Melek Ortabasi
@mortabasi.bsky.social
Mother, scholar, voter. Unsinkable. Expertise in World lit, Japanese lit, children’s lit, translation studies, and general saltiness. Contributor to @roganslist.bsky.social since 2017 🤯
Pinned
Melek Ortabasi
@mortabasi.bsky.social
· Dec 12
Mentoring in Meiji: Tsubouchi Shôyô and Translations of Children’s Literature
YouTube video by Trinity Centre for Literary & Cultural Translation
www.youtube.com
I'm sure everyone is dying to watch my recent and scintillating presentation on Tsubouchi Shōyō. Don't walk, RUN to this link, kindly posted by the folks at @tcddublin.bsky.social. Lots of other talks posted there too! #translation #kidlit
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4idw...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4idw...
View from our hotel room in Victoria 🌃
February 19, 2026 at 3:58 AM
View from our hotel room in Victoria 🌃
Reposted by Melek Ortabasi
New — This was projected on the US Institute of Peace building this evening ahead of the first meeting tomorrow of Trump’s farcically-named “Board of Peace.”
Photo taken by person who was over there tonight. Unclear who’s behind the projection.
Photo taken by person who was over there tonight. Unclear who’s behind the projection.
February 19, 2026 at 3:48 AM
New — This was projected on the US Institute of Peace building this evening ahead of the first meeting tomorrow of Trump’s farcically-named “Board of Peace.”
Photo taken by person who was over there tonight. Unclear who’s behind the projection.
Photo taken by person who was over there tonight. Unclear who’s behind the projection.
Reposted by Melek Ortabasi
It would’ve cost about $30 billion to pay for subsidies so we could afford to get health insurance
Then Trump would’ve had $8 billion left to help lower the cost of food
Instead, he’s paying for ICE to build concentration camps
While Americans are uninsured and broke
Trump
Affordability
Chaos
Then Trump would’ve had $8 billion left to help lower the cost of food
Instead, he’s paying for ICE to build concentration camps
While Americans are uninsured and broke
Trump
Affordability
Chaos
February 18, 2026 at 9:15 PM
It would’ve cost about $30 billion to pay for subsidies so we could afford to get health insurance
Then Trump would’ve had $8 billion left to help lower the cost of food
Instead, he’s paying for ICE to build concentration camps
While Americans are uninsured and broke
Trump
Affordability
Chaos
Then Trump would’ve had $8 billion left to help lower the cost of food
Instead, he’s paying for ICE to build concentration camps
While Americans are uninsured and broke
Trump
Affordability
Chaos
Reposted by Melek Ortabasi
Legend
For months, a dedicated volunteer in Davis has been doggedly talking to her neighbors, going to farmer's markets, parades and all sorts of events with a clipboard and a pen. Late last night, Davis City Council approved the resolution...🧵 #TeslaTakedown
davisvanguard.org/2026/02/davi...
davisvanguard.org/2026/02/davi...
Davis City Council to Consider Banning Contracts with Elon Musk Firms - Davis Vanguard
The Davis City Council will consider a resolution to end the city's engagement with companies owned or controlled by Elon Musk and encourage CalPERS to divest from those firms.
davisvanguard.org
February 18, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Legend
Reposted by Melek Ortabasi
This is what's known as "poisoning".
Once you know how systems like this work, it is surprisingly easy to "trick" them - but doesn't even rise to the level of a trick because LLM/GPT systems don't know what's true or false.
(Example, cache poisoning)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cache_p...
Once you know how systems like this work, it is surprisingly easy to "trick" them - but doesn't even rise to the level of a trick because LLM/GPT systems don't know what's true or false.
(Example, cache poisoning)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cache_p...
February 18, 2026 at 8:21 PM
This is what's known as "poisoning".
Once you know how systems like this work, it is surprisingly easy to "trick" them - but doesn't even rise to the level of a trick because LLM/GPT systems don't know what's true or false.
(Example, cache poisoning)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cache_p...
Once you know how systems like this work, it is surprisingly easy to "trick" them - but doesn't even rise to the level of a trick because LLM/GPT systems don't know what's true or false.
(Example, cache poisoning)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cache_p...
So many things happening for #SFU #MultilingualWeek next week, but here's a student-led event for everyone to check out:-)
@sfufass.bsky.social
@sfufass.bsky.social
February 18, 2026 at 8:17 PM
So many things happening for #SFU #MultilingualWeek next week, but here's a student-led event for everyone to check out:-)
@sfufass.bsky.social
@sfufass.bsky.social
Reposted by Melek Ortabasi
Melissa Johnson is speaking out against bullying and her 11-year-old son’s school in Steinbach, Manitoba after she learned he’s been getting beaten and bullied for being Indigenous by some of his classmates.
Mother of 11-year-old speaks out after son got beaten at school for being Indigenous | APTN News
YouTube video by APTN News
youtu.be
February 18, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Melissa Johnson is speaking out against bullying and her 11-year-old son’s school in Steinbach, Manitoba after she learned he’s been getting beaten and bullied for being Indigenous by some of his classmates.
Reposted by Melek Ortabasi
The new Dem-backed group in CO proposing a ballot measure to allow mid-decade redistricting has also released a map that voters would get to approve. It creates seven districts won by Harris and just one by Trump (#CO04).
DRA: davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap...
DRA: davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap...
February 18, 2026 at 6:26 PM
The new Dem-backed group in CO proposing a ballot measure to allow mid-decade redistricting has also released a map that voters would get to approve. It creates seven districts won by Harris and just one by Trump (#CO04).
DRA: davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap...
DRA: davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap...
I've got a very promising, multifaceted iron I've just put in the fire, and I'm not gonna lie, it's going to be what keeps me going at least for the next year and a half
February 18, 2026 at 7:57 PM
I've got a very promising, multifaceted iron I've just put in the fire, and I'm not gonna lie, it's going to be what keeps me going at least for the next year and a half
Reposted by Melek Ortabasi
Someone doused Renee Good’s Minneapolis memorial and a nearby pile of wood with gasoline and started a fire at about 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Renee Good memorial site in south Minneapolis doused in gasoline
Damage was minimal but police are investigating.
bit.ly
February 18, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Reposted by Melek Ortabasi
🚨 ICE OUT OF IRVINE 🚨
🗓️ Friday, 2/20 from 11am-1pm
📍 2020 Main St. Irvine, CA 92614.
☎️ 📧 Call and email the MGR offices with our demand: MGR Real Estate, terminate your lease with DHS/ICE/OPLA or any immigration-related agencies. Phone: 909-581-6600 & 949-287-5200. Email: mgr@mgrmgmt.com.
🗓️ Friday, 2/20 from 11am-1pm
📍 2020 Main St. Irvine, CA 92614.
☎️ 📧 Call and email the MGR offices with our demand: MGR Real Estate, terminate your lease with DHS/ICE/OPLA or any immigration-related agencies. Phone: 909-581-6600 & 949-287-5200. Email: mgr@mgrmgmt.com.
February 18, 2026 at 6:01 PM
🚨 ICE OUT OF IRVINE 🚨
🗓️ Friday, 2/20 from 11am-1pm
📍 2020 Main St. Irvine, CA 92614.
☎️ 📧 Call and email the MGR offices with our demand: MGR Real Estate, terminate your lease with DHS/ICE/OPLA or any immigration-related agencies. Phone: 909-581-6600 & 949-287-5200. Email: mgr@mgrmgmt.com.
🗓️ Friday, 2/20 from 11am-1pm
📍 2020 Main St. Irvine, CA 92614.
☎️ 📧 Call and email the MGR offices with our demand: MGR Real Estate, terminate your lease with DHS/ICE/OPLA or any immigration-related agencies. Phone: 909-581-6600 & 949-287-5200. Email: mgr@mgrmgmt.com.
Contact your Senators to vote NO on the so-called SAVE Act. I did!
The SAVE Act would disenfranchise millions of Americans of all ages and races, but younger voters and voters of color would suffer disproportionately. Tell Congress to reject this anti-voter bill: bit.ly/4tmVIor
February 18, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Contact your Senators to vote NO on the so-called SAVE Act. I did!
Reposted by Melek Ortabasi
Bloomberg says we've spent $3B on Trump's invasion of Venezuela.
Which is 6X more than the cancer, Alzheimer, diabetes, and heart disease cures they've cut to pay for it.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Which is 6X more than the cancer, Alzheimer, diabetes, and heart disease cures they've cut to pay for it.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Trump's Caribbean Surge Nears $3 Billion Price Tag So Far
The operations around Venezuela that eventually led to the capture of its president pulled in nearly a fifth of the US Navy’s surface fleet at a cost of more than $20 million a day.
www.bloomberg.com
February 17, 2026 at 11:26 PM
Bloomberg says we've spent $3B on Trump's invasion of Venezuela.
Which is 6X more than the cancer, Alzheimer, diabetes, and heart disease cures they've cut to pay for it.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Which is 6X more than the cancer, Alzheimer, diabetes, and heart disease cures they've cut to pay for it.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Melek Ortabasi
Excited that Palantir got protested out of Denver? That didn’t happen by accident. It happened b/c people organized
If you want to be part of the next fight, join DSA Denver, one of the groups that helped lead the protests and organizing!
A better society is possible.
denverdsa.org/join
If you want to be part of the next fight, join DSA Denver, one of the groups that helped lead the protests and organizing!
A better society is possible.
denverdsa.org/join
February 18, 2026 at 3:34 AM
Excited that Palantir got protested out of Denver? That didn’t happen by accident. It happened b/c people organized
If you want to be part of the next fight, join DSA Denver, one of the groups that helped lead the protests and organizing!
A better society is possible.
denverdsa.org/join
If you want to be part of the next fight, join DSA Denver, one of the groups that helped lead the protests and organizing!
A better society is possible.
denverdsa.org/join
Reposted by Melek Ortabasi
This was a great conversation - @matthew.flux.community really gets it. Please take a look!
Financially struggling Americans have no interest in participating in a political system that’s failed them
Sociologist @daniellaurison.bsky.social discusses new research on why many low-income don't vote
Sociologist @daniellaurison.bsky.social discusses new research on why many low-income don't vote
Financially struggling Americans have no interest in participating in a political system that’s failed them
Sociologist Daniel Laurison discusses new research on low-income non-voters
plus.flux.community
February 18, 2026 at 12:24 AM
This was a great conversation - @matthew.flux.community really gets it. Please take a look!
Reposted by Melek Ortabasi
Congratulations to Professor Peter Hall, whose book, "Gateways to Trade", was just published yesterday. He co-wrote the text with Dorval Brunelle, Claudia De Fuentes, and Jean Michel Montsion.
Learn more: www.ubcpress.ca/gateways-to-...
#sfuurb @sfufass.bsky.social
Learn more: www.ubcpress.ca/gateways-to-...
#sfuurb @sfufass.bsky.social
February 17, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Congratulations to Professor Peter Hall, whose book, "Gateways to Trade", was just published yesterday. He co-wrote the text with Dorval Brunelle, Claudia De Fuentes, and Jean Michel Montsion.
Learn more: www.ubcpress.ca/gateways-to-...
#sfuurb @sfufass.bsky.social
Learn more: www.ubcpress.ca/gateways-to-...
#sfuurb @sfufass.bsky.social
Reposted by Melek Ortabasi
Thing is, even if basket-weaving courses were the problem (they are not), it still makes zero sense to make it way more expensive for poor students to take them, but leave net prices basically intact for wealthier students to do so.
Zero sense, that is, until you remember Ford hates poor people.
Zero sense, that is, until you remember Ford hates poor people.
“You’re picking basket-weaving courses, and there’s not too many baskets being sold out there.” The hell?? www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Ford tells students to not pick 'basket-weaving courses' in wake of OSAP cuts | CBC News
Premier Doug Ford had choice words for students expressing concerns over cuts to OSAP grants Tuesday, telling them to "not pick basket-weaving courses" and to invest in education that gives students i...
www.cbc.ca
February 17, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Thing is, even if basket-weaving courses were the problem (they are not), it still makes zero sense to make it way more expensive for poor students to take them, but leave net prices basically intact for wealthier students to do so.
Zero sense, that is, until you remember Ford hates poor people.
Zero sense, that is, until you remember Ford hates poor people.
For the heck of it, here’s what I made for dinner: pickled daikon and cucumber, purple rice, and pork stir fry with eggplant and tofu skin
February 17, 2026 at 6:10 AM
For the heck of it, here’s what I made for dinner: pickled daikon and cucumber, purple rice, and pork stir fry with eggplant and tofu skin
Reposted by Melek Ortabasi
They KNOW what a hassle and expense it can be to attain your birth certificate.
They KNOW this is designed to suppress voters.
They KNOW that women are more likely to vote for democrats.
They KNOW this is designed to suppress voters.
They KNOW that women are more likely to vote for democrats.
February 16, 2026 at 10:24 PM
They KNOW what a hassle and expense it can be to attain your birth certificate.
They KNOW this is designed to suppress voters.
They KNOW that women are more likely to vote for democrats.
They KNOW this is designed to suppress voters.
They KNOW that women are more likely to vote for democrats.
I am a very simple creature in certain respects. I want these so bad. For obvious reasons 😭
February 17, 2026 at 12:04 AM
I am a very simple creature in certain respects. I want these so bad. For obvious reasons 😭
Reposted by Melek Ortabasi
A child dying of cancer spent her final days fighting to free her wrongfully detained father from ICE custody.
This comes just weeks after a mother from Maryland was denied the right to be at her son’s side as he died from cancer.
Not one dime for this cruelty.
www.cbsnews.com/amp/chicago/...
This comes just weeks after a mother from Maryland was denied the right to be at her son’s side as he died from cancer.
Not one dime for this cruelty.
www.cbsnews.com/amp/chicago/...
Ofelia Torres, teen who fought to have her father released from ICE custody, dies from rare cancer
Ofelia Torres, 16, died on Friday from Stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer, her father's lawyer confirmed.
www.cbsnews.com
February 15, 2026 at 9:20 PM
A child dying of cancer spent her final days fighting to free her wrongfully detained father from ICE custody.
This comes just weeks after a mother from Maryland was denied the right to be at her son’s side as he died from cancer.
Not one dime for this cruelty.
www.cbsnews.com/amp/chicago/...
This comes just weeks after a mother from Maryland was denied the right to be at her son’s side as he died from cancer.
Not one dime for this cruelty.
www.cbsnews.com/amp/chicago/...
I can’t really do anything but crochet in a straight line but the blanket thing I’ve been working on one row at a time is finally COMPLETED and now with its rightful owner
February 16, 2026 at 9:56 PM
I can’t really do anything but crochet in a straight line but the blanket thing I’ve been working on one row at a time is finally COMPLETED and now with its rightful owner