@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

Nonya_Bidniss

@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to

Retired deep state IC/civil servant. Scientific & technical intelligence re pandemic threats, chem/bio weapons, bioscience, emerging tech; personal staff of senior GOs; tech writer, speech writer, senior editor; also worked at various analytic & research labs. Today I hike, cook, read & watch #scifi. Degrees in biology & strategic intelligence. Currently in N. Alabama :( #veteran #atheist #antifascist #natsec #fedi22 🌻
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Nonya_Bidniss, to scifi
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone seems to be a popular book lately so I've been working my way through it but tbh so far it's pretty awful. I hope it gets better as I'm tempted to stop.

mattblaze, to photography
@mattblaze@federate.social avatar

31-41 Union Square West, NYC, 2024.

All the pixels, each of which will be famous for 15 minutes, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/53731622110

Nonya_Bidniss,
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

@mattblaze I always wonder how you manage to catch these places with no people wandering around.

Nonya_Bidniss,
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

@mattblaze Oh, right, I forgot, it's the crime!

Nonya_Bidniss, to journalism
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

"Multiple phenomena are at work, but the two most important are these: First is the fact that members of the mainstream whose job it is to both inform and contextualize the nation’s politics have lost their nerve. Terrified of accusations of being “out of touch” at best and “liberally biased” at worst, they have abdicated any responsibility to render even the most fundamental judgments of what is and isn’t true when it comes to Trump."
https://newrepublic.com/article/181287/can-america-possibly-elect-trump-again

philip_cardella, to random
@philip_cardella@historians.social avatar

Things people say when they don't understand what fascism is. And this one I believe is actually honestly against fascism. They just don't know anything they didn't "learn" on social media or YouTube.

These people are the same ones that allowed the Brown Shirts and the Nazis to win in 1922 and 1932.

I cannot emphasize this enough.

Nonya_Bidniss,
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

@philip_cardella I don't really have the context for whatever that person was griping about and I hate to be this way but have you considered just blocking them and forgetting about it? (cringes) Maybe it's just me but I don't get many of those, and when I do I just block and go about my day. To me it's just not a big deal you know? (Also I had a way worse frequency of those on Twitter back in the day so maybe that's why a few here don't bother me)

Nonya_Bidniss, to H5N1
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

"Is the virus in milk infectious?"
"From...if it's coming out of a cow, yeah. Absolutely. ... The virus loves it inside that udder."

Again, don't drink raw milk, dummies! Even without influenza, there's all kinds of stuff in there that's killed off by pasteurization.

Dr. Richard Webby joined for the recent episode on in cows. Website: https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-1113/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPI9Fte5s3k

Nonya_Bidniss, to ethelcain
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

I missed this one. Republicans have preemptively banned ranked-choice voting at all levels. Because it would affect the Republican stranglehold on the state (at all levels), of course.
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/05/13/ivey-signs-bill-banning-ranked-choice-voting-into-law/

Nonya_Bidniss, to random
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

Why has it taken over 3 years for American media to report that an extremist SCOTUS Justice flew a "duress flag" -- a symbol used by the insurrectionists -- for days after January 6? Why 3 years?

mattsheffield, to random
@mattsheffield@mastodon.social avatar

Joe Biden won all of the debates he had with Trump in 2020 but somehow media people are pretending Trump is good at debating.

In reality, Trump is a crybaby narcissist who spirals into childish rage at the slightest confrontation.

He cowered from multiple debates in 2016 because he couldn't respond to tough questions. He was terrified of debating his Republican challengers in 2024. He also choked against Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Nonya_Bidniss,
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

@mattsheffield "No puppet. No puppet. You're the puppet!"

mlawton, to random
@mlawton@mstdn.social avatar

Finished "Translation State" by Ann Leckie, a nominee for Best Science Fiction for Goodreads in 2023.

I came into it without having any knowledge of the Imperial Radch trilogy and it works as a standalone book. It's a bit of a space opera, a bit of a fairly predictable & angsty love story, and a bit of political intrigue. It's kind of a bit of everything and I think that's why I liked it but didn't love it. 4/5 stars.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62873999-translation-state

Nonya_Bidniss,
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

@mlawton I was pretty much 5 stars for the Ancillary series & it made me a Leckie fan. I did enjoy Translation State but I gave it 3 stars. My 3-star category is very broad.

arstechnica, to random
@arstechnica@mastodon.social avatar

Tesla must face fraud suit for claiming its cars could fully drive themselves

Lawsuit targets 2016 claim that all Tesla cars "have full self-driving hardware."

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/05/tesla-must-face-fraud-suit-for-claiming-its-cars-could-fully-drive-themselves/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Nonya_Bidniss,
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

@arstechnica Every Tesla owner is an unwitting human test subject.

Nonya_Bidniss, to food
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

‘Tacos are Mexican-style sandwiches,’ judge rules in Indiana court 😂
https://www.nbc4i.com/entertainment-news/tacos-are-mexican-style-sandwiches-judge-rules-in-indiana-court/

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ A large House GOP group is discussing a trip to New York to back up Donald Trump at his trial — joining a growing Republican trend.—Politico

Nonya_Bidniss,
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

@GottaLaff Can the judge close the courtroom to the public?

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Emptywheel:

Tommy Tuberville says he went to Gotham to help an accused felon threaten a judge's family.

Via David Lurie:

Tuberville is a bad co-conspirator.

Aaron Rupar:

Tommy Tuberville admits on Newsmax that "one of the reasons he went" to NYC yesterday was to "overcome this gag order"

Nonya_Bidniss,
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

@GottaLaff He's a very stupid man, as are his voters.

Nonya_Bidniss, to random
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

Hannah Arendt Explains How Propaganda Uses Lies to Erode All Truth & Morality: Insights from The Origins of Totalitarianism

I finally read this book about a year ago as I was trying to process past basic anger about the Trump regime & MAGA phenomenon. I came away from the book feeling depressed. But I'll probably read it again. It just has so, so much in it.

https://www.openculture.com/2022/02/hannah-arendt-explains-how-propaganda-uses-lies.html

Nonya_Bidniss, to random
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

I listened to part of Morning Joe this morning and has he lost his mind? He was going on about college students demonstrating for . What is his major malfunction? I know he's a conservative but yuck. The students are demonstrating against obvious Israeli gov't war crimes & their schools' various types of ties to Israel & the war. Joe Scarborough's biases make him sound like a liar or an idiot. Giving the Israeli gov't a pass isn't a moral good.

Nonya_Bidniss, to infosec
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

Any folks recommend the best contractor hiring in vicinity of Ft. Eisenhower? (Ft. Gordon). A friend is looking for an established contractor with good benefits hiring people at GS-13 equivalent level to staff CYBERCOM, TRADOC or other major commands.

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

preamble.

Pagliery:

It's Day 16 of Trump's NYC criminal trial. The moment has finally arrived.

The consigliere. The disbarred lawyer. The author of Revenge. Michael Cohen.

Prosecutors question him 1st, so get ready for a finger-pointing session.

Prosecutors have walked in.

The chief of the investigations division, Susan Hoffinger, is chatting w the court reporter.

Matt Colangelo and Joshua Steinglass are fiddling with papers.

Becky Mangold and Christopher Conroy are talking.

Nonya_Bidniss,
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

@GottaLaff Tuberville is an endless embarrassment to his state. So are the voters who put him there.

Nonya_Bidniss, to ageofsigmar
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

Wargaming experts always caution that games shouldn't be treated as predictors of the future, but only as experiments to explore possibilities. Nonetheless, this seemed to confirm the worst fears of critics who believe Trump could destroy and make Europe vulnerable to attack. https://www.businessinsider.com/a-wargame-simulated-a-2nd-trump-presidency-it-found-nato-would-collapse-2024-5

ai6yr, to books

Ha! Someone planted a banned book in my Not-A-Trademark-Registered-Library. Do you know which one? #bookstodon #books

Nonya_Bidniss,
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

@ai6yr Looks like several candidates there that might raise the hackles of a feral, repressed, white christian nationalist

Nonya_Bidniss, to Podcast
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

Today on my walk I listened to @Dahlialith 's titled "How Originalism Ate the Law -- Part 2: The Trap. I didn't notice the title at first and now I have to listen to Part 1: The Trick. In any case, if you have the opportunity you really should listen (in order). Really good discussion. https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus

Nonya_Bidniss, to random
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

HOLY SHIT right now I'm seeing the northern lights in Huntsville, Alabama 🤯

Nonya_Bidniss, to random
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

Why do I keep getting no-follower, locked, French language accounts trying to follow me? Seems like what could be called "inauthentic behavior." I've been blocking them.

kimlockhartga, to bookstodon
@kimlockhartga@beige.party avatar

@bookstodon Recently, Libby has changed (for me). I can no longer return an e-book directly through Libby, if I have sent it to my Kindle. I have to return it through Kindle. Is this also true of other e-book library services?

Nonya_Bidniss,
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

@kimlockhartga I noticed this too, it's irritating. But what would happen before is I'd return the book in Libby but it'd sit there "live" in my Amazon account until the original checkout time expired. I assumed this disparity was the reason for the change. @bookstodon

Nonya_Bidniss, to random
@Nonya_Bidniss@mas.to avatar

Surprise! "The study found that so-called TRAP laws were associated with an increased rate of murders among young girls and women committed by their intimate partners."
https://gizmodo.com/tough-abortion-laws-boost-murder-rates-girls-women-1851459068

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