Michelle
@mbranco.bsky.social
Canadian.
Still under the covers and not sure I’m ever coming out, but if I do follow for breastfeeding, infant feeding policy and humanitarian response with a bit of public health and comms mixed in.
Still under the covers and not sure I’m ever coming out, but if I do follow for breastfeeding, infant feeding policy and humanitarian response with a bit of public health and comms mixed in.
Lest we believe that the stupidest timeline does not continue to play out here at home…
In case you’re wondering:
The key people behind tomorrow’s planned nationwide Ostrich Convoy include an aging Burning Man attendee who drives a psychedelic school bus called the “Church of Bubbles” and a Dutch-born Gen Z social media marketer who imports maple syrup to Utrecht, Netherlands
The key people behind tomorrow’s planned nationwide Ostrich Convoy include an aging Burning Man attendee who drives a psychedelic school bus called the “Church of Bubbles” and a Dutch-born Gen Z social media marketer who imports maple syrup to Utrecht, Netherlands
Leaders of Canada’s Newest Convoy Worry Police Are Trying to Sabotage a Nationwide Protest Avenging a Flock of Dead Ostriches
Convoy organizers say they are at ‘war’ with the federal government, but insist they will remain ‘peaceful’
pressprogress.ca
November 22, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Lest we believe that the stupidest timeline does not continue to play out here at home…
Reposted by Michelle
ISD is proud to release the Pravda Network Spotter, a browser extension designed to detect sites linked to a Russia-aligned information operation. This extension warns users when they come across one of the pages by turning the page red, though they can still interact w/ it & switch off the alert.
Link by link: Hundreds of webpages cite pro-Russia Pravda network
ISD has built a free browser extension to help individuals recognise Pravda network sites, which hundreds of media outlets still treat as credible.
www.isdglobal.org
November 19, 2025 at 11:25 AM
ISD is proud to release the Pravda Network Spotter, a browser extension designed to detect sites linked to a Russia-aligned information operation. This extension warns users when they come across one of the pages by turning the page red, though they can still interact w/ it & switch off the alert.
Reposted by Michelle
The Trump administration is bringing back a policy that could penalize migrants for using public benefits if they're seeking a green card or visa. n.pr/4phpHLw
Trump administration rule could further penalize immigrants for using benefits
The Trump administration is bringing back a policy that could penalize migrants for using public benefits if they're seeking a green card or visa.
n.pr
November 18, 2025 at 9:48 PM
The Trump administration is bringing back a policy that could penalize migrants for using public benefits if they're seeking a green card or visa. n.pr/4phpHLw
Reposted by Michelle
What a photograph.
“Nearly two dozen arrested as faith leaders protested outside a federal immigration facility near Chicago…”
Arrested large amounts of peaceful clergy face first on pavement is a pretty good sign you’re not the good guys in the story. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
“Nearly two dozen arrested as faith leaders protested outside a federal immigration facility near Chicago…”
Arrested large amounts of peaceful clergy face first on pavement is a pretty good sign you’re not the good guys in the story. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
November 15, 2025 at 1:51 PM
What a photograph.
“Nearly two dozen arrested as faith leaders protested outside a federal immigration facility near Chicago…”
Arrested large amounts of peaceful clergy face first on pavement is a pretty good sign you’re not the good guys in the story. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
“Nearly two dozen arrested as faith leaders protested outside a federal immigration facility near Chicago…”
Arrested large amounts of peaceful clergy face first on pavement is a pretty good sign you’re not the good guys in the story. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
Reposted by Michelle
After some finagling to get the assembly procedure just right we are finally releasing the aluminum bodied POLARIS air purifier, made-in-Canada and based on the open-source design by Zack Deis.
1/3
#airpurifier #indoorairquality #covidisairborne
1/3
#airpurifier #indoorairquality #covidisairborne
November 11, 2025 at 12:05 AM
After some finagling to get the assembly procedure just right we are finally releasing the aluminum bodied POLARIS air purifier, made-in-Canada and based on the open-source design by Zack Deis.
1/3
#airpurifier #indoorairquality #covidisairborne
1/3
#airpurifier #indoorairquality #covidisairborne
Reposted by Michelle
“These rich, powerful old men are like 11-year-old boys talking about the crush that they have, and they're asking Jeffrey Epstein for advice about this.”
@timmiller.bsky.social and Alex Wagner discuss how the Epstein emails reveal how sex, power, and insecurity warped the elite.
@timmiller.bsky.social and Alex Wagner discuss how the Epstein emails reveal how sex, power, and insecurity warped the elite.
November 14, 2025 at 12:15 AM
“These rich, powerful old men are like 11-year-old boys talking about the crush that they have, and they're asking Jeffrey Epstein for advice about this.”
@timmiller.bsky.social and Alex Wagner discuss how the Epstein emails reveal how sex, power, and insecurity warped the elite.
@timmiller.bsky.social and Alex Wagner discuss how the Epstein emails reveal how sex, power, and insecurity warped the elite.
I feel like it should be obvious that he should not be in public, much less public office. And yet.
November 14, 2025 at 12:02 AM
I feel like it should be obvious that he should not be in public, much less public office. And yet.
Reposted by Michelle
you could fact check this — there aren’t 30 million illegal immigrants and there is no evidence that the presence of an immigrant in say houston has any impact on housing in madison, wisconsin — or you could note straightforwardly that this is just nazi rhetoric
JD Vance: "A lot of young people are saying housing is way too expensive. Why is that? Because we flooded the country with 30 million illegal immigrants who were taking houses that ought by right go to American citizens."
November 13, 2025 at 10:12 PM
you could fact check this — there aren’t 30 million illegal immigrants and there is no evidence that the presence of an immigrant in say houston has any impact on housing in madison, wisconsin — or you could note straightforwardly that this is just nazi rhetoric
The most shocking thing in all of it is how completely banal and unsophisticated these people all are. They’re not even smart, just completely devoid of character and very sure they’d never be found out.
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
The 9 most shocking revelations in the Epstein docs
The emails, released by the House Oversight Committee, include exchanges with dozens of prominent individuals spanning over a decade.
www.politico.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:53 PM
The most shocking thing in all of it is how completely banal and unsophisticated these people all are. They’re not even smart, just completely devoid of character and very sure they’d never be found out.
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Reposted by Michelle
billionaire puts automatic pedophile machine in a car, wants a trillion dollars
Grok asks a 12 year old for nudes after asking Grok its favorite soccer player.
When CBC requested comment, xAIs said “Legacy Media Lies.”
When CBC requested comment, xAIs said “Legacy Media Lies.”
November 7, 2025 at 7:14 PM
billionaire puts automatic pedophile machine in a car, wants a trillion dollars
Reposted by Michelle
The man who ended USAID is the world's first trillionaire
November 7, 2025 at 2:14 AM
The man who ended USAID is the world's first trillionaire
Reposted by Michelle
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
Reposted by Michelle
Election day feels like a good day for this one by Andrea Gibson. May their words live forever now that they are gone.
From You Better Be Lightning: bit.ly/gibsonlightning
#poem #booksky #writing
From You Better Be Lightning: bit.ly/gibsonlightning
#poem #booksky #writing
November 4, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Election day feels like a good day for this one by Andrea Gibson. May their words live forever now that they are gone.
From You Better Be Lightning: bit.ly/gibsonlightning
#poem #booksky #writing
From You Better Be Lightning: bit.ly/gibsonlightning
#poem #booksky #writing
Reposted by Michelle
“I’m sure you’re aware of our connections with the Trump Administration,” the North Carolina Republican Party's communications director wrote in an email response to us. “I would strongly suggest dropping this story.”
We didn't. Read the story that he wanted dropped:
We didn't. Read the story that he wanted dropped:
“Biblical Justice, Equal Justice, for All”: How North Carolina’s Chief Justice Transformed His State and America
Paul Newby, a born-again Christian, has turned his perch atop North Carolina’s Supreme Court into an instrument of political power. Over two decades, he’s driven changes that have reverberated well be...
www.propublica.org
November 2, 2025 at 3:00 AM
“I’m sure you’re aware of our connections with the Trump Administration,” the North Carolina Republican Party's communications director wrote in an email response to us. “I would strongly suggest dropping this story.”
We didn't. Read the story that he wanted dropped:
We didn't. Read the story that he wanted dropped:
Reposted by Michelle
On Monday, former Bellingcat journalist Tristan Lee and open-source researcher Jennefer Harper will launch Decoherence Media, a new digital publication covering “authoritarian and anti-democratic movements, with a particular focus on the far-right.”
Data journalists start news site to track extremist movements
Decoherence Media is a new digital publication covering “authoritarian and anti-democratic movements, with a particular focus on the far-right,” co-founder Tristan Lee told Semafor.
www.semafor.com
October 27, 2025 at 1:17 PM
On Monday, former Bellingcat journalist Tristan Lee and open-source researcher Jennefer Harper will launch Decoherence Media, a new digital publication covering “authoritarian and anti-democratic movements, with a particular focus on the far-right.”
Reposted by Michelle
This is the Canadian right-wing group the US Ambassador just gave a keynote address to:
October 28, 2025 at 3:15 AM
This is the Canadian right-wing group the US Ambassador just gave a keynote address to:
Reposted by Michelle
this is something that individual members of Congress could do tomorrow. The government is shut down so they could use their district offices. I suggested in January that they turn those offices into full on community centers where people could find each other re: mutual aid etc...
If I were running the DNC, there would be Democratic Party sponsored food relief banks across the country right now that specifically welcomed anyone regardless of party affiliation.
Along with the food, there could be voter registration and links to runforsomething.net
Along with the food, there could be voter registration and links to runforsomething.net
October 27, 2025 at 12:01 AM
this is something that individual members of Congress could do tomorrow. The government is shut down so they could use their district offices. I suggested in January that they turn those offices into full on community centers where people could find each other re: mutual aid etc...
Reposted by Michelle
More than 1800 detainees are missing after the closure of Alligator Alcatraz. Their families and lawyers can’t find them and they’ve vanished from the ICE database. Feels like this should be a much bigger story www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
Hundreds of Alligator Alcatraz detainees drop off the grid after leaving site
As of the end of August, the whereabouts of two-thirds of more than 1,800 men detained at Alligator Alcatraz during the month of July could not be determined by the Miami Herald.
www.miamiherald.com
September 23, 2025 at 5:39 PM
More than 1800 detainees are missing after the closure of Alligator Alcatraz. Their families and lawyers can’t find them and they’ve vanished from the ICE database. Feels like this should be a much bigger story www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
It feels like maybe a good moment for some people to think about what’s going to be filed away and what the files on collaborators will say about them.
youtu.be/zNcZAKsSG7M
youtu.be/zNcZAKsSG7M
Netherlands' Nazi collaboration files spark privacy debate | Focus on Europe
YouTube video by DW News
youtu.be
October 24, 2025 at 11:21 PM
It feels like maybe a good moment for some people to think about what’s going to be filed away and what the files on collaborators will say about them.
youtu.be/zNcZAKsSG7M
youtu.be/zNcZAKsSG7M
Reposted by Michelle
The AI industry wants us to believe AI superintelligence is the real threat from generative AI.
But that narrative was crafted to distract from the many ways genAI is being used to tear our societies apart, as we saw this week when a deepfake video rocked the Irish election. It must be reined in.
But that narrative was crafted to distract from the many ways genAI is being used to tear our societies apart, as we saw this week when a deepfake video rocked the Irish election. It must be reined in.
Generative AI is a societal disaster
Governments are deluding themselves into believing investment justifies allowing AI to upend society
disconnect.blog
October 24, 2025 at 10:12 AM
The AI industry wants us to believe AI superintelligence is the real threat from generative AI.
But that narrative was crafted to distract from the many ways genAI is being used to tear our societies apart, as we saw this week when a deepfake video rocked the Irish election. It must be reined in.
But that narrative was crafted to distract from the many ways genAI is being used to tear our societies apart, as we saw this week when a deepfake video rocked the Irish election. It must be reined in.
Also, now the people of Argentina feel a foreign power is taking over their democracy, which makes it less and less likely that the gamble on Milei pays off.
We could have just funded USAID instead of bailing out Trump's buddy in Argentina and undercutting American beef ranchers www.thebulwark.com/p/dont-cry-f...
October 23, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Also, now the people of Argentina feel a foreign power is taking over their democracy, which makes it less and less likely that the gamble on Milei pays off.
Oh dear.
NDP leadership candidate Tony McQuail is scrumming with reporters and has unfurled a banner displaying the “economic cake chart”
October 23, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Oh dear.
So despicable. So so stupid
According to court records, millions of dollars have come in to Unifyd from sales and promotion of a device called the “Light System," whose supporters claim it can cure nearly every ailment, from tumors to autism. www.thebulwark.com/p/bizarre-he...
How a Bizarre Healing-TV-Screen Tycoon Is Funding MAGA Media
I had to try it out for myself.
www.thebulwark.com
October 22, 2025 at 2:05 AM
So despicable. So so stupid
Reposted by Michelle
At Yonge & Dundas Jays fans are obeying the pedestrian scramble, as is the custom & returning to sidewalk each light cycle.
October 21, 2025 at 4:00 AM
At Yonge & Dundas Jays fans are obeying the pedestrian scramble, as is the custom & returning to sidewalk each light cycle.