David Mouritsen
@davidmouritsen.bsky.social
I started out in physics/astrophysics and mathematics. And I strangely wound up a creative director at design, advertising, and web technology agencies. Obsessed with history.
Reposted by David Mouritsen
Putin gives an investment conference in St Petersburg, and no one comes... highlighting the instability and fragility of the Russian economy. www.ft.com/content/36b8...
Vladimir Putin’s investment forum fails to attract western companies
Even Russia’s allies send lower-ranking officials and executives to St Petersburg — except Indonesia’s president
www.ft.com
June 19, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Putin gives an investment conference in St Petersburg, and no one comes... highlighting the instability and fragility of the Russian economy. www.ft.com/content/36b8...
Reposted by David Mouritsen
The formidable Martin Wolf writes about the Trumpist “pluto-populism” — a term Wolf himself coined back in 2006 — evident in the appalling “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”:
www.ft.com/content/31f4...
www.ft.com/content/31f4...
June 19, 2025 at 11:54 AM
The formidable Martin Wolf writes about the Trumpist “pluto-populism” — a term Wolf himself coined back in 2006 — evident in the appalling “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”:
www.ft.com/content/31f4...
www.ft.com/content/31f4...
Reposted by David Mouritsen
A short video about Juneteenth:
What is Juneteenth and Why Does it Matter: A Short History | Journey to American Democracy
YouTube video by Heather Cox Richardson
youtu.be
June 19, 2025 at 5:26 AM
A short video about Juneteenth:
The formidable Martin Wolf writes about the Trumpist “pluto-populism” — a term Wolf himself coined back in 2006 — evident in the appalling “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”:
www.ft.com/content/31f4...
www.ft.com/content/31f4...
June 19, 2025 at 11:54 AM
The formidable Martin Wolf writes about the Trumpist “pluto-populism” — a term Wolf himself coined back in 2006 — evident in the appalling “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”:
www.ft.com/content/31f4...
www.ft.com/content/31f4...
Reposted by David Mouritsen
“Trump told reporters: ‘The UK is very well protected. You know why? Because I like them, that's why. That's the ultimate protection.’
Commenters often note that Trump talks like a mob boss, but rarely has his organized-crime style of governance been clearer than in yesterday’s statement.”
Commenters often note that Trump talks like a mob boss, but rarely has his organized-crime style of governance been clearer than in yesterday’s statement.”
June 17, 2025
Yesterday at the meeting of the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), a forum of democracies with advanced economies, President Donald Trump told reporters: “The UK is very well protected.
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
June 18, 2025 at 1:05 PM
“Trump told reporters: ‘The UK is very well protected. You know why? Because I like them, that's why. That's the ultimate protection.’
Commenters often note that Trump talks like a mob boss, but rarely has his organized-crime style of governance been clearer than in yesterday’s statement.”
Commenters often note that Trump talks like a mob boss, but rarely has his organized-crime style of governance been clearer than in yesterday’s statement.”
“In the past, the NSF has usually enjoyed bipartisan support... But the ravages currently being inflicted upon the agency may bring a truly golden era of American science to a halt. … The Trump forces now directing the NSF have been terminating existing grants at a record pace…”
Opinion | Trump is undermining U.S. science. Here’s why that’s dangerous.
Science has played a crucial role in making the United States great and powerful.
www.washingtonpost.com
June 18, 2025 at 9:25 PM
“In the past, the NSF has usually enjoyed bipartisan support... But the ravages currently being inflicted upon the agency may bring a truly golden era of American science to a halt. … The Trump forces now directing the NSF have been terminating existing grants at a record pace…”
“Trump told reporters: ‘The UK is very well protected. You know why? Because I like them, that's why. That's the ultimate protection.’
Commenters often note that Trump talks like a mob boss, but rarely has his organized-crime style of governance been clearer than in yesterday’s statement.”
Commenters often note that Trump talks like a mob boss, but rarely has his organized-crime style of governance been clearer than in yesterday’s statement.”
June 17, 2025
Yesterday at the meeting of the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), a forum of democracies with advanced economies, President Donald Trump told reporters: “The UK is very well protected.
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
June 18, 2025 at 1:05 PM
“Trump told reporters: ‘The UK is very well protected. You know why? Because I like them, that's why. That's the ultimate protection.’
Commenters often note that Trump talks like a mob boss, but rarely has his organized-crime style of governance been clearer than in yesterday’s statement.”
Commenters often note that Trump talks like a mob boss, but rarely has his organized-crime style of governance been clearer than in yesterday’s statement.”
Reposted by David Mouritsen
Prof Krugman (@pkrugman.bsky.social):
“America is no longer a full-fledged democracy. We are currently living under a version of competitive authoritarianism... Trumpists, however, haven’t yet fully consolidated their hold.” 1/4
“America is no longer a full-fledged democracy. We are currently living under a version of competitive authoritarianism... Trumpists, however, haven’t yet fully consolidated their hold.” 1/4
Trump’s parade flopped. No Kings Day was a hit.
Right now, images largely determine the outcome
paulkrugman.substack.com
June 17, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Prof Krugman (@pkrugman.bsky.social):
“America is no longer a full-fledged democracy. We are currently living under a version of competitive authoritarianism... Trumpists, however, haven’t yet fully consolidated their hold.” 1/4
“America is no longer a full-fledged democracy. We are currently living under a version of competitive authoritarianism... Trumpists, however, haven’t yet fully consolidated their hold.” 1/4
Reposted by David Mouritsen
It seems hollering “woke” isn’t an argument:
“The court finds and rules that [NIH’s] explanations are bereft of reasoning, virtually in their entirety…”
And as for Trumpian anti-DEI rhetoric:
“I’ve sat on this bench now for 40 years and I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this”
“The court finds and rules that [NIH’s] explanations are bereft of reasoning, virtually in their entirety…”
And as for Trumpian anti-DEI rhetoric:
“I’ve sat on this bench now for 40 years and I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this”
Judge orders NIH to restore hundreds of grants cut under Trump
William Young calls terminations illegal, berates agency for discrimination
www.science.org
June 17, 2025 at 1:42 PM
It seems hollering “woke” isn’t an argument:
“The court finds and rules that [NIH’s] explanations are bereft of reasoning, virtually in their entirety…”
And as for Trumpian anti-DEI rhetoric:
“I’ve sat on this bench now for 40 years and I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this”
“The court finds and rules that [NIH’s] explanations are bereft of reasoning, virtually in their entirety…”
And as for Trumpian anti-DEI rhetoric:
“I’ve sat on this bench now for 40 years and I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this”
A man with ALS who’d lost the ability to speak:
“The team asked the participant to attempt to make interjections such as ‘aah’, ‘ooh’ and ‘hmm’ and say made-up words. The BCI successfully produced these sounds, showing that it could generate speech without needing a fixed vocabulary.”
“The team asked the participant to attempt to make interjections such as ‘aah’, ‘ooh’ and ‘hmm’ and say made-up words. The BCI successfully produced these sounds, showing that it could generate speech without needing a fixed vocabulary.”
World first: brain implant lets man speak with expression — and sing
Device translates thought to speech in real time.
www.nature.com
June 17, 2025 at 11:21 PM
A man with ALS who’d lost the ability to speak:
“The team asked the participant to attempt to make interjections such as ‘aah’, ‘ooh’ and ‘hmm’ and say made-up words. The BCI successfully produced these sounds, showing that it could generate speech without needing a fixed vocabulary.”
“The team asked the participant to attempt to make interjections such as ‘aah’, ‘ooh’ and ‘hmm’ and say made-up words. The BCI successfully produced these sounds, showing that it could generate speech without needing a fixed vocabulary.”
Prof Krugman (@pkrugman.bsky.social):
“America is no longer a full-fledged democracy. We are currently living under a version of competitive authoritarianism... Trumpists, however, haven’t yet fully consolidated their hold.” 1/4
“America is no longer a full-fledged democracy. We are currently living under a version of competitive authoritarianism... Trumpists, however, haven’t yet fully consolidated their hold.” 1/4
Trump’s parade flopped. No Kings Day was a hit.
Right now, images largely determine the outcome
paulkrugman.substack.com
June 17, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Prof Krugman (@pkrugman.bsky.social):
“America is no longer a full-fledged democracy. We are currently living under a version of competitive authoritarianism... Trumpists, however, haven’t yet fully consolidated their hold.” 1/4
“America is no longer a full-fledged democracy. We are currently living under a version of competitive authoritarianism... Trumpists, however, haven’t yet fully consolidated their hold.” 1/4
It seems hollering “woke” isn’t an argument:
“The court finds and rules that [NIH’s] explanations are bereft of reasoning, virtually in their entirety…”
And as for Trumpian anti-DEI rhetoric:
“I’ve sat on this bench now for 40 years and I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this”
“The court finds and rules that [NIH’s] explanations are bereft of reasoning, virtually in their entirety…”
And as for Trumpian anti-DEI rhetoric:
“I’ve sat on this bench now for 40 years and I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this”
Judge orders NIH to restore hundreds of grants cut under Trump
William Young calls terminations illegal, berates agency for discrimination
www.science.org
June 17, 2025 at 1:42 PM
It seems hollering “woke” isn’t an argument:
“The court finds and rules that [NIH’s] explanations are bereft of reasoning, virtually in their entirety…”
And as for Trumpian anti-DEI rhetoric:
“I’ve sat on this bench now for 40 years and I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this”
“The court finds and rules that [NIH’s] explanations are bereft of reasoning, virtually in their entirety…”
And as for Trumpian anti-DEI rhetoric:
“I’ve sat on this bench now for 40 years and I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this”
Reposted by David Mouritsen
“This year, the BMJ, a publisher of medical journals based in London, has seen bot traffic to its websites surpass that of real users. The aggressive behaviour of these bots overloaded the publisher’s servers and led to interruptions in services for legitimate customers…”
Web-scraping AI bots cause disruption for scientific databases and journals
Automated programs gathering training data for artificial-intelligence tools are overwhelming academic websites.
www.nature.com
June 3, 2025 at 11:41 PM
“This year, the BMJ, a publisher of medical journals based in London, has seen bot traffic to its websites surpass that of real users. The aggressive behaviour of these bots overloaded the publisher’s servers and led to interruptions in services for legitimate customers…”
Reposted by David Mouritsen
Appalling. And so is:
"CBS reported Tuesday that the Navy is also considering renaming other John Lewis-class oilers including the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and USNS Harriet Tubman."
Will the lead ship of the class keep the name John Lewis?
"CBS reported Tuesday that the Navy is also considering renaming other John Lewis-class oilers including the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and USNS Harriet Tubman."
Will the lead ship of the class keep the name John Lewis?
June 3, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Appalling. And so is:
"CBS reported Tuesday that the Navy is also considering renaming other John Lewis-class oilers including the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and USNS Harriet Tubman."
Will the lead ship of the class keep the name John Lewis?
"CBS reported Tuesday that the Navy is also considering renaming other John Lewis-class oilers including the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and USNS Harriet Tubman."
Will the lead ship of the class keep the name John Lewis?
Reposted by David Mouritsen
Another judge just ordered govt to reveal its deal with Bukele to another alien sent to CECOT. A magistrate judge in Columbus, GA (MDGa) did so in the case of Venezuelan EDQC, sent to CECOT on 3/15 without opportunity to raise a fear-of-torture claim.
1/5
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
1/5
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
June 4, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Another judge just ordered govt to reveal its deal with Bukele to another alien sent to CECOT. A magistrate judge in Columbus, GA (MDGa) did so in the case of Venezuelan EDQC, sent to CECOT on 3/15 without opportunity to raise a fear-of-torture claim.
1/5
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
1/5
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by David Mouritsen
I've seen folks talk about how "in four years" they'll be able to get back to their planned projects and I really don't think that's going to work out. People & projects losing funding now will not be able to hit pause and come back once funding is restored. Hard-won progress & capacity will be lost
I worry that not enough of a big deal is being made about how long-term the devastation of these budget cuts to our scientific and health agencies will be, beyond the absolute ruin they will cause in the acute period.
June 3, 2025 at 8:51 PM
I've seen folks talk about how "in four years" they'll be able to get back to their planned projects and I really don't think that's going to work out. People & projects losing funding now will not be able to hit pause and come back once funding is restored. Hard-won progress & capacity will be lost
Definitely cool. But he has a rough road ahead of him...
Lee Jae-myung, the South Korean politician who climbed the fence of the parliament to get inside and vote against martial law, has been elected president. Pretty cooool
June 4, 2025 at 4:07 AM
Definitely cool. But he has a rough road ahead of him...
Reposted by David Mouritsen
If RFK Jr. wants to identify toxins that are causing harm to Americans’ health, he should pick up his phone, open the camera, and flip it around to selfie mode.
June 4, 2025 at 3:06 AM
If RFK Jr. wants to identify toxins that are causing harm to Americans’ health, he should pick up his phone, open the camera, and flip it around to selfie mode.
Reposted by David Mouritsen
I am officially one of The Ancients, Keeper of Knowledge of the Before Time
June 4, 2025 at 1:43 AM
I am officially one of The Ancients, Keeper of Knowledge of the Before Time
Utterly appalling.
RFK Jr. is absolutely poisonous. He has now caused Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, the person in charge of COVID19 vaccinations at the CDC, to resign.
She did so because RFK Jr. demanded that the experts in charge of vaccine guidance listen to him and not to the scientific evidence.
She did so because RFK Jr. demanded that the experts in charge of vaccine guidance listen to him and not to the scientific evidence.
June 4, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Utterly appalling.
Reposted by David Mouritsen
Republicans are determined to impoverish the U.S. with their attacks on #science.
“National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt wrote an apologetic memo to employees. Her statement to STAT that 250 people could lose their positions by summer’s end had come as news to the roughly 1100 NASEM staff.”
National Academies, staggering from Trump cuts, on brink of dramatic downsizing
Plan for slashed units and mission to be presented at governor’s meeting next week
www.science.org
June 4, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Republicans are determined to impoverish the U.S. with their attacks on #science.
Reposted by David Mouritsen
Man comes to the US from Lebanon. Starts out delivering pizzas, becomes a Nobel winning neuroscientist. Trump freezes his funding, he gets an email from China offering to move his lab “any city, any university I want" with guaranteed funding for 20 years.
What are we doing?
What are we doing?
June 3, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Man comes to the US from Lebanon. Starts out delivering pizzas, becomes a Nobel winning neuroscientist. Trump freezes his funding, he gets an email from China offering to move his lab “any city, any university I want" with guaranteed funding for 20 years.
What are we doing?
What are we doing?
Reposted by David Mouritsen
This is crazypants. Also funny.
June 3, 2025 at 8:27 PM
This is crazypants. Also funny.
Reposted by David Mouritsen
After terminally ill patients tried a last-ditch blood cancer treatment, doctors are talking about a potential cure. https://trib.al/s1XkBk5
From No Hope to a Potential Cure for a Deadly Blood Cancer
Multiple myeloma is considered incurable, but a third of patients in a Johnson & Johnson clinical trial have lived without detectable cancer for years after facing certain death.
trib.al
June 4, 2025 at 12:20 AM
After terminally ill patients tried a last-ditch blood cancer treatment, doctors are talking about a potential cure. https://trib.al/s1XkBk5
Reposted by David Mouritsen
Decidedly cool.
“The adaptability, the researchers say, underscores just how flexible octopuses are: Their limbs can react to sensory inputs without requiring their brains to engage, as if the appendages are making decisions independently.”
“The adaptability, the researchers say, underscores just how flexible octopuses are: Their limbs can react to sensory inputs without requiring their brains to engage, as if the appendages are making decisions independently.”
This octopus grew a ninth arm—which soon developed a mind of its own
Study highlights just how flexible cephalopod’s bodies are after injury and during recovery
www.science.org
June 3, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Decidedly cool.
“The adaptability, the researchers say, underscores just how flexible octopuses are: Their limbs can react to sensory inputs without requiring their brains to engage, as if the appendages are making decisions independently.”
“The adaptability, the researchers say, underscores just how flexible octopuses are: Their limbs can react to sensory inputs without requiring their brains to engage, as if the appendages are making decisions independently.”