Ian Ramjohn
@iramjohn.bsky.social
Wikipedia expert at @wikieducation.bsky.social.
Plant ecology Ph.D. 🇹🇹Trinbagonian in exile
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2910-0526 (if you want to verify my account's authenticity)
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2910-0526 (if you want to verify my account's authenticity)
Pinned
Ian Ramjohn
@iramjohn.bsky.social
· Feb 19
Eulogy for my father, Ian Ramjohn (1931–2025)
YouTube video by Ian Ramjohn
youtu.be
I recorded this for my father's funeral today.
youtu.be/c6WWROsaCwY
youtu.be/c6WWROsaCwY
"Domestic extension of the boat strike doctrine". I hate that it feels like the perfect summation of this.
Welcome to the domestic extension of the boat strike doctrine:
As I’ve been saying, what really attracts Trump to these attacks is that he has unlocked a new power to illegally smite his foes — like Zeus hurling thunderbolts from the heavens. He is addicted to absolute power and it won’t be long before tries to justify extrajudicial killings domestically.
January 7, 2026 at 10:29 PM
"Domestic extension of the boat strike doctrine". I hate that it feels like the perfect summation of this.
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
Wild story by Richard Stone at Science. Do we have Leonardo's DNA? www.science.org/content/arti...
Exclusive: Have scientists found Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA?
Inside the decadeslong quest to reveal the genes of a genius—and revolutionize art authentication
www.science.org
January 6, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Wild story by Richard Stone at Science. Do we have Leonardo's DNA? www.science.org/content/arti...
It never crossed my mind that they hadn't stopped this right away.
Just how bad is Grok's nonconsensual porn problem? Musk's AI chatbot is generating another sexualized image of someone without their permission every single minute:
Grok Is Generating About 'One Nonconsensual Sexualized Image Per Minute'
Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok keeps churning out nonconsenual images of women and minors in bikinis and lingerie, outraging users and regulators
www.rollingstone.com
January 6, 2026 at 11:21 PM
It never crossed my mind that they hadn't stopped this right away.
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
I happen to know quite a bit about Venezuelan oil.
TL;DR it’s hard to extract, notoriously investor-endangering, isn’t needed (global crude is oversupplied to the tune of 3.3 min bpd) and isn’t easily refined (it’s too dense so always sold at a heavy discount)
www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/202...
TL;DR it’s hard to extract, notoriously investor-endangering, isn’t needed (global crude is oversupplied to the tune of 3.3 min bpd) and isn’t easily refined (it’s too dense so always sold at a heavy discount)
www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/202...
Venezuela has the world’s most oil: Why doesn’t it earn more from exports?
Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves, more than five times more than the United States.
www.aljazeera.com
January 4, 2026 at 2:06 PM
I happen to know quite a bit about Venezuelan oil.
TL;DR it’s hard to extract, notoriously investor-endangering, isn’t needed (global crude is oversupplied to the tune of 3.3 min bpd) and isn’t easily refined (it’s too dense so always sold at a heavy discount)
www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/202...
TL;DR it’s hard to extract, notoriously investor-endangering, isn’t needed (global crude is oversupplied to the tune of 3.3 min bpd) and isn’t easily refined (it’s too dense so always sold at a heavy discount)
www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/202...
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
What in the Gestapo is going on in Grand Rapids?
Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.
Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.
January 5, 2026 at 4:12 PM
What in the Gestapo is going on in Grand Rapids?
Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.
Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.
If this whole thing were to be looked at as a "law enforcement" operation, the issue of 80 dead to make an arrest should be a huge scandal
Remember Waco? Remember 82 people dead in the Branch Davidian compound? If this *wasn't* an act of war, shouldn't the casualties be looked at in civilian terms?
Remember Waco? Remember 82 people dead in the Branch Davidian compound? If this *wasn't* an act of war, shouldn't the casualties be looked at in civilian terms?
No mention of the 80 dead Venezuelans in his address; shameless mention of Venezuela’s natural resources
January 5, 2026 at 4:36 PM
If this whole thing were to be looked at as a "law enforcement" operation, the issue of 80 dead to make an arrest should be a huge scandal
Remember Waco? Remember 82 people dead in the Branch Davidian compound? If this *wasn't* an act of war, shouldn't the casualties be looked at in civilian terms?
Remember Waco? Remember 82 people dead in the Branch Davidian compound? If this *wasn't* an act of war, shouldn't the casualties be looked at in civilian terms?
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
Ireland: preserving the last embers of civilization while the empire falls since 430 CE.
Fewer Irish people using ChatGPT than in other countries, OpenAI told Taoiseach
Fewer Irish people using ChatGPT than in other countries, OpenAI told Taoiseach
Micheál Martin was told application had been rolled out to all secondary school students in Estonia ‘to complement the curriculum’
www.irishtimes.com
January 5, 2026 at 6:15 AM
Ireland: preserving the last embers of civilization while the empire falls since 430 CE.
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
this made me laugh im still laughing and will continue to laugh for quite a while
January 5, 2026 at 5:52 AM
this made me laugh im still laughing and will continue to laugh for quite a while
Is Delcy worried about her safety? I'm sure she is, and reasonably. But has she been paying attention to how Trump operates over the last year? Without a doubt.
While standing up to Trump may or may not work to your advantage, cutting a deal always leads to a worse outcome.
While standing up to Trump may or may not work to your advantage, cutting a deal always leads to a worse outcome.
BREAKING: The U.S. won’t govern Venezuela, but will press changes through an oil blockade, Rubio says, after Trump claims of running the country.
Venezuela live updates: Uncertainty and legal questions remain after US captures Maduro
The Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and claims that it will “run” the country are raising stark new questions about the legality of the U.S. actions and its future operations in the South American nation.
bit.ly
January 4, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Is Delcy worried about her safety? I'm sure she is, and reasonably. But has she been paying attention to how Trump operates over the last year? Without a doubt.
While standing up to Trump may or may not work to your advantage, cutting a deal always leads to a worse outcome.
While standing up to Trump may or may not work to your advantage, cutting a deal always leads to a worse outcome.
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
So, the status quo?
BREAKING: The U.S. won’t govern Venezuela, but will press changes through an oil blockade, Rubio says, after Trump claims of running the country.
Venezuela live updates: Uncertainty and legal questions remain after US captures Maduro
The Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and claims that it will “run” the country are raising stark new questions about the legality of the U.S. actions and its future operations in the South American nation.
bit.ly
January 4, 2026 at 5:49 PM
So, the status quo?
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
I just realized what AI guys think when they see something like this:
“Our LLM can ingest a bunch of these images and draw new ones without expensive, time consuming physical setup, saving $millions and accelerating physics discoveries to Infinity Speed. We will have a warp drive in five years.”
“Our LLM can ingest a bunch of these images and draw new ones without expensive, time consuming physical setup, saving $millions and accelerating physics discoveries to Infinity Speed. We will have a warp drive in five years.”
January 4, 2026 at 6:03 PM
I just realized what AI guys think when they see something like this:
“Our LLM can ingest a bunch of these images and draw new ones without expensive, time consuming physical setup, saving $millions and accelerating physics discoveries to Infinity Speed. We will have a warp drive in five years.”
“Our LLM can ingest a bunch of these images and draw new ones without expensive, time consuming physical setup, saving $millions and accelerating physics discoveries to Infinity Speed. We will have a warp drive in five years.”
This thread is brilliant.
Look everyone is going to have to be patient with reporters and pundits who were born after the cultural memory of the second gulf war faded. Don’t know what else to tell you
January 4, 2026 at 3:50 PM
This thread is brilliant.
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
The casualties already coming in. Grandmothers in their apartments….
January 3, 2026 at 7:21 PM
The casualties already coming in. Grandmothers in their apartments….
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
A very important and all too timely point.
January 3, 2026 at 8:59 PM
A very important and all too timely point.
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
I’ve been working full time to stop this war since last summer and the one scenario I feared the most is materializing — Trump is making a play for Venezuela’s oil. I’m not saying an insurgency will definitely form, but Trump’s ploy creates the perfect storm for an absolutely disastrous occupation.🧵
Trump: "We're going to have our very large United States oil companies go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure and start making money for the country. And we are ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so."
January 3, 2026 at 7:25 PM
I’ve been working full time to stop this war since last summer and the one scenario I feared the most is materializing — Trump is making a play for Venezuela’s oil. I’m not saying an insurgency will definitely form, but Trump’s ploy creates the perfect storm for an absolutely disastrous occupation.🧵
The US system was state of the art for the 18th century. For it to last 250 years, held together with spit and baling wire is quite an achievement.
But at some point you probably need a new constitution, a new system. Where you’re not trying to read the intent of people dead for 200 years.
But at some point you probably need a new constitution, a new system. Where you’re not trying to read the intent of people dead for 200 years.
I know this gives folks big feelings & I want to make space for that, but we’re in “pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will” territory here. What we are experiencing now are the inevitable & historical consequences of the system we have. A new one is simply what is required.
January 3, 2026 at 8:19 PM
The US system was state of the art for the 18th century. For it to last 250 years, held together with spit and baling wire is quite an achievement.
But at some point you probably need a new constitution, a new system. Where you’re not trying to read the intent of people dead for 200 years.
But at some point you probably need a new constitution, a new system. Where you’re not trying to read the intent of people dead for 200 years.
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
Two books on Venzuelan civil-military relations I urge journalists to read. John Polga-hecimovich's chapter in the edited volume is an excellent summary of the Chavista era. Trinkunas' book is authoritative on the pre-Chavez era. I also urge folks to read articles on the topic by Deborah Norden.
January 3, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Two books on Venzuelan civil-military relations I urge journalists to read. John Polga-hecimovich's chapter in the edited volume is an excellent summary of the Chavista era. Trinkunas' book is authoritative on the pre-Chavez era. I also urge folks to read articles on the topic by Deborah Norden.
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
The nobel peace prize committee has to wear this
At 7:10 or so the winner of the 2025 Nobel peace prize praises Tr*mp & condones extralegal killings in service of regime change. At 14:15 she tells Biz Forum that Venezuela will be the “energy hub of the Americas,” & the “new global frontier of innovation and wealth creation.”
If you want to know what the plan is, traitorous stooge Machado told the America Business Forum back in November: privatizing oil to the tune of $1.7 trillion. She said the same thing at a Saudi forum. It’s remarkable how little pretense there is. youtu.be/l2J2JtO8R9Q?...
January 3, 2026 at 5:00 PM
The nobel peace prize committee has to wear this
While the relative sizes of the countries are worth considering, terrain matters too. Most of Venezuela isn’t just roadless, it’s also heavily forested and large parts are swampy or mountainous.
And the population is comparable to Iraq’s or Afghanistan’s in 2002-2003.
And the population is comparable to Iraq’s or Afghanistan’s in 2002-2003.
CNN just pointed it out, but since no one has posted it yet, I'll be that guy. Here's today's round of Kill Your Inner Mercator: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Venezuela in a way your brain can handle
January 3, 2026 at 7:07 PM
While the relative sizes of the countries are worth considering, terrain matters too. Most of Venezuela isn’t just roadless, it’s also heavily forested and large parts are swampy or mountainous.
And the population is comparable to Iraq’s or Afghanistan’s in 2002-2003.
And the population is comparable to Iraq’s or Afghanistan’s in 2002-2003.
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
Saving this screenshot from Threads as a new reaction image
January 3, 2026 at 4:41 PM
Saving this screenshot from Threads as a new reaction image
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
Never let blatant fascism distract you from the real enemy: People who are against fascism.
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
January 3, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Never let blatant fascism distract you from the real enemy: People who are against fascism.
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
Marco Rubio is reportedly saying Maduro will stand trial in US courts.
Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.
Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.
January 3, 2026 at 10:52 AM
Marco Rubio is reportedly saying Maduro will stand trial in US courts.
Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.
Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.
Reposted by Ian Ramjohn
A foreign president can be held liable under US law, but an American president cannot. Weird.
January 3, 2026 at 3:56 PM
A foreign president can be held liable under US law, but an American president cannot. Weird.