOP, had it not been for Rs winning a majority on the NC Supreme Court in 2022, allowing GOP legislators to redraw three Dem seats into oblivion.

It’s true!

"If a woman doesn't look woman enough to a Republican, they want to be able to inspect your genitals to use a bathroom? It's disgusting.

Everyone should reject it completely... they're endangering women, they're endangering girls of all kind, and everyone should reject it. It's gross." - AOC