Kristine Smith
@ksmithsf.bsky.social
Spec fic writer (the Jani Kilian SF series and more). Joiner of coffee clubs. She/ her. BJ jackal. Book View Café member. https://www.kristine-smith.com
Reposted by Kristine Smith
NEW: We’ve uncovered the first known example of taxpayer money flowing from DHS to businesses controlled by Kristi Noem’s allies and friends.
It’s part of a money trail that’s been shrouded in secrecy—and involves $220 million, a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill.
It’s part of a money trail that’s been shrouded in secrecy—and involves $220 million, a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill.
November 14, 2025 at 12:20 PM
NEW: We’ve uncovered the first known example of taxpayer money flowing from DHS to businesses controlled by Kristi Noem’s allies and friends.
It’s part of a money trail that’s been shrouded in secrecy—and involves $220 million, a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill.
It’s part of a money trail that’s been shrouded in secrecy—and involves $220 million, a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill.
Reposted by Kristine Smith
Reposted by Kristine Smith
Great summary for how to navigate imtoday's world of information overload. Turning off or limiting nearly all my inputs, resisting the urge to shame and hate read, and refusing to argue online have been especially transformative for me. All we can control is our own behavior. But those actions stack
November 15, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Great summary for how to navigate imtoday's world of information overload. Turning off or limiting nearly all my inputs, resisting the urge to shame and hate read, and refusing to argue online have been especially transformative for me. All we can control is our own behavior. But those actions stack
Reposted by Kristine Smith
steam is apparently allowing "this game had AI in it that it didn't disclose" as a valid return statement, so if you or anyone you know actually paid $70 for slop, get that money back
Insulting to the players, insulting to the IP, insulting to the medium, the developers. And the craft itself. Fuck you executives who pushed this garbage.
frvr.com/blog/call-of...
frvr.com/blog/call-of...
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is littered with AI art slop, because your $70 means nothing anymore
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is littered with AI generated artwork which makes the $70 feel like a complete rip-off.
frvr.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:10 AM
steam is apparently allowing "this game had AI in it that it didn't disclose" as a valid return statement, so if you or anyone you know actually paid $70 for slop, get that money back
Reposted by Kristine Smith
"300 agents stormed the building, rappelled from a helicopter, knocked down doors and hurled flash-bang grenades. Agents ziptied and detained many US citizens for hours..."
Prosecutors have not filed a *single* criminal charge against anyone arrested that night:
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Prosecutors have not filed a *single* criminal charge against anyone arrested that night:
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 15, 2025 at 1:39 AM
"300 agents stormed the building, rappelled from a helicopter, knocked down doors and hurled flash-bang grenades. Agents ziptied and detained many US citizens for hours..."
Prosecutors have not filed a *single* criminal charge against anyone arrested that night:
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Prosecutors have not filed a *single* criminal charge against anyone arrested that night:
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Reposted by Kristine Smith
THEN YOU PURCHASE THEM AND DO NOT USE THE PROPERTY OF OTHERS
Open AI loses copyright case in Germany.
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Blow for OpenAI in Germany as court rules song lyrics used illegally
A German court ruled on Tuesday that OpenAI violated copyright on nine popular songs in a lawsuit that marked another attempt to prevent the free use of artists' content online. The Munich Regional Co...
www.yahoo.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:23 PM
THEN YOU PURCHASE THEM AND DO NOT USE THE PROPERTY OF OTHERS
Reposted by Kristine Smith
imo this kind of rhetorical slippage--describing 15 as "barely legal" when the legal age of consent is in fact 18--is a little bit of a freudian slip about where they would *prefer* the age of consent to be. also don't forget that a 15yo CAN legally *marry* an adult in most of the US, with >
Also: 15 is not "barely legal [adult]."
It is actually legally a child.
It is actually legally a child.
November 14, 2025 at 8:47 PM
imo this kind of rhetorical slippage--describing 15 as "barely legal" when the legal age of consent is in fact 18--is a little bit of a freudian slip about where they would *prefer* the age of consent to be. also don't forget that a 15yo CAN legally *marry* an adult in most of the US, with >
Reposted by Kristine Smith
What's not to love about an axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)?
They've got feathery gills, tiny amphibian bodies & happy little faces 😀.
But did you know they're masters of regeneration? Let's talk about why *being cute* and *growing back severed limbs* are, in fact, related.
They've got feathery gills, tiny amphibian bodies & happy little faces 😀.
But did you know they're masters of regeneration? Let's talk about why *being cute* and *growing back severed limbs* are, in fact, related.
a small axolotl is walking on a piece of paper .
Alt: a small pink axolotl is smiling at the camera and forcing water over feathery gills in a way that looks like they're smiling with their whole body.
media.tenor.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:49 PM
What's not to love about an axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)?
They've got feathery gills, tiny amphibian bodies & happy little faces 😀.
But did you know they're masters of regeneration? Let's talk about why *being cute* and *growing back severed limbs* are, in fact, related.
They've got feathery gills, tiny amphibian bodies & happy little faces 😀.
But did you know they're masters of regeneration? Let's talk about why *being cute* and *growing back severed limbs* are, in fact, related.
Reposted by Kristine Smith
For the record: this would pretty much ends American field work in the geosciences in China.
That includes:
-the world's largest plateau
-the world's best ice age land sedimentary archive
-number of major fault systems
That includes:
-the world's largest plateau
-the world's best ice age land sedimentary archive
-number of major fault systems
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 1:49 PM
For the record: this would pretty much ends American field work in the geosciences in China.
That includes:
-the world's largest plateau
-the world's best ice age land sedimentary archive
-number of major fault systems
That includes:
-the world's largest plateau
-the world's best ice age land sedimentary archive
-number of major fault systems
Reposted by Kristine Smith
A lot of people think of moderators as eldritch entities that are bound to the exact words of the spell and if you don't speak the exact words, you cannot be moderated! Whereas in reality it's a bunch of very tired and overworked people going "are you fucking kidding me with this shit"
November 12, 2025 at 9:44 PM
A lot of people think of moderators as eldritch entities that are bound to the exact words of the spell and if you don't speak the exact words, you cannot be moderated! Whereas in reality it's a bunch of very tired and overworked people going "are you fucking kidding me with this shit"
Reposted by Kristine Smith
Two things can be simultaneously true:
- It's worse for a middle-aged man to be into 5-years-olds than 15-year-olds
- It's still pretty damn wrong for a middle-aged man to be into 15-year-olds!
- It's worse for a middle-aged man to be into 5-years-olds than 15-year-olds
- It's still pretty damn wrong for a middle-aged man to be into 15-year-olds!
Megyn Kelly: "I know somebody very close to this case…Jeffrey Epstein, in this person's view, was not a pedophile…He was into the barely legal type, like he liked 15 year old girls…He wasn't into like 8 year olds…There's a difference between a 15 year old and a 5 year old."
November 13, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Two things can be simultaneously true:
- It's worse for a middle-aged man to be into 5-years-olds than 15-year-olds
- It's still pretty damn wrong for a middle-aged man to be into 15-year-olds!
- It's worse for a middle-aged man to be into 5-years-olds than 15-year-olds
- It's still pretty damn wrong for a middle-aged man to be into 15-year-olds!
Reposted by Kristine Smith
Now that the book's been out for over a month, I'm re-posting this great review by @hawkwinglb.bsky.social of Queen Demon, for people who have had time to read the book and like really deep smart dives: locusmag.com/review/queen...
Queen Demon by Martha Wells: Review by Liz Bourke
Queen Demon, Martha Wells (Tor 978-1-250-82691-6, $28.99, 400pp, hc) October 2025. Cover by Cynthia Sheppard. I’ve loved Martha Wells’s fantasy novels ever since I picked up The Element of Fire. Qu…
locusmag.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Now that the book's been out for over a month, I'm re-posting this great review by @hawkwinglb.bsky.social of Queen Demon, for people who have had time to read the book and like really deep smart dives: locusmag.com/review/queen...
If it isn’t, it should be.
What's from Chicago, hates Illinois Nazis, and is holy as fuck?
It's the Pope in 1982.
It's the Pope in 1982.
November 13, 2025 at 6:11 PM
If it isn’t, it should be.
Reposted by Kristine Smith
NYT: “.. Through that structure, Mr. Bessent avoided paying roughly $910,000 in Medicare taxes on money he made running his hedge fund in 2021, 2022 and 2023 ..”
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
November 13, 2025 at 2:21 PM
NYT: “.. Through that structure, Mr. Bessent avoided paying roughly $910,000 in Medicare taxes on money he made running his hedge fund in 2021, 2022 and 2023 ..”
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
Reposted by Kristine Smith
RE starbucks picket line--the relevant detail is "picket line, do not cross." Pass that along. Proclaiming that you are in no danger of doing so because you are too aesthetically pure to let Starbucks coffee pass your lips is...unhelpful and does not give the impression you perhaps imagine it does.
November 13, 2025 at 1:56 PM
RE starbucks picket line--the relevant detail is "picket line, do not cross." Pass that along. Proclaiming that you are in no danger of doing so because you are too aesthetically pure to let Starbucks coffee pass your lips is...unhelpful and does not give the impression you perhaps imagine it does.
Reposted by Kristine Smith
in online corners like these I think people largely recognize how credulous, unprincipled opposition to "wokeness" functioned as lightly papered over defenses of impunity, but it's one of those drums people should probably start beating for normies
Something absolutely perfect about Larry Summers riffing about the scourge of woke cancel culture being unfair to predatory men in a friendly email to his pal JEFFREY EPSTEIN.
November 13, 2025 at 2:13 PM
in online corners like these I think people largely recognize how credulous, unprincipled opposition to "wokeness" functioned as lightly papered over defenses of impunity, but it's one of those drums people should probably start beating for normies
Reposted by Kristine Smith
For folks (and journalists) who want to search the Oversight Committee email texts, I made a database for searching the 20k text files:
splendorous-chaja-f79791.netlify.app
splendorous-chaja-f79791.netlify.app
Epstein Document Search
splendorous-chaja-f79791.netlify.app
November 13, 2025 at 1:12 AM
For folks (and journalists) who want to search the Oversight Committee email texts, I made a database for searching the 20k text files:
splendorous-chaja-f79791.netlify.app
splendorous-chaja-f79791.netlify.app
Reposted by Kristine Smith
Something absolutely perfect about Larry Summers riffing about the scourge of woke cancel culture being unfair to predatory men in a friendly email to his pal JEFFREY EPSTEIN.
November 13, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Something absolutely perfect about Larry Summers riffing about the scourge of woke cancel culture being unfair to predatory men in a friendly email to his pal JEFFREY EPSTEIN.
Wow.
Heads up if you've submitted/are considering submitting to F&SF, Asimov's, or Analog.
Heads up if you've submitted/are considering submitting to F&SF, Asimov's, or Analog.
On August 12, 1971, 16-year-old me mailed the first story I ever wrote off on its first submission to my dream market, F&SF. My tale was quickly rejected. On July 17th, 2025, I finally sold a story to that magazine. Here's why I felt I had to withdraw that story. www.scottedelman.com/wordpress/20...
November 12, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Wow.
Heads up if you've submitted/are considering submitting to F&SF, Asimov's, or Analog.
Heads up if you've submitted/are considering submitting to F&SF, Asimov's, or Analog.
Reposted by Kristine Smith
been doing some light reading about the aftermath of the korean dictatorship and I think it's really important that we repeat this to ourselves, to our friends, to our neighbors, to our politicians
Nuremburg trials is the moderate position
He said that the agents would throw food at them to eat. The agents threatened to withhold food for a week and to beat him up if he didn't sign deportation papers. He said he saw others refuse and get beaten/receive no food. He signed because he was afraid.
November 9, 2025 at 6:14 PM
been doing some light reading about the aftermath of the korean dictatorship and I think it's really important that we repeat this to ourselves, to our friends, to our neighbors, to our politicians
Reposted by Kristine Smith
I've noticed that people yearning for more hierarchy never envision themselves a place at the bottom of that hierarchy
November 9, 2025 at 4:20 PM
I've noticed that people yearning for more hierarchy never envision themselves a place at the bottom of that hierarchy
Reposted by Kristine Smith
Loving today's news that the mysterious "fedora man" outside the Louvre heist was actually a 15-year-old museum visitor who dresses like a 1940s French detective all the time, just because. apnews.com/article/louv...
Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo
Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux has become an internet sensation after an Associated Press photo captured him outside the Louvre on the day of a crown jewels heist.
apnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Loving today's news that the mysterious "fedora man" outside the Louvre heist was actually a 15-year-old museum visitor who dresses like a 1940s French detective all the time, just because. apnews.com/article/louv...
Reposted by Kristine Smith
This year we have sold 31% of the advent calendars that we sold last year 😓
The art is so pretty and colorful 🥺
The facts are so good 🥺
Eels are so cool 🥺
Get an eel facts advent calendar at EelFacts.net
The art is so pretty and colorful 🥺
The facts are so good 🥺
Eels are so cool 🥺
Get an eel facts advent calendar at EelFacts.net
November 9, 2025 at 2:24 PM
This year we have sold 31% of the advent calendars that we sold last year 😓
The art is so pretty and colorful 🥺
The facts are so good 🥺
Eels are so cool 🥺
Get an eel facts advent calendar at EelFacts.net
The art is so pretty and colorful 🥺
The facts are so good 🥺
Eels are so cool 🥺
Get an eel facts advent calendar at EelFacts.net
Reposted by Kristine Smith
So the oldest person ever to become president keeps falling asleep in his office during public events and there’s no big public discussion on how this is a coverup or how republicans are lying to us about how this government is running?
November 9, 2025 at 1:41 PM
So the oldest person ever to become president keeps falling asleep in his office during public events and there’s no big public discussion on how this is a coverup or how republicans are lying to us about how this government is running?