Derek Fox
@partialobserver.bsky.social
Penn State Astronomer (he/him), personal account. “We went and made everything a computer without ever bothering to fix computers.”
Pinned
Now that computer programs readily pass the Turing Test, we see that both Turing and Searle were correct: Searle in that programs can mimic human communication very well without anything like understanding, and Turing in that having programs do this is really f#*king disorienting.
Reposted by Derek Fox
Admin Officials in the Epstein Files:
Donald J. Trump
Melania Trump
Howard Lutnick (Commerce)
John Phelan (Navy)
Paolo Zampolli (Kennedy Center)
RFK Jr. (HHS)
Kevin Warsh (Fed Nom)
Mehmet Oz (CMS)
Elon Musk (Fmr DOGE)
Steve Bannon (Fmr WH)
Alex Acosta (Fmr Labor)
Bill Barr (Fmr AG)
Donald J. Trump
Melania Trump
Howard Lutnick (Commerce)
John Phelan (Navy)
Paolo Zampolli (Kennedy Center)
RFK Jr. (HHS)
Kevin Warsh (Fed Nom)
Mehmet Oz (CMS)
Elon Musk (Fmr DOGE)
Steve Bannon (Fmr WH)
Alex Acosta (Fmr Labor)
Bill Barr (Fmr AG)
February 12, 2026 at 4:02 AM
Admin Officials in the Epstein Files:
Donald J. Trump
Melania Trump
Howard Lutnick (Commerce)
John Phelan (Navy)
Paolo Zampolli (Kennedy Center)
RFK Jr. (HHS)
Kevin Warsh (Fed Nom)
Mehmet Oz (CMS)
Elon Musk (Fmr DOGE)
Steve Bannon (Fmr WH)
Alex Acosta (Fmr Labor)
Bill Barr (Fmr AG)
Donald J. Trump
Melania Trump
Howard Lutnick (Commerce)
John Phelan (Navy)
Paolo Zampolli (Kennedy Center)
RFK Jr. (HHS)
Kevin Warsh (Fed Nom)
Mehmet Oz (CMS)
Elon Musk (Fmr DOGE)
Steve Bannon (Fmr WH)
Alex Acosta (Fmr Labor)
Bill Barr (Fmr AG)
Reposted by Derek Fox
The short story of the 21st century in the United States is that out of malice or cowardice or some combination of both, every presidency contributed to building and expanding a federal secret police of goons and thugs, despite clear warning and obvious abuses, until we got to this point.
This is the second account - the first being in Chicago - of DHS agents mass detaining people and then *sorting them by race*.
More than 400 people, including hundreds of citizens, were “sorted” at gun point into racial and ethnic groups by 200 ICE agents who fired flash-bang grenades into cars with people inside, pointed guns at children & demanded their zip tied parents not comfort them. apple.news/Ausdx6kWtT0e...
February 12, 2026 at 5:12 AM
The short story of the 21st century in the United States is that out of malice or cowardice or some combination of both, every presidency contributed to building and expanding a federal secret police of goons and thugs, despite clear warning and obvious abuses, until we got to this point.
Reposted by Derek Fox
AG Keith Ellison: "The surge is contributing to violent crime. Two of the three homicides committed in Minneapolis in 2026 have come at the hands of federal immigration agents."
February 12, 2026 at 2:46 PM
AG Keith Ellison: "The surge is contributing to violent crime. Two of the three homicides committed in Minneapolis in 2026 have come at the hands of federal immigration agents."
Reposted by Derek Fox
"What must be done? We must abolish ICE and the entire DHS. We must proclaim a general amnesty to all undocumented immigrants currently residing in America. We must decriminalize unauthorized immigration. And we must enshrine freedom of movement in the constitution."
Abolition, Amnesty, Decriminalization, Open Borders
You may not believe immigration restrictions are racist, but racists believe immigration restrictions are racist.
www.liberalcurrents.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:20 PM
"What must be done? We must abolish ICE and the entire DHS. We must proclaim a general amnesty to all undocumented immigrants currently residing in America. We must decriminalize unauthorized immigration. And we must enshrine freedom of movement in the constitution."
Reposted by Derek Fox
Part of the way I talk about Jim Crow in the classroom is to say that it withdrew the protection of the laws from Black people, and from any white people who defied it. That wasn't a secret, it wasn't covert. It was overt, explicit, institutional.
That's what's being described in the thread. Today.
That's what's being described in the thread. Today.
February 12, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Part of the way I talk about Jim Crow in the classroom is to say that it withdrew the protection of the laws from Black people, and from any white people who defied it. That wasn't a secret, it wasn't covert. It was overt, explicit, institutional.
That's what's being described in the thread. Today.
That's what's being described in the thread. Today.
Reposted by Derek Fox
Jeffrey Epstein’s emails show that then-Ohio State University Board of Trustees chairman Leslie Wexner was served in a Jane Doe lawsuit against the deceased sex trafficker in 2009.
Donald Trump was also served in the lawsuit.
Epstein later settled.
Full story:
www.rooster.info/p/ohio-state...
Donald Trump was also served in the lawsuit.
Epstein later settled.
Full story:
www.rooster.info/p/ohio-state...
Ohio State should have known about Wexner's Epstein problems by Sept. 18, 2009
Epstein files show that then-Ohio State Board of Trustees chairman Leslie Wexner was served in a Jane Doe lawsuit against the since-deceased sex trafficker in 2009.
www.rooster.info
February 12, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Jeffrey Epstein’s emails show that then-Ohio State University Board of Trustees chairman Leslie Wexner was served in a Jane Doe lawsuit against the deceased sex trafficker in 2009.
Donald Trump was also served in the lawsuit.
Epstein later settled.
Full story:
www.rooster.info/p/ohio-state...
Donald Trump was also served in the lawsuit.
Epstein later settled.
Full story:
www.rooster.info/p/ohio-state...
Reposted by Derek Fox
Some children in Dilley were so distraught they cut themselves or talked about suicide, parents told ProPublica.
They said kids lost their appetites after finding worms and mold on their food, had trouble sleeping, and were constantly sick.
They said kids lost their appetites after finding worms and mold on their food, had trouble sleeping, and were constantly sick.
The Kids Trump Sent to ICE’s Dilley Detention Center
ProPublica went inside the immigrant detention center for families in Dilley, Texas. Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of...
www.propublica.org
February 12, 2026 at 4:00 AM
Some children in Dilley were so distraught they cut themselves or talked about suicide, parents told ProPublica.
They said kids lost their appetites after finding worms and mold on their food, had trouble sleeping, and were constantly sick.
They said kids lost their appetites after finding worms and mold on their food, had trouble sleeping, and were constantly sick.
Another one for the “impeach, remove, and prosecute” files
February 12, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Another one for the “impeach, remove, and prosecute” files
Reposted by Derek Fox
Reposted by Derek Fox
Absolutely incredibly news from the world's largest emitter. The tide really might be beginning to turn on fossil fuels.
NEW ANALYSIS: China's CO2 has now been 'flat or falling' for 21 months
* Down in 2025
* Still below Mar 2024
* Clean energy wave a key factor
If this is China's peak (TBC) it's the climate story of the century so far…
www.carbonbrief.org/...
* Down in 2025
* Still below Mar 2024
* Clean energy wave a key factor
If this is China's peak (TBC) it's the climate story of the century so far…
www.carbonbrief.org/...
February 12, 2026 at 10:43 AM
Absolutely incredibly news from the world's largest emitter. The tide really might be beginning to turn on fossil fuels.
Reposted by Derek Fox
easy slogan for the next democratic presidential candidate is “i will reform the corrupt supreme court and repeal citizens united”
“When Citizens United was decided in 2010, billionaires had spent $18 million on the 2000 election, $13M 2004 and $16M in 2008. Then came the deluge. In 2012 it was $231M, and nearly doubled again in next three election cycles —to $682M in 2016, $1.2 billion in 2020 and $2.6 billion in 2024.” Gift:
Opinion | Affordability and the ‘Epstein Class’ Will Define American Politics
www.nytimes.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:26 AM
easy slogan for the next democratic presidential candidate is “i will reform the corrupt supreme court and repeal citizens united”
Reposted by Derek Fox
"It is totally inappropriate and against the separations of powers for the DOJ to surveil us as we search the Epstein files. (US Attorney General) Bondi showed up today with a burn book that held a printed search history of exactly what emails I searched." - Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).
February 12, 2026 at 12:43 AM
"It is totally inappropriate and against the separations of powers for the DOJ to surveil us as we search the Epstein files. (US Attorney General) Bondi showed up today with a burn book that held a printed search history of exactly what emails I searched." - Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).
Reposted by Derek Fox
This is the second account - the first being in Chicago - of DHS agents mass detaining people and then *sorting them by race*.
More than 400 people, including hundreds of citizens, were “sorted” at gun point into racial and ethnic groups by 200 ICE agents who fired flash-bang grenades into cars with people inside, pointed guns at children & demanded their zip tied parents not comfort them. apple.news/Ausdx6kWtT0e...
Idaho families sue over immigration raid that swept up hundreds, including U.S. citizens — NBC News
About 400 people, including children and U.S. citizens, were detained for four hours while they were denied food and water in the raid, according to the lawsuit.
apple.news
February 12, 2026 at 2:26 AM
This is the second account - the first being in Chicago - of DHS agents mass detaining people and then *sorting them by race*.
Reposted by Derek Fox
LLMs cannot ever generalize to anything meaningful beyond probabilistic pattern matching, and even then they are limited only to data they've seen before during training.
LLMs are a complete technological dead end with no uses, and it boggles my mind we've put so much resources into their R&D
LLMs are a complete technological dead end with no uses, and it boggles my mind we've put so much resources into their R&D
February 11, 2026 at 9:32 PM
LLMs cannot ever generalize to anything meaningful beyond probabilistic pattern matching, and even then they are limited only to data they've seen before during training.
LLMs are a complete technological dead end with no uses, and it boggles my mind we've put so much resources into their R&D
LLMs are a complete technological dead end with no uses, and it boggles my mind we've put so much resources into their R&D
Reposted by Derek Fox
Legal status doesn’t matter: if you exceed ICE’s melanin threshold, you get snatched. It is ethnic cleansing. There is no other word for it.
The news has shown you video of these often violent detentions. What you don’t see is what happens to these individuals after.
I’ve had a front row seat.
7/
The news has shown you video of these often violent detentions. What you don’t see is what happens to these individuals after.
I’ve had a front row seat.
7/
February 11, 2026 at 9:56 PM
Legal status doesn’t matter: if you exceed ICE’s melanin threshold, you get snatched. It is ethnic cleansing. There is no other word for it.
The news has shown you video of these often violent detentions. What you don’t see is what happens to these individuals after.
I’ve had a front row seat.
7/
The news has shown you video of these often violent detentions. What you don’t see is what happens to these individuals after.
I’ve had a front row seat.
7/
Reposted by Derek Fox
JUST IN: U.S. Customs and Border Protection says Border Patrol agent Charles Exum, who shot Chicago's Marimar Martinez, "was placed on administrative leave":
February 11, 2026 at 10:27 PM
JUST IN: U.S. Customs and Border Protection says Border Patrol agent Charles Exum, who shot Chicago's Marimar Martinez, "was placed on administrative leave":
Reposted by Derek Fox
"Trump is laying siege to ... Cuba: asphyxiating its people, shuttering its hospitals, starving them of food."
Trump’s fuel embargo is pushing Cuba into a deepening energy crisis, forcing emergency measures like slashed transit and shortened work and school hours, as Washington threatens tariffs on any country that sells oil to Havana.
Trump’s Fuel Embargo Forces Cuba to Take Emergency Steps to Avert Catastrophe
The Trump administration has threatened to slap tariffs on any country that sells oil to the Cuban government.
truthout.org
February 9, 2026 at 9:49 PM
"Trump is laying siege to ... Cuba: asphyxiating its people, shuttering its hospitals, starving them of food."
Reposted by Derek Fox
Reading the questions and answers, she's treating this CONGRESSIONAL HEARING like a press conference: spinning, avoiding questions, "we should be talking about". Apart from the contempt for Congress, it says a lot about what the press allows and what conclusions they've drawn from that.
holy shit -- Bondi's new tactic is refusing to answer Democratic questions, then using time during the next Republican questioner to smear the previous Democratic member and accuse them of being complicit in violence crimes
February 11, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Reading the questions and answers, she's treating this CONGRESSIONAL HEARING like a press conference: spinning, avoiding questions, "we should be talking about". Apart from the contempt for Congress, it says a lot about what the press allows and what conclusions they've drawn from that.
Reposted by Derek Fox
For people impressed by the 130k jobs added in January, I'd offer and alternative economic analysis that I think you'll find compelling. www.thebulwark.com/p/shock-poll...
February 11, 2026 at 6:16 PM
For people impressed by the 130k jobs added in January, I'd offer and alternative economic analysis that I think you'll find compelling. www.thebulwark.com/p/shock-poll...
In retrospect, what Navarro was telegraphing here was the x2 downward revision in jobs numbers for *all of 2025* which is really pretty dramatic and - for Team Trump as well as the rest of us - bad
Worth remembering that anyone who knows the jobs number a day ahead can open some options contracts or open a new account at a prediction market and cash in. Easy money and there’s no evidence that anyone at DoJ / SEC is interested in protecting the markets from these shenanigans.
Peter Navarro: "The jobs report comes out tomorrow. We have to revise our expectations down significantly for what a monthly job number should look like ... Wall Street has to adjust for the fact that we're deporting millions of illegals out of the job market."
February 11, 2026 at 7:01 PM
In retrospect, what Navarro was telegraphing here was the x2 downward revision in jobs numbers for *all of 2025* which is really pretty dramatic and - for Team Trump as well as the rest of us - bad
Not an accident!
Massie: "Here is an email that was sent by the victims' lawyers to the DOJ. It was a list of names not to release. What did the DOJ do with this email? They released it! Literally the worst thing you could do the survivors you did."
February 11, 2026 at 6:34 PM
Not an accident!
Reposted by Derek Fox
This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.
February 11, 2026 at 4:46 PM
This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.
Reposted by Derek Fox
Lieu plays Bondi the infamous clip of Trump & Epstein partying together & asks her if there were underaged girls at any party the two attended
"This is so ridiculous," Bondi says. "There's no evidence that Donald Trump has committed a crime"
"I believe you just lied under oath," Lieu replies
"This is so ridiculous," Bondi says. "There's no evidence that Donald Trump has committed a crime"
"I believe you just lied under oath," Lieu replies
February 11, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Lieu plays Bondi the infamous clip of Trump & Epstein partying together & asks her if there were underaged girls at any party the two attended
"This is so ridiculous," Bondi says. "There's no evidence that Donald Trump has committed a crime"
"I believe you just lied under oath," Lieu replies
"This is so ridiculous," Bondi says. "There's no evidence that Donald Trump has committed a crime"
"I believe you just lied under oath," Lieu replies
Reposted by Derek Fox
Likely-historic photo by NBC News of all the Epstein victims asked to raise their hands if they've not yet been asked to meet with the DOJ as Bondi testifies in foreground
February 11, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Likely-historic photo by NBC News of all the Epstein victims asked to raise their hands if they've not yet been asked to meet with the DOJ as Bondi testifies in foreground
Who needs Coalie when we can just put this guy on the TV whenever we want?
Burgum: "CO2 was never a pollutant. When we breathe, we emit CO2. Plants need CO2 to survive and grow. They thrive with more CO2. So the whole endangerment thing opens up an opportunity for the revival of clean, beautiful, American coal."
February 11, 2026 at 6:14 PM
Who needs Coalie when we can just put this guy on the TV whenever we want?