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Items tagged with: USpol
Report: Shipping data contradict US claims of blockade success
US Centcom commander Brad Cooper said that “US forces have completely halted economic trade going in & out of Iran by sea.”
cnbc.com/2026/04/15/us-strait-…
But shipping data show that 14 ships on the US sanctions lists crossed the strait, 7 from Iranian ports.
In addition, TankerTrackers said Iran shipped 9m barrels of crude oil since the start of the blockade.
aje.news/060cxq?update=4497654
#USPol #EUPol #Hormuz #USBlockade #news #iranWar .
Iran war updates: Lebanon truce begins as US blockades Iran for deal
These were the updates on the US-Israel war on Iran and Israel’s attacks on Lebanon for Thursday, April 16, 2026.Lyndal Rowlands (Al Jazeera)
""
“We need to control the platforms, all the social platforms,” Kramer said.
He proposed a system that would “stack, rank, the 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 of every person that expresses themselves online,” with speech privileges determined by that ranking.
Based on that system, Kramer said authorities should “take control over what they are saying.”
""
- Israeli tech billionaire Shlomo Kramer
nypost.com/2026/01/02/business…
#surveillance #privacy #humanrights #zionism #uspol #tech
Israeli tech billionaire Shlomo Kramer urges Americans to 'limit the First Amendment,' sparks outrage
“I know it’s difficult to hear, but it’s time to limit the First Amendment in order to protect it,” Shlomo Kramer said during the interview.Ariel Zilber (New York Post)
![Quiz Time: Name That Bellicose Babbler
1. "God Will Roast Their Stomachs in Hell."
2. "Don't Push It, or I'll Give You a War You Won't Believe."
3. "You Should... Totally Cut Their Windpipes and Thus Clearly Show Them What a Real War Is Like."
4. "I Am Altering the Deal. Pray I Don't Alter It Any Further."
5. "[They] Will Become Good Food for the Sharks."
6. "Open the F#@*&N' Strait, You Crazy Bastards, or You'll Be Living in Hell."
7. "Ithe Best in Life Is] to Crush Your Enemies, See Them Driven Before You, and to Hear the Lamentations of Their Women."
8. "If You Start Throwing Hedgehogs under Me, I Shall Throw a Couple of Porcupines under You."
A. Kim Jong Un
B. Nikita Khrushchev
C. "Baghdad Bob"
D. Rambo
E. Conan the Barbarian
F. Iranian Spokesperson
G. Trump
H. Darth Vader
Answer Key: 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-h, 5-f, 6-g, 7-e, 8-b](https://keybored.me/photo/preview/640/1419831 "Quiz Time: Name That Bellicose Babbler
1. \"God Will Roast Their Stomachs in Hell.\"
2. \"Don't Push It, or I'll Give You a War You Won't Believe.\"
3. \"You Should... Totally Cut Their Windpipes and Thus Clearly Show Them What a Real War Is Like.\"
4. \"I Am Altering the Deal. Pray I Don't Alter It Any Further.\"
5. \"[They] Will Become Good Food for the Sharks.\"
6. \"Open the F#@*&N' Strait, You Crazy Bastards, or You'll Be Living in Hell.\"
7. \"Ithe Best in Life Is] to Crush Your Enemies, See Them Driven Before You, and to Hear the Lamentations of Their Women.\"
8. \"If You Start Throwing Hedgehogs under Me, I Shall Throw a Couple of Porcupines under You.\"
A. Kim Jong Un
B. Nikita Khrushchev
C. \"Baghdad Bob\"
D. Rambo
E. Conan the Barbarian
F. Iranian Spokesperson
G. Trump
H. Darth Vader
Answer Key: 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-h, 5-f, 6-g, 7-e, 8-b")
This map shows the cost of charging an EV at home across the U.S. Home-charging is significantly cheaper in all 50 states than fueling a car with gasoline.
Source: Yale yaleclimateconnections.org/202… #energy #uspol
What’s cheaper: Fueling your car with gas or electricity?
Here’s the answer for every U.S. state.Karin Kirk (Yale Climate Connections)
This week's comic on the authoritarian takeover of US media
#media #uspol #democracy #journalism #authoritarianism #oligarchy
America's Shifting Baselines
Will future generations remember the principles upon which American democracy was founded?Sheril Kirshenbaum (Unelected Representative)
In my new op-ed at The Hill, I describe a shift in how staffers & citizens perceive American democracy through the concept of “shifting baselines.” thehill.com/opinion/congress-b…
This term from ecology illustrates how each generation tends to view the environment of their youth as normal, regardless of how degraded the system may be. I wonder whether future generations will recognize when it’s necessary to push back if their firsthand memories are only of political upheaval. #uspol #science
“This is the systematic elimination of scientific stewardship at the world’s largest biomedical research funder.”
open.substack.com/pub/elizabet… #science #health #uspol
I Wrote Research Funding Announcements for NIH for 22 Years. This Year They’ve Published 14
How NIH went from 756 funding announcements to 14 in two years — and what it means for every disease that depends on federal researchElizabeth Ginexi
"Do you think it's inappropriate in any way that someone w/ no experience w/ grants for the federal government was making personal judgment calls about what grants to cancel?" an attorney asked.
"Um, no. I don't think it's inappropriate," Cavanaugh said, arguing that he did not need formal education or experience to make informed judgments. 🤔
abcnews.com/Politics/2-doge-st… #science #uspol
2 DOGE staffers say 'no' regrets for people losing income, didn't reduce the deficit: Depositions
The DOGE employees defended the effort to cut "useless agencies."Peter Charalambous (ABC News)
How to explain modern American politics in one chart
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the…
The Billionaires’ War
The ultrawealthy put Trump in power but other people will pay the pricePaul Krugman
Scientists often assume the main challenge in policymaking is ensuring that legislators have access to high-quality evidence.
But Capitol Hill is fast-paced, resource-constrained & shaped by competing considerations. sheril.substack.com/p/beyond-t… #science #uspol
Beyond the Briefing Memo
Science policy isn't just about high-quality evidence.Sheril Kirshenbaum (Unelected Representative)
Even when there’s no accountability, the record matters. Credit to the Wikipedia editors maintaining this page.
You can’t detain a 5 year old child.
If a masked man grabs a kid off the street and puts him in an unmarked car… that’s kidnapping.
If that child is then sent to another state? That’s trafficking.
Language matters here.
What happened to Liam Ramos should outrage us all.
#uspol
#liamramos #minnesota #abolishice
techcrunch.com/2026/01/20/trum…
#politics #USPol #DOGE #SSA #infosec #privacy
Trump administration admits DOGE may have misused Americans' Social Security data | TechCrunch
The revelation comes as part of a series of corrections in a legal case over DOGE’s access to Social Security Administration data.Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai (TechCrunch)
"The Social Security Admin🚨has referred two DOGE employees for Hatch Act violations after discovering contacts with a political group seeking SSA data to overturn election results.
In a remarkable court filing, #DOJ🚨also revealed that DOGE employees traded Social Security data on an unapproved third party server — #Cloudflare — & may have sent private SSA info to a top DOGE adviser.:
-K Cheney
#Musk #DOGE #SocialSecurity #Betrayal #Fraud #TrumpRegime #Elections #USPol
politico.com/news/2026/01/20/t…
A comic from 2022. I want to make a distinction between the Democrats who are speaking out forcefully against authoritarianism and those whose overcautious approach enabled the extremist takeover of our institutions. This is about the dangers of unaccountability and kicking the can down the road. As recent elections demonstrate, voting is still extremely important.
#comic #cartoon #uspol #authoritarianism #democracy
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has voted to dissolve after Republicans rescinded $1.1B at President Trump’s behest.
This ends the 58-year-old agency that distributed federal funds to NPR, PBS and more than 1,500 local public radio & television stations. apple.news/AXdo2-zPuRCiJSiIVd3… #uspol #news
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, gutted of federal funds, votes to dissolve — The Washington Post
President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans succeeded this summer in stripping federal funds from public media. Now the 58-year-old organization is gone.apple.news
careful, the numbers given in the screenshot might be misleading.
If current CDC data are still trustworthy, there seems to be some kind of seasonal pattern in measels cases[1].
Measels cases seem to increase over time, but that seems to start in the early 2000s. Maybe vaxx-reluctance started to kick in then ... maybe because there hasn't been many outbreaks in the 90ies.
but still: the current admin is a problem.
[1] cdc.gov/measles/data-research/…
#measels #MeaselsOutbreak #uspol
Measles Cases and Outbreaks
Find the latest numbers of confirmed U.S. measles cases. CDC updates this page weekly.Measles (Rubeola)
Cruelty by #StephenMiller, #KristiNoem, #JDVance, & #DonaldTrump. This is what #MikeJohnson, alleged #Christian, & the cowards in Congress & the fascists on #SCOTUS are doing.
"Islas pulled out a brown teddy bear to ease the toddler’s nerves while she faced Judge Irene C. Feldman. Islas is not formally representing Lucy, but provided Feldman w/information regarding Lucy’s case due to her age & inability to understand #immigration proceedings."
coppercourier.com/2025/12/05/c…
Three-year-old child forced to serve as her own attorney in Tucson immigration court
More than a dozen undocumented minors were forced to make their case in front of an immigration judge as the Trump administration ramps up removal proceedings.Sahara Sajjadi (Copper Courier)
Latest comic: Climate Silence
#climate #climatechange #cop30 #media #journalism #uspol #oligarchy #climatecrisis
Halted NIH Clinical Trials List Reveals Slashed Treatments for Cancer, COVID and Minority Health
The National Institutes of Health has canceled funding for at least 383 clinical trials in the last year, affecting some 74,000 participantsDan Vergano (Scientific American)
The government shutdown is now the longest in U.S. history. sheril.substack.com/p/shutdown… #uspol
So why does the 21st disruption of federal funding since 1976 feel... normal?
Shutdown Before the Fall?
Why this routine "crisis" should serve as a warning.Sheril Kirshenbaum (Unelected Representative)
No Kings rally in Evanston, IL, looking N, W and S.
A good time, peaceful, neighborly. Democracy.
cc
@indivisibleteam
@indivisiblechi
@50501movement
@50501Chicago
#NoKings #indivisible #rally #protest #democracy #USpol #politics
open.substack.com/pub/sheril/p… #uspol
Can We Rebuild Trust in Congress?
How Congressional Dysfunction Paved the Road to Political ViolenceSheril Kirshenbaum (Unelected Representative)
Latest comic: What does not belong?
#cartoon #comic #politics #democracy #firstamendment #monarchy #authoritarianism #uspol
With political violence on the rise, the question isn’t whether we can return to some imagined golden age of bipartisanship.
It’s whether we can rebuild the relationships that make democratic governance possible.
My new OpEd: thehill.com/opinion/congress-b… #uspol
The federal government has shut down. So why does the 21st disruption of federal funding since 1976 feel... normal?
We've spent decades dismantling the norms that made compromise possible in Congress.
This routine "crisis" should serve as a warning. sheril.substack.com/p/shutdown… #uspol
Shutdown Before the Fall?
Why this routine "crisis" should serve as a warning.Sheril Kirshenbaum (Unelected Representative)
Obama at his best, talking about the Charlie Kirk killing and more.
An excerpt (sorry for the Bluesky link):
bsky.app/profile/lawrencehurle…
The full answer he gave to a question, including that excerpt, worth the almost 13 minutes to watch the whole thing:
youtube.com/watch?v=Vjs3mKcahd…
- YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.www.youtube.com
"Amid massive cuts to US scientific research, the Science Foundation will raise public funds for transdisciplinary, discovery-based research!" nature.com/articles/d41586-025… #science #uspol
Congratulations to Maren Friesen, Venkatesh Srinivas & The Science Foundation team! Donate at science-foundation.org/donate/
Will the public support basic science? A new non-profit aims to find out
The Science Foundation seeks donations to fund ten $10,000 ‘what if’ seed grants.Gewin, Virginia
Fox News Host Offers Bloodthirsty Fix to Homeless Crisis
Brian Kilmeade has a truly outrageous proposal for addressing what he considers one of the root causes of violence in public places.Will Neal (The Daily Beast)