Jean-Michel Basquiat, artist, genius. Born this day 1960. Taken, as is the way of these things, too soon.

The CDC "awarded a $1.6M grant to controversial researchers at the U. of Southern Denmark w/ ties to top FDA official Tracy Beth Høeg. The funding is for a study on hep. B vaccines that some experts say may be unethical & is unlikely to generate data relevant to use of the vaccine in this country."🛟

‘War Is Peace. Freedom Is Slavery. Ignorance Is Strength.’ George Orwell

When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.

Seasons greetings, for those who celebrate m.youtube.com/watch?v=RouB...

Raven || 10,5x15cm || Linocut print [Photo references were used] ___ #art #raven #linocut #traditional

Just FYI in case anyone's interested, when you put a bunch of emojis after your screen name it makes it unnecessarily challenging for people who use screen readers to read your posts and follow you. The screen reader will read out every single emoji description every time you pop up in their feed.

I love to be told that feminism has failed women by women whose careers and ability to flourish in public life, let alone have a credit card, only exist because of feminism

I wonder if as this LLM thing continues to shit up all english-language output if languages that have not been colonized by LLMs in the same way will become preferred for the production and dissemination of knowledge its not hard for me to imagine that the well becomes too polluted to save

Do not cite an academic paper unless you’ve read it

As a journal editor, this 🧵is frightening. Lotta unknown unknowns here

If your brain’s super tired & you’re struggling but you have stuff to do so don’t have the option to hibernate then hi, me too. This photo’s for your brain-if you pause on it for a few moments it’s likely to dial down stress hormone & trigger dopamine release:a small mind hack 🐚

I was interviewed for @theguardian.com by the wonderful @melodyschreiber.com, one of the finest health reporters in the world, about what I called a “neocolonialist” study planned by Danish researchers in Guinea-Bissau, funded by RFK Jr. So many red flags 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩 www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

In the United States, “it turns out to get crazier and crazier in public health from month to month,” Dr. Hviid said. “It is surreal, and it is difficult, from a Danish perspective, to understand what’s going on.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/h...

The purge of communications staff has garnered little attention compared to grant terminations, the decimation of advisory bodies and crackdowns on international collaborations. But their role in fighting disinformation and ensuring access to knowledge is crucial. www.statnews.com/2025/12/18/t...

Pulling up a paper from a journal's website, I get a popup asking if I want to ask an AI chatbot about the article. Download it, Acrobat asks me if I want its AI chatbot to summarize the article for me. Please just leave me alone and let me do my goddamn research in peace.

My wife just came in to tell me that here in Spain we have more bars called "Casa Paco" than guns in the entire country. That's not a joke; it's a fact.

The Onion, 23 years ago. theonion.com/no-blood-for...

I am Otomí from my grandfather's side. I've always been fascinated with the traditional embroidery 💜 I've tried to incorporate a bit of that style into my art 💜

On 28 December, Myanmar will be holding its first general election since the February 2021 military coup. The election has been called a sham and a tool for the junta to maintain control, and many Myanmar migrants in Thailand are refusing to participate in it. prachataienglish.com/node/11715

“There is a serious risk that the UK government has made commitments to raise drug prices in return for nothing more than a verbal promise from President Trump around zero tariffs, when we know he has form for not honouring his word." www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Viscous attacks on those who question the regime. How many organisations and research projects have practised pre-emptive censorship on these issues? What distortions to the evidence should we expect? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

AI's role in global health comms is under scrutiny. Despite ethical guidelines, AI-generated images may be reintroducing harmful visual narratives. Are these images sidestepping ethics policies? Explore how AI may unintentionally revive "poverty porn." tinyurl.com/yu63kfre #AIandEthics #GlobalHealth

Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.

There was a vote today in a UN General Assembly committee to strip language on non-discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity from the resolution on the rights of persons with disabilities. Voting was even - 74 for and 74 against. So they will vote again.

To paraphrase the Greek statesman, Pericles: "You may not be interested in politics, but politics may be interested in you."

16 below 0 fahrenheit here in Minnesota this morning. Painfully cold! But I am getting cheered up by this colorful folk art. I hope you will be too!

William Morris

The way the word elites has become devoid of all meaning is interesting. It’s a placeholder for “someone I don’t like” and it fascinates me that the people who use it most are wealthy, went to “elite” schools and hold positions of power. Look in the damn mirror. You’re talking about yourself.

While in the 6th form, Nigel Farage would smoke on the "Belsen Bus", when a black person appeared on screen, would loudly exclaim, "Are you English?", repeated chants of the National Front: "The National Front is the white man's front", and "There ain't no black in the union jack".

National Front chants, anti-semitic songs, performative racism, and mocking the Holocaust: 6th form Nigel Farage went out of his way to be nasty. Nasty, nasty Nigel.

Brutal but effective public health messaging from New York Public Health. The CDC is compromised. They’re no longer a reliable source of information. They push anti-vaxx & anti-science grift. Get your vaccines. Wear a respirator. Clean the air Get public health advice from experts, not RFK Jr

This is your regular reminder that EVERYONE who speaks speaks with an accent.

I'm searching Getty Images and found some photos credited to the Boston Herald that redact the faces of ICE/federal agents. They don't redact the face of the guy they're arresting. I'm curious about the ethics of doing this. I don't think I've ever seen this on Getty before.

"And then I see the disinfectant, it knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it'll be interesting to check that" Memories!

It’s ‘beyond belief’ that we can treat workers that we held up as pandemic hero’s so poorly and that we are unprepared for a flu epidemic!

NEW BRIEF - Strengthening health workforce resilience across fragile & shock-prone settings Sets out context-specific actions for policy & practice on managing & supporting the health workforce, especially during emergencies preparing for future shocks www.rebuildconsortium.com/resources/he...

Kenya’s High Court Suspends US Health Deal and civil society urges ‘Fair Terms’. COFEK argues that the agreement contravenes Kenya’s Data Protection Act, Digital Health Act, Health Act, and new data regulations that protect citizens’ health data. healthpolicy-watch.news/kenyas-high-...

Concerns are rising in PNG that the HIV epidemic highlights the fragility of the health sector and the heavy reliance on foreign aid, amid a surge in infections www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

Porto street art #Photography #StreetArt #Porto 📷

Meta has removed or restricted dozens of accounts belonging to abortion access providers, queer groups and reproductive health organisations in the past weeks in what Repro Uncensored call one of the “biggest waves of censorship” on its platforms in years.

Started / Going

The glacier’s meltwater has sustained paddy fields, apple orchards, saffron fields and grazing pastures for centuries. Now, as its ice diminishes, the entire web of life it supported is shifting. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Can development communications address racism without discussing race? This paper critiques UK and Irish anti-racism efforts for their colour-blind approaches, which sideline African diaspora communities. Read here: tinyurl.com/ypktm7ve #RacialJustice #CriticalRaceTheory

Gotta admit "the font is DEI" is a stage of absurdity I could not have predicted

Fifa has an ethics committee? I expect they're pretty busy www.theguardian.com/football/202...

I have more respect for the Iraqi journalist who threw a shoe at George W Bush than any of the cowards in the current White House press pool.

‘There’s no longer a heartbeat’: the couple whose twins were stillborn – and the ‘birth keeper’ they blame

TIL about a memorial ceremony in Iceland in 2019 to mark the end of a glacier, changing the place name from Okjökull to Ok (jökull = glacier). Uncompromising wording on the bronze plaque: "This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".