Frenchfold
@frenchfold.bsky.social
Art director, graphic designer, bibliophile, and the buddy of a great dog.
Reposted by Frenchfold
After a trial over the last few years, Ireland has launched a permanent scheme giving a basic income of €325 a week for artists.
2,000 will be eligible, and successful recipients will be chosen at random from applicants, who must be "professional artists" (definition tbc).
2,000 will be eligible, and successful recipients will be chosen at random from applicants, who must be "professional artists" (definition tbc).
Ireland announces scheme to provide basic income for artists
The Basic Income for Artists (BIA) project is believed to be the first permanent one of its kind in the world.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 11, 2026 at 2:16 PM
After a trial over the last few years, Ireland has launched a permanent scheme giving a basic income of €325 a week for artists.
2,000 will be eligible, and successful recipients will be chosen at random from applicants, who must be "professional artists" (definition tbc).
2,000 will be eligible, and successful recipients will be chosen at random from applicants, who must be "professional artists" (definition tbc).
Reposted by Frenchfold
Upsetting flatware continued
February 3, 2026 at 6:14 PM
Upsetting flatware continued
It's this kind of day.
1946, Archives nationales à Montréal, Fonds La Presse, photographer unknown.
1946, Archives nationales à Montréal, Fonds La Presse, photographer unknown.
February 11, 2026 at 1:13 PM
It's this kind of day.
1946, Archives nationales à Montréal, Fonds La Presse, photographer unknown.
1946, Archives nationales à Montréal, Fonds La Presse, photographer unknown.
That weasel has some tail!
Watanabe Katei (1913)
Rijksmuseum, Netherlands
Watanabe Katei (1913)
Rijksmuseum, Netherlands
February 11, 2026 at 12:41 PM
That weasel has some tail!
Watanabe Katei (1913)
Rijksmuseum, Netherlands
Watanabe Katei (1913)
Rijksmuseum, Netherlands
The conditions is ICE/CBP centers are going in an Andersonville direction.
www.battlefields.org/learn/articl...
www.battlefields.org/learn/articl...
Andersonville: The Deadly Confederate Prison Camp
Civil War History, the story of Andersonville, or Camp Sumter as it was known officially.
www.battlefields.org
February 11, 2026 at 11:46 AM
The conditions is ICE/CBP centers are going in an Andersonville direction.
www.battlefields.org/learn/articl...
www.battlefields.org/learn/articl...
This is not about immigration. It never was. They’re already hovering up or killing anyone they don’t like. They lie to and ignore the courts. They just tried to charge members of Congress.
The good people of Minneapolis get it, but much of the US hasn’t grasped how dangerous this moment is.
The good people of Minneapolis get it, but much of the US hasn’t grasped how dangerous this moment is.
I and millions of Americans believe exactly the same thing Kasparov does.
Too many troops, too many new prisons, too much money not under Congressional supervision.
We're not just witnessing a mass deportation scheme anymore.
This is something significantly bigger and scarier.
Too many troops, too many new prisons, too much money not under Congressional supervision.
We're not just witnessing a mass deportation scheme anymore.
This is something significantly bigger and scarier.
February 11, 2026 at 10:00 AM
This is not about immigration. It never was. They’re already hovering up or killing anyone they don’t like. They lie to and ignore the courts. They just tried to charge members of Congress.
The good people of Minneapolis get it, but much of the US hasn’t grasped how dangerous this moment is.
The good people of Minneapolis get it, but much of the US hasn’t grasped how dangerous this moment is.
Originalism at work! Or should I say UET, which has conveniently muscled it aside.
To my knowledge, moving prisoners around the country in an attempt to avoid habeas corpus review has been banned since at least the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679. Habeas corpus is, of course, protected in Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution.
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/fe...
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/fe...
February 11, 2026 at 1:16 AM
Originalism at work! Or should I say UET, which has conveniently muscled it aside.
Reposted by Frenchfold
Good Lord, it didn't even occur to me that like 60% of the population of New Hampshire is probably Canadian by this definition
I'm not saying that Canada is perfect, I'm saying that the bar is pretty low right now.
February 10, 2026 at 4:22 AM
Good Lord, it didn't even occur to me that like 60% of the population of New Hampshire is probably Canadian by this definition
Reposted by Frenchfold
Reposted by Frenchfold
February 9, 2026 at 7:32 PM
Good thread. As much as I’m quite pessimistic about the fairness of the midterms, I do want @angus.bsky.social to be right. And he knows a hell of a lot more than I.
The forces that make Trump impervious to internal correction within the GOP are going to create huge obstacles to the party winning elections and governing for a generation.
The tragedy of today's GOP is that they have purged anyone inclined to independence and leadership. Those who are left chose to climb into the back seat, and now they're lost. But they're finally yelling at the driver.
February 9, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Good thread. As much as I’m quite pessimistic about the fairness of the midterms, I do want @angus.bsky.social to be right. And he knows a hell of a lot more than I.
Reposted by Frenchfold
The risk of malfeasance in the November election is real, and serious. But the Trump administration doesn't have a magic wand.
It has tools of repression. And we have tools of resistance.
It has tools of repression. And we have tools of resistance.
January 18, 2026 at 7:22 PM
The risk of malfeasance in the November election is real, and serious. But the Trump administration doesn't have a magic wand.
It has tools of repression. And we have tools of resistance.
It has tools of repression. And we have tools of resistance.
Reposted by Frenchfold
The big picture to keep in mind is that modern destabilization and foreign interference usually isn’t about invasion. It’s about: undermining trust, amplifying division, convincing people their own system is illegitimate.
Once enough people believe that, outside pressure becomes easier to justify.
Once enough people believe that, outside pressure becomes easier to justify.
January 30, 2026 at 12:39 AM
The big picture to keep in mind is that modern destabilization and foreign interference usually isn’t about invasion. It’s about: undermining trust, amplifying division, convincing people their own system is illegitimate.
Once enough people believe that, outside pressure becomes easier to justify.
Once enough people believe that, outside pressure becomes easier to justify.
Reposted by Frenchfold
To reject the US as a fundamentally American country with a deep shared history and commonality with the rest of the Americas, including that Spanish has long been our de facto national second language, is on a deep level anti-American. It's hating actual American culture and history and tradition.
February 9, 2026 at 3:19 AM
To reject the US as a fundamentally American country with a deep shared history and commonality with the rest of the Americas, including that Spanish has long been our de facto national second language, is on a deep level anti-American. It's hating actual American culture and history and tradition.
Reposted by Frenchfold
8. Evil city / pure countryside is an example of what Jeremy Lent calls a “root metaphor”: an idea so deeply implanted in our minds that we don’t even recognise it as an idea.
November 5, 2025 at 8:04 AM
8. Evil city / pure countryside is an example of what Jeremy Lent calls a “root metaphor”: an idea so deeply implanted in our minds that we don’t even recognise it as an idea.
An excellent thread on the long history of the hay to be made, and spun into gold, by politicians peddling anti-city rhetoric.
1. In the wake on Mamdani’s win, we’ll see a lot more far right anti-urban sentiment. Here’s a thread on its roots and evolution.
The idea that the city is evil and corrupt, and the countryside innocent and pure, goes back a long way: to Theocritus in Alexandria, and to the Old Testament. 🧵
The idea that the city is evil and corrupt, and the countryside innocent and pure, goes back a long way: to Theocritus in Alexandria, and to the Old Testament. 🧵
February 9, 2026 at 5:05 AM
An excellent thread on the long history of the hay to be made, and spun into gold, by politicians peddling anti-city rhetoric.
Reposted by Frenchfold
“The camps are already here.” @mskellymhayes.bsky.social
February 8, 2026 at 2:57 AM
“The camps are already here.” @mskellymhayes.bsky.social
Reposted by Frenchfold
This Super Bowl Sunday, I’d like to introduce you all to the magical curse bowls used in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria in late antiquity. Written in Mandaic (as here) or Syriac Aramaic, they trap demons who trespass on a household by sucking them in with spiraling spells to the center of the bowl.
February 8, 2026 at 2:28 PM
This Super Bowl Sunday, I’d like to introduce you all to the magical curse bowls used in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria in late antiquity. Written in Mandaic (as here) or Syriac Aramaic, they trap demons who trespass on a household by sucking them in with spiraling spells to the center of the bowl.
Reposted by Frenchfold
Concentration camps:
“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh. We are all in one big room with no doors or windows. We can’t see any grass or trees. We are all constantly sick."
“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh. We are all in one big room with no doors or windows. We can’t see any grass or trees. We are all constantly sick."
Exclusive: Detention Center Captives Are Throwing Lotion Bottles Wrapped With Notes to Organizers Outside Otay Mesa Facility ~ L.A. TACO
“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh," an Otay Mesa captive communicated through handwritten note. "We are all in one big room with no doors...
lataco.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:24 AM
Concentration camps:
“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh. We are all in one big room with no doors or windows. We can’t see any grass or trees. We are all constantly sick."
“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh. We are all in one big room with no doors or windows. We can’t see any grass or trees. We are all constantly sick."
Good thread! It’s sad that it can be both true that you can make people’s lives significantly better and save taxpayer dollars and that this program can be canceled because of, well, ideology.
“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back to a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.”
IT SAVES PUBLIC MONEY to house people.
IT SAVES PUBLIC MONEY to house people.
Finland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need - scoop.me
In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Why? The country applies the "Housing First" concept agains homelessness.
thebetter.news
February 8, 2026 at 12:46 PM
Good thread! It’s sad that it can be both true that you can make people’s lives significantly better and save taxpayer dollars and that this program can be canceled because of, well, ideology.
Reposted by Frenchfold
you've lost 60% of your voters & coverted 0% of reform ones - yes, that is an actual statistic, 0%
but sure, keep at it, i'm sure this latest wheeze will bring em all over
but sure, keep at it, i'm sure this latest wheeze will bring em all over
February 7, 2026 at 8:44 PM
you've lost 60% of your voters & coverted 0% of reform ones - yes, that is an actual statistic, 0%
but sure, keep at it, i'm sure this latest wheeze will bring em all over
but sure, keep at it, i'm sure this latest wheeze will bring em all over
Reposted by Frenchfold
Serious trivia I heard today. There is no stone in the London bedrock. Everything made of stone in London is from stone quarried elsewhere.
February 6, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Serious trivia I heard today. There is no stone in the London bedrock. Everything made of stone in London is from stone quarried elsewhere.
Reposted by Frenchfold
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology
She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:09 AM
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
@theresthistory.bsky.social Outstanding episode on the Arnolfini Portrait. Laura Cumming is the perfect guide!
Looking forward to Las Meninas. And did Philip IV paint the cross of Order of Santiago on Velásquez after the painter’s death?
Looking forward to Las Meninas. And did Philip IV paint the cross of Order of Santiago on Velásquez after the painter’s death?
February 6, 2026 at 6:23 PM
@theresthistory.bsky.social Outstanding episode on the Arnolfini Portrait. Laura Cumming is the perfect guide!
Looking forward to Las Meninas. And did Philip IV paint the cross of Order of Santiago on Velásquez after the painter’s death?
Looking forward to Las Meninas. And did Philip IV paint the cross of Order of Santiago on Velásquez after the painter’s death?
I get the, “Saying the midterms will be rigged only gives them more power,” argument, but:
1. The Don is a huge narcissist. Losing would injure his ego.
2. For Miller and Vought this administration is the dream of a lifetime.
3. They’re willing to do anything, law be damned.
Why wouldn’t they?
1. The Don is a huge narcissist. Losing would injure his ego.
2. For Miller and Vought this administration is the dream of a lifetime.
3. They’re willing to do anything, law be damned.
Why wouldn’t they?
Chris Murphy: “He’s telling you he wants to federalize national elections — he's telling you that he thinks he won Minnesota & Georgia & California, that the 2020 elections were rigged—
He’s trying to rewrite history & trying to make sure that nobody other than him & his allies win in 2026 & 2028”
He’s trying to rewrite history & trying to make sure that nobody other than him & his allies win in 2026 & 2028”
February 6, 2026 at 10:46 AM
I get the, “Saying the midterms will be rigged only gives them more power,” argument, but:
1. The Don is a huge narcissist. Losing would injure his ego.
2. For Miller and Vought this administration is the dream of a lifetime.
3. They’re willing to do anything, law be damned.
Why wouldn’t they?
1. The Don is a huge narcissist. Losing would injure his ego.
2. For Miller and Vought this administration is the dream of a lifetime.
3. They’re willing to do anything, law be damned.
Why wouldn’t they?