Anirvan Chatterjee
@chatterjee.net
Techie, public historian, and activist from Berkeley, California.
I curate the monthly Berkeley South Asian radical history walking tour — now celebrating its 12th year.
Pronouns: he/him/ও/সে
https://www.chatterjee.net/
I curate the monthly Berkeley South Asian radical history walking tour — now celebrating its 12th year.
Pronouns: he/him/ও/সে
https://www.chatterjee.net/
"If ICE can get them on a plane headed south [e.g. to Texas] before anything is filed in local courts, the Fifth Circuit’s ruling will override whatever rights migrants might have still had access to in the states they were removed from."
www.techdirt.com/2026/02/09/5...
www.techdirt.com/2026/02/09/5...
5th Circuit Says Due Process Rights For Immigrants No Longer Exist In Its Jurisdiction
Trump and his supporters clearly believe migrants have no constitutional rights. But that’s simply not true. They have the same rights as citizens for one truly obvious reason: a government c…
www.techdirt.com
February 10, 2026 at 12:45 AM
"If ICE can get them on a plane headed south [e.g. to Texas] before anything is filed in local courts, the Fifth Circuit’s ruling will override whatever rights migrants might have still had access to in the states they were removed from."
www.techdirt.com/2026/02/09/5...
www.techdirt.com/2026/02/09/5...
"The [test Substack] account was shown separate posts that promoted conspiracy theories about Jewish power and influence and suggested antisemitism was a myth. The algorithm also promoted other extremist content, including newsletters relating to the 'great replacement' conspiracy theory"
Revealed: How Substack makes money from hosting Nazi newsletters
Exclusive: Site takes a cut of subscriptions to content that promotes far-right ideology, white supremacy and antisemitism
www.theguardian.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:45 PM
"The [test Substack] account was shown separate posts that promoted conspiracy theories about Jewish power and influence and suggested antisemitism was a myth. The algorithm also promoted other extremist content, including newsletters relating to the 'great replacement' conspiracy theory"
"Like AI toy maker Bondu, the creator of 'AI' enabled stuffed animals, which recently left the stored chat logs children have with their polyester-filled automated friends openly available online to anybody with a Gmail account"
www.techdirt.com/2026/02/09/w...
www.techdirt.com/2026/02/09/w...
Whoops: ‘AI’ Toy Company Leaks Chat Logs, Personal Data Of 50,000 Toddlers
My biggest complaints with AI tend to be with the human beings who are rushing language learning models into mass adoption without doing their basic due diligence. Like AI toy maker Bondu, the crea…
www.techdirt.com
February 9, 2026 at 8:15 PM
"Like AI toy maker Bondu, the creator of 'AI' enabled stuffed animals, which recently left the stored chat logs children have with their polyester-filled automated friends openly available online to anybody with a Gmail account"
www.techdirt.com/2026/02/09/w...
www.techdirt.com/2026/02/09/w...
"'This is an argument they make in every case and they almost always lose,' said Brian McGoldrick, an immigration attorney in San Diego, who in September won the release of an Afghan refugee and former US military interpreter on similar grounds."
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Hundreds protested against this Venezuelan’s detention by ICE. Now he’s free after seven months
Case continues against those who protested Joswar Torres’s arrest, with prosecutors seeking six years’ imprisonment
www.theguardian.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:45 PM
"'This is an argument they make in every case and they almost always lose,' said Brian McGoldrick, an immigration attorney in San Diego, who in September won the release of an Afghan refugee and former US military interpreter on similar grounds."
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
"'I don’t think anyone here has any trust that will be lasting,' Matt Schlobohm, executive director of the Maine AFL-CIO, a state federation of more than 200 local labor unions in Maine. 'You can’t turn a tiger into a vegetarian.'"
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Maine shaken by ICE raids as backlash threatens Republican Senate control
Workers and unions condemn ICE operation as ‘horrific’ as pressure builds on Susan Collins, facing re-election this year
www.theguardian.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:15 PM
"'I don’t think anyone here has any trust that will be lasting,' Matt Schlobohm, executive director of the Maine AFL-CIO, a state federation of more than 200 local labor unions in Maine. 'You can’t turn a tiger into a vegetarian.'"
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
“Seeing no option to refuse deployments that she found objectionable, Stewart resigned after a decade of service. She would give up the prospect of a pension offered after 20 years.”
Public Health Workers Are Quitting Over Assignments to Guantánamo
Doctors, nurses, and other officers are increasingly being deployed to ICE detention centers. Some have resigned in protest, while others offer a rare look into bleak conditions.
www.wired.com
February 8, 2026 at 9:45 PM
“Seeing no option to refuse deployments that she found objectionable, Stewart resigned after a decade of service. She would give up the prospect of a pension offered after 20 years.”
Thank you to No Tech for Apartheid for holding this work down
More Than 800 Google Workers Urge Company to Cancel Any Contracts With ICE and CBP
The campaign is among the largest anti-ICE protests by workers at a single company since federal agents shot and killed two people in Minneapolis last month.
www.wired.com
February 8, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Thank you to No Tech for Apartheid for holding this work down
“‘We’ve fought so hard to protect our community but they want to experiment on us,’ Fiona O’Leary, an autism activist who has spent years fighting the spread of baseless treatments for autism, tells WIRED.”
www.wired.com/story/rfk-jr...
www.wired.com/story/rfk-jr...
RFK Jr.’s Picks for a Key Autism Panel Include Advocates for Bizarre Theories
Among those Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently named to a federal autism committee are people who tout dangerous treatments and say vaccine manufacturers are “poisoning children.”
www.wired.com
February 8, 2026 at 6:45 PM
“‘We’ve fought so hard to protect our community but they want to experiment on us,’ Fiona O’Leary, an autism activist who has spent years fighting the spread of baseless treatments for autism, tells WIRED.”
www.wired.com/story/rfk-jr...
www.wired.com/story/rfk-jr...
I literally just vibe coded one of these: a bespoke nginx log colorizer/summarizer. I use it several times a week, and it works just like magic.
arstechnica.com/features/202...
arstechnica.com/features/202...
So yeah, I vibe-coded a log colorizer—and I feel good about it
Some semi-unhinged musings on where LLMs fit into my life—and how I'll keep using them.
arstechnica.com
February 8, 2026 at 5:15 PM
I literally just vibe coded one of these: a bespoke nginx log colorizer/summarizer. I use it several times a week, and it works just like magic.
arstechnica.com/features/202...
arstechnica.com/features/202...
“So as a senior, you could abstain. But then your junior colleagues will eventually code circles around you, because they’re wearing bazooka-powered jetpacks and you’re still riding around on a fixie bike.”
We mourn our craft
I didn’t ask for this and neither did you. I didn’t ask for a robot to consume every blog post and piece of code I ever wrote and parrot it back so that some hack could make money off o…
nolanlawson.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:15 PM
“So as a senior, you could abstain. But then your junior colleagues will eventually code circles around you, because they’re wearing bazooka-powered jetpacks and you’re still riding around on a fixie bike.”
Reposted by Anirvan Chatterjee
A useful tidbit in the Berkeley war on cars -- only 30% of Berkeley workers drive to work. Berkeley is the fourth lowest city in the country for share of car commuters.
February 6, 2026 at 10:35 PM
A useful tidbit in the Berkeley war on cars -- only 30% of Berkeley workers drive to work. Berkeley is the fourth lowest city in the country for share of car commuters.
Reposted by Anirvan Chatterjee
VICTORY: A federal court has blocked ICE’s use of private tax-related data from the IRS!
The decision is a win for taxpayers nationwide who have weighed whether filing their taxes exposes them to potential ICE arrest, detention, and deportation.
📰 bit.ly/infosharing-win
The decision is a win for taxpayers nationwide who have weighed whether filing their taxes exposes them to potential ICE arrest, detention, and deportation.
📰 bit.ly/infosharing-win
February 6, 2026 at 8:00 PM
VICTORY: A federal court has blocked ICE’s use of private tax-related data from the IRS!
The decision is a win for taxpayers nationwide who have weighed whether filing their taxes exposes them to potential ICE arrest, detention, and deportation.
📰 bit.ly/infosharing-win
The decision is a win for taxpayers nationwide who have weighed whether filing their taxes exposes them to potential ICE arrest, detention, and deportation.
📰 bit.ly/infosharing-win
Reposted by Anirvan Chatterjee
BART's newly released concepts for what they'll do if Connect Bay Area transit funding measure fails are terrifying.
Phase 1: 63% train hours cut & 10 station closures
Phase 2: Cumulative 70% train hours cut, 15 station closures
Phase 3 (if required): END BART SERVICE
We must pass the measure!
🧵
Phase 1: 63% train hours cut & 10 station closures
Phase 2: Cumulative 70% train hours cut, 15 station closures
Phase 3 (if required): END BART SERVICE
We must pass the measure!
🧵
February 5, 2026 at 10:23 PM
BART's newly released concepts for what they'll do if Connect Bay Area transit funding measure fails are terrifying.
Phase 1: 63% train hours cut & 10 station closures
Phase 2: Cumulative 70% train hours cut, 15 station closures
Phase 3 (if required): END BART SERVICE
We must pass the measure!
🧵
Phase 1: 63% train hours cut & 10 station closures
Phase 2: Cumulative 70% train hours cut, 15 station closures
Phase 3 (if required): END BART SERVICE
We must pass the measure!
🧵
"Legal experts said that the fake image could hurt the Justice Department’s case against Ms. Levy Armstrong. Her lawyers could use it to accuse the Trump administration of making what are known as improper extrajudicial statements."
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...
‘They Couldn’t Break Me’: A Protester, the White House and a Doctored Photo
President Trump and the White House regularly circulate imagery that has been manipulated by A.I. But the photo of Nekima Levy Armstrong was different.
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:15 AM
"Legal experts said that the fake image could hurt the Justice Department’s case against Ms. Levy Armstrong. Her lawyers could use it to accuse the Trump administration of making what are known as improper extrajudicial statements."
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...
"Vera’s heard her friends say something is happening. And Vera’s taken up a new hobby: setting traps at home. 'I do need to make one because the bad guys are taking mommies and daddies,' she said."
rewirenewsgroup.com/2026/02/03/i...
rewirenewsgroup.com/2026/02/03/i...
‘Bad Guys Are Taking Mommies and Daddies’: ICE Upends Minneapolis Kids' Lives
In Minneapolis, parents must figure that out, while teachers face half-empty classrooms as students stay home for fear of abduction.
rewirenewsgroup.com
February 3, 2026 at 8:15 PM
"Vera’s heard her friends say something is happening. And Vera’s taken up a new hobby: setting traps at home. 'I do need to make one because the bad guys are taking mommies and daddies,' she said."
rewirenewsgroup.com/2026/02/03/i...
rewirenewsgroup.com/2026/02/03/i...
"the police chief in the small southern Minnesota city of St. Peter intervened…to prevent federal immigration agents from taking a local resident into detention…believed to be the first time a local police department in Minnesota intervened in a federal law enforcement action since the surge"
www.mprnews.org
February 3, 2026 at 6:45 PM
"the police chief in the small southern Minnesota city of St. Peter intervened…to prevent federal immigration agents from taking a local resident into detention…believed to be the first time a local police department in Minnesota intervened in a federal law enforcement action since the surge"
Reposted by Anirvan Chatterjee
A newborn in Minneapolis hadn’t eaten for a day and a half.
ICE agents took her mother when she went to work, trying to make money for diapers.
Her 16-year-old and Bri, a local mother of two, saved that baby's life. @chabeli.bsky.social tells their story
ICE agents took her mother when she went to work, trying to make money for diapers.
Her 16-year-old and Bri, a local mother of two, saved that baby's life. @chabeli.bsky.social tells their story
When one mother was taken by ICE, another stepped in to donate breastmilk
Moms in Minneapolis are donating diapers, food and time to help families who have been ripped apart by ICE.
19thnews.org
February 2, 2026 at 7:46 PM
A newborn in Minneapolis hadn’t eaten for a day and a half.
ICE agents took her mother when she went to work, trying to make money for diapers.
Her 16-year-old and Bri, a local mother of two, saved that baby's life. @chabeli.bsky.social tells their story
ICE agents took her mother when she went to work, trying to make money for diapers.
Her 16-year-old and Bri, a local mother of two, saved that baby's life. @chabeli.bsky.social tells their story
Reposted by Anirvan Chatterjee
Since January 2023, we've documented distinct spikes in anti–South Asian hate online — correlating with moments when political figures like Kamala Harris and Zohran Mamdani were in the national spotlight. 🧵⬇️
Hate in the time of Trump: The perils of being Indian in MAGAland
It was October 2025. The spotlight came on. The room fell quiet.Fifty-three-year-old Salil Maniktahla stepped onto a stand-up stage, visibly nervous. This was n
www.newindianexpress.com
February 2, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Since January 2023, we've documented distinct spikes in anti–South Asian hate online — correlating with moments when political figures like Kamala Harris and Zohran Mamdani were in the national spotlight. 🧵⬇️
Reposted by Anirvan Chatterjee
🚨Just In: HBA and @aflcio.org, along with over 350 faith-based, labor, and civil rights organizations, sent a letter to President Trump and his administration urging them to reverse their decision to terminate Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for Haiti. #TPS4Haiti
January 31, 2026 at 6:14 PM
🚨Just In: HBA and @aflcio.org, along with over 350 faith-based, labor, and civil rights organizations, sent a letter to President Trump and his administration urging them to reverse their decision to terminate Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for Haiti. #TPS4Haiti
Reposted by Anirvan Chatterjee
My 10yo just asked me out of nowhere if ICE was going to pick me up. I explained I was a US citizen so this is highly unlikely and that if they did, we would sue the pants off of them. Notably she did not ask her white father.
This is where we’re at.
This is where we’re at.
February 1, 2026 at 11:21 PM
My 10yo just asked me out of nowhere if ICE was going to pick me up. I explained I was a US citizen so this is highly unlikely and that if they did, we would sue the pants off of them. Notably she did not ask her white father.
This is where we’re at.
This is where we’re at.
"I need to repeat that. Donald Trump is trying to more than double his personal wealth by simply demanding that the IRS, which he controls, give him $10 billion in taxpayer funds. This goes beyond corruption. You need a different word for this altogether."
www.techdirt.com/2026/01/30/t...
www.techdirt.com/2026/01/30/t...
Trump Demands $10 Billion From Taxpayers For Leaked Tax Returns; His Own Lawyers Get To Decide What He Gets
Back in May, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt offered what might be the single most audacious statement of the Trump era—and that’s saying something: I think everybody – the…
www.techdirt.com
February 1, 2026 at 6:45 PM
"I need to repeat that. Donald Trump is trying to more than double his personal wealth by simply demanding that the IRS, which he controls, give him $10 billion in taxpayer funds. This goes beyond corruption. You need a different word for this altogether."
www.techdirt.com/2026/01/30/t...
www.techdirt.com/2026/01/30/t...
"Laufman told us that the Wednesday episode reflects a new reality for law enforcement. The greatest threat to the legitimacy of U.S. elections, he said, now comes 'not from abroad, but from the leadership of our own government.'"
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
‘It’s a Five-Alarm Fire’
The FBI’s search and seizure of material from Fulton County election offices marks a major escalation.
www.theatlantic.com
February 1, 2026 at 5:15 PM
"Laufman told us that the Wednesday episode reflects a new reality for law enforcement. The greatest threat to the legitimacy of U.S. elections, he said, now comes 'not from abroad, but from the leadership of our own government.'"
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...