Carlyn Zwarenstein
@carlynzwaren.bsky.social
Science writing & literature / biology, nature & power structures.
✍🏼recently: Salon, MEE, Undark, Filter & others.
📚 On Opium (‘21, ‘23): drugs, pain, capitalism, & the consolations of literature.
www.carlynzwarenstein.com
Signal: carlynzwarenstein.29
✍🏼recently: Salon, MEE, Undark, Filter & others.
📚 On Opium (‘21, ‘23): drugs, pain, capitalism, & the consolations of literature.
www.carlynzwarenstein.com
Signal: carlynzwarenstein.29
Pinned
& part 2. Every day, new horror, but this 10K wd (in 2 parts) look @ Israel’s assault on every aspect of healthcare & life in Gaza still most detailed journalistic account I’ve seen in English, w/ answer 2 the age-old Q: so IS it legal 2 bomb a hospital? Or 36 of them?
www.salon.com/2024/11/11/h...
www.salon.com/2024/11/11/h...
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
It is incredible — the blind spots you develop when you’ve never, ever been poor.
Trump claims that food stamps "puts the country in jeopardy. People that are able-bodied can do a job, they leave their job because they figure they can pick this up, it's easier."
November 11, 2025 at 12:34 AM
It is incredible — the blind spots you develop when you’ve never, ever been poor.
This is all insane.
“I want you to understand what it is like to live in Chicago during this time.”
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
November 9, 2025 at 6:38 PM
This is all insane.
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
Hi Bluesky 👋
Small life update: I’m at the centre of a multimillion dollar lawsuit in Alberta launched by a failed candidate for Jason Kenney’s UCP
It may be the longest and most expensive media trial in Canadian history
I’m ready to go public about it and I want to share more details with you 🧵
Small life update: I’m at the centre of a multimillion dollar lawsuit in Alberta launched by a failed candidate for Jason Kenney’s UCP
It may be the longest and most expensive media trial in Canadian history
I’m ready to go public about it and I want to share more details with you 🧵
November 7, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Hi Bluesky 👋
Small life update: I’m at the centre of a multimillion dollar lawsuit in Alberta launched by a failed candidate for Jason Kenney’s UCP
It may be the longest and most expensive media trial in Canadian history
I’m ready to go public about it and I want to share more details with you 🧵
Small life update: I’m at the centre of a multimillion dollar lawsuit in Alberta launched by a failed candidate for Jason Kenney’s UCP
It may be the longest and most expensive media trial in Canadian history
I’m ready to go public about it and I want to share more details with you 🧵
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
I remain absolutely confused that people *ever* thought screwing with the abyssal sea floor would "get better" after mining.
In 1979, a Mining Test Ravaged the Pacific Seafloor— 44 Years Later, New Evidence Reveals It’s Likely Forever
dailygalaxy.com/2025/11/in-1...
dailygalaxy.com/2025/11/in-1...
In 1979, a Mining Test Ravaged the Pacific Seafloor— 44 Years Later, New Evidence Reveals It’s Likely Forever
A 1979 deep-sea mining test left marks on the Pacific seafloor that remain nearly untouched over four decades later. New research uncovers what really happened in the ocean depths—and why it matters m...
dailygalaxy.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:01 PM
I remain absolutely confused that people *ever* thought screwing with the abyssal sea floor would "get better" after mining.
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
This story is so twisted. A Toronto student group hosted an event to celebrate literal members of the IDF (aka war criminals) and now they are claiming to be victims because they were protested.
It isn’t + never will be antisemitic to decry Israeli genocide or to hold those responsible accountable.
It isn’t + never will be antisemitic to decry Israeli genocide or to hold those responsible accountable.
November 6, 2025 at 3:41 PM
This story is so twisted. A Toronto student group hosted an event to celebrate literal members of the IDF (aka war criminals) and now they are claiming to be victims because they were protested.
It isn’t + never will be antisemitic to decry Israeli genocide or to hold those responsible accountable.
It isn’t + never will be antisemitic to decry Israeli genocide or to hold those responsible accountable.
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
For years Canada pointed to private refugee sponsorship as the future of resettlement - a model to be emulated elsewhere. Canada is cutting private refugee sponsorship by about 30%: www.canada.ca/en/immigrati...
Supplementary Information for the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan - Canada.ca
Supplementary Information for the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan
www.canada.ca
November 5, 2025 at 10:12 PM
For years Canada pointed to private refugee sponsorship as the future of resettlement - a model to be emulated elsewhere. Canada is cutting private refugee sponsorship by about 30%: www.canada.ca/en/immigrati...
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
Little things become symbols. And symbols are what stick with people.
This budget is full of very very dumb symbols.
This budget is full of very very dumb symbols.
Out of budget lockup. I recently wrote: "Ottawa imposes a 10 percent luxury tax on yachts... yet a family buying a semi in Scarborough pays the equivalent of 15 percent in [DCs] and land transfer taxes."
Today the gov't addressed this by eliminating the luxury tax on yachts.
Today the gov't addressed this by eliminating the luxury tax on yachts.
November 4, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Little things become symbols. And symbols are what stick with people.
This budget is full of very very dumb symbols.
This budget is full of very very dumb symbols.
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
At the end of the day I'm not sure how much difference it makes. But it is striking to put out a budget that axes a luxury tax on yachts and adds a co-pay for refugee claimants accessing drugs and dental care.
November 4, 2025 at 10:57 PM
At the end of the day I'm not sure how much difference it makes. But it is striking to put out a budget that axes a luxury tax on yachts and adds a co-pay for refugee claimants accessing drugs and dental care.
Well that and not decimating existing life on Earth in the process. But since it's resource capture by unscrupulous profiteers that causes both human suffering and the undermining of ecosystems, both problems can be solved in one.
The world’s real concern should be universal access and affordability to the minerals that matter to human development
go.nature.com/4hNtI86
go.nature.com/4hNtI86
How the rush for critical minerals is neglecting human needs
A focus on national security alone is limiting people’s access to key materials.
go.nature.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Well that and not decimating existing life on Earth in the process. But since it's resource capture by unscrupulous profiteers that causes both human suffering and the undermining of ecosystems, both problems can be solved in one.
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
On Oct 1 the Standing Committee on Science and Research passed an egregious motion calling for the disclosure of disaggregated data for research applications to federal granting council from 2020-2025. On Oct 20 they amended the timeframe to 2000-2025.
@picardonhealth.bsky.social
@picardonhealth.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 4:49 PM
On Oct 1 the Standing Committee on Science and Research passed an egregious motion calling for the disclosure of disaggregated data for research applications to federal granting council from 2020-2025. On Oct 20 they amended the timeframe to 2000-2025.
@picardonhealth.bsky.social
@picardonhealth.bsky.social
Finally. May everything this monster stood for (*can* you stand for a vast moral void in which you perpetrate and give license to endless horrors?) die with him. www.ctvnews.ca/world/articl...
Dick Cheney, one of the most powerful and polarizing vice presidents in US history, dies at 84
Dick Cheney, America’s most powerful modern vice-president and chief architect of the “war on terror,” who helped lead the country into the ill-fated Iraq war on faulty assumptions, has died, accordin...
www.ctvnews.ca
November 4, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Finally. May everything this monster stood for (*can* you stand for a vast moral void in which you perpetrate and give license to endless horrors?) die with him. www.ctvnews.ca/world/articl...
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
You laugh, but this is how the exododus went extinct
November 3, 2025 at 3:36 PM
You laugh, but this is how the exododus went extinct
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
Another big jump in atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa: based on daily values, the October average was ~425.0 ppm, that's 2.6 ppm higher than last year.
"US government is closed; site not updated", so we'll have to rely on the automated data collection for now.
"US government is closed; site not updated", so we'll have to rely on the automated data collection for now.
November 1, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Another big jump in atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa: based on daily values, the October average was ~425.0 ppm, that's 2.6 ppm higher than last year.
"US government is closed; site not updated", so we'll have to rely on the automated data collection for now.
"US government is closed; site not updated", so we'll have to rely on the automated data collection for now.
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
Someday there will be a reckoning for the serial killings that the US government is engaged in on the oceans. Another admin should not refuse to extradite indicted officials to Intl Criminal Courts and senior military officers “just following orders” should not be exempted.
November 1, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Someday there will be a reckoning for the serial killings that the US government is engaged in on the oceans. Another admin should not refuse to extradite indicted officials to Intl Criminal Courts and senior military officers “just following orders” should not be exempted.
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
Gaza Health Ministry reports 226 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the three-week cease-fire began, with another 594 wounded and 499 bodies recovered from war rubble during that period
www.haaretz.com/gaza/2025-11...
www.haaretz.com/gaza/2025-11...
Gaza Health Ministry says 226 killed since cease-fire began; hundreds of bodies recovered
On Friday, Israel Handed Over the Bodies of 30 Palestinians Killed by the IDF, With a Total of 225 Being Returned During the Cease-fire. The Judicial Committee Responsible for Missing Persons in the G...
www.haaretz.com
November 1, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Gaza Health Ministry reports 226 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the three-week cease-fire began, with another 594 wounded and 499 bodies recovered from war rubble during that period
www.haaretz.com/gaza/2025-11...
www.haaretz.com/gaza/2025-11...
Please join me in giving what you can to help these brave people who have survived a genocide that hasn't even ended.
A future destroyed... and a family struggling to survive. chuffed.org/project/afut...
A future destroyed... and a family struggling to survive. chuffed.org/project/afut...
A future destroyed... and a family struggling to survive.
"My name is Mahmoud Al-Masri, a 23-year-old young man from the heart of war-torn Gaza. I once carried a simple dream: to study Biomedical Engineering at Al-Azhar University – Gaza, to serve my communi...
chuffed.org
October 31, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Please join me in giving what you can to help these brave people who have survived a genocide that hasn't even ended.
A future destroyed... and a family struggling to survive. chuffed.org/project/afut...
A future destroyed... and a family struggling to survive. chuffed.org/project/afut...
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
Good night Bluesky.
Together is the only way we build liveable todays and tomorrows.
Moreover we must destroy ICE & smash fascism.
Eat the rich for the rich are certainly eating you.
Together is the only way we build liveable todays and tomorrows.
Moreover we must destroy ICE & smash fascism.
Eat the rich for the rich are certainly eating you.
America’s super-rich are running down the planet’s safe climate spaces, says Oxfam
Data shows wealthiest 0.1% of the US burn carbon at 4,000 times the rate of the world’s poorest 10%
www.theguardian.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Good night Bluesky.
Together is the only way we build liveable todays and tomorrows.
Moreover we must destroy ICE & smash fascism.
Eat the rich for the rich are certainly eating you.
Together is the only way we build liveable todays and tomorrows.
Moreover we must destroy ICE & smash fascism.
Eat the rich for the rich are certainly eating you.
You think it can’t get more sick but it always does.
IDF disposes of large quantities of construction waste and rubble from Israel inside Gaza
www.haaretz.com/gaza/2025-10...
www.haaretz.com/gaza/2025-10...
IDF disposes of huge piles of construction waste and rubble from Israel inside Gaza
According to Haaretz, the Trucks Transporting the Waste Are Owned by Private Companies. IDF Officers Say the Decision Was Made by Army Commanders and Warn That Hamas Could Exploit the Waste for Its Ow...
www.haaretz.com
October 27, 2025 at 1:39 PM
You think it can’t get more sick but it always does.
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
Jamaica is responsible for less than 0.03% of global CO₂ emissions but faces almost unimaginable loss and damage in coming days at the hands of wealthy nations.
It's heartbreaking and utterly damning.
It's heartbreaking and utterly damning.
Hurricane Melissa is forecast to strengthen into a rare Category 5 hurricane, threatening Jamaica with potentially catastrophic flash floods and landslides: https://cnn.it/47sseLE
Hurricane Melissa forecast to become a rare Category 5 tonight, seek shelter now in Jamaica | CNN
Melissa rapidly intensified going into Sunday morning and is now a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds. The US National Hurricane Center expects it to strengthen into a rare Category 5 hurricane o...
www.cnn.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Jamaica is responsible for less than 0.03% of global CO₂ emissions but faces almost unimaginable loss and damage in coming days at the hands of wealthy nations.
It's heartbreaking and utterly damning.
It's heartbreaking and utterly damning.
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
dear US friends, when a sitting president (re)builds the seat of government, it almost always means the president has no intention of leaving at the end of term. your African friends with decades of experience
October 24, 2025 at 1:39 PM
dear US friends, when a sitting president (re)builds the seat of government, it almost always means the president has no intention of leaving at the end of term. your African friends with decades of experience
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
Palestinians using flour sacks for shelter, with 1.5 million in need of housing - https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/palestinians-using-flour-sacks-shelter-15-million-need-housing
Palestinians using flour sacks for shelter, with 1.5 million in need of housing
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<span class="field field-title">Palestinians using flour sacks for shelter, with 1.5 million in need of housing</span>
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<p>Palestinians in Gaza are using rice and flour sacks to create tents, with about 90 percent of the population displaced and most homes destroyed by Israel, the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.</p>
<p>“Shelter needs remain dire” the UN said, noting that at least 1.5 million Palestinians are in need of emergency shelter as winter approaches. </p>
<p>The agency said only 2,500 tents have been sent to Gaza since the ceasefire was announced earlier this month. Tens of thousands more tents are waiting for delivery in Jordan that could provide temporary shelter to as many as 168,000 people.</p>
<p>“With very few tents or tarpaulins available, some are using flour and rice sacks to shield themselves from the elements,” IOM said.</p>
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</article>
www.middleeasteye.net
October 24, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Palestinians using flour sacks for shelter, with 1.5 million in need of housing - https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/palestinians-using-flour-sacks-shelter-15-million-need-housing
It is not safe to swim or fish anywhere in the world because the US might randomly decide to bomb you. What a world the powers that be have given us.
10th boat blown up in the Caribbean.
6 people dead this time.
Not a single arrest made.
Not an ounce recovered.
Not a shred of evidence provided.
6 people dead this time.
Not a single arrest made.
Not an ounce recovered.
Not a shred of evidence provided.
October 24, 2025 at 5:43 PM
It is not safe to swim or fish anywhere in the world because the US might randomly decide to bomb you. What a world the powers that be have given us.
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
"sunlight suite" is great branding we should all be plagiarizing
I’m at the launch of Oregon’s design competition for sunlight suite buildings - neighborhood-scale mulifamily buildings designed around one central staircase.
“This is one of those innovations whose time has come,” says Gil Kelley of @1000oregon.bsky.social.
“This is one of those innovations whose time has come,” says Gil Kelley of @1000oregon.bsky.social.
October 21, 2025 at 4:21 PM
"sunlight suite" is great branding we should all be plagiarizing
Reposted by Carlyn Zwarenstein
How do mRNA vaccines help fight cancer?
A @nature.com paper today tells the story, one with big implications, as reviewed here
erictopol.substack.com/p/how-mrna-v...
A @nature.com paper today tells the story, one with big implications, as reviewed here
erictopol.substack.com/p/how-mrna-v...
How mRNA Vaccines Can Help Fight Cancer
Turning "cold" tumors "hot"
erictopol.substack.com
October 22, 2025 at 3:19 PM
How do mRNA vaccines help fight cancer?
A @nature.com paper today tells the story, one with big implications, as reviewed here
erictopol.substack.com/p/how-mrna-v...
A @nature.com paper today tells the story, one with big implications, as reviewed here
erictopol.substack.com/p/how-mrna-v...