Balthasar
@balthasars.bsky.social
I like data science, sustainable finance, lobbyism research and #rstats. Master's from @ipz.bsky.social in political science 🧑🎓. He/him.
Reposted by Balthasar
In der #Schweiz wehrt sich eine Allianz aus Bürgerlichen und Wirtschaftsverbänden gegen höhere Steuern für Reiche – mit dem Vorwand, #Familienunternehmen zu schützen. Recherchen von CORRECTIV.Schweiz und der WOZ zeigen: Sie zahlen ohnehin kaum #Steuern.
Viel Vermögen – wenig Steuern: So profitieren Super-Reiche
Milliardäre drohen mit Wegzug wegen höheren Steuern. Recherchen von CORRECTIV.Schweiz und der WOZ zeigen, wie wenig sie heute schon zahlen.
correctiv.org
October 31, 2025 at 2:24 PM
In der #Schweiz wehrt sich eine Allianz aus Bürgerlichen und Wirtschaftsverbänden gegen höhere Steuern für Reiche – mit dem Vorwand, #Familienunternehmen zu schützen. Recherchen von CORRECTIV.Schweiz und der WOZ zeigen: Sie zahlen ohnehin kaum #Steuern.
Reposted by Balthasar
Just a reminder that Starmer's accommodation of the radical right has not paid any electoral dividends to date. It's difficult to imagine circumstances in which it would...
Radical right accommodation really does not work.
New paper out with this exceptionally talented team
@katharinalawall.bsky.social @robjohns75.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @zachdickson.bsky.social @danjdevine.bsky.social & @jack-bailey.co.uk
doi.org/10.31235/osf...
New paper out with this exceptionally talented team
@katharinalawall.bsky.social @robjohns75.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @zachdickson.bsky.social @danjdevine.bsky.social & @jack-bailey.co.uk
doi.org/10.31235/osf...
September 14, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Just a reminder that Starmer's accommodation of the radical right has not paid any electoral dividends to date. It's difficult to imagine circumstances in which it would...
All my life
Watching America
All my life
There's panic in America
Oh Oh Oh, Oh
youtu.be/V9NhncU5_CE?...
-> how scrolling through Bluesky feels for me as an European.
Watching America
All my life
There's panic in America
Oh Oh Oh, Oh
youtu.be/V9NhncU5_CE?...
-> how scrolling through Bluesky feels for me as an European.
Razorlight - America (Official video)
YouTube video by RazorlightVEVO
youtu.be
September 11, 2025 at 2:46 PM
All my life
Watching America
All my life
There's panic in America
Oh Oh Oh, Oh
youtu.be/V9NhncU5_CE?...
-> how scrolling through Bluesky feels for me as an European.
Watching America
All my life
There's panic in America
Oh Oh Oh, Oh
youtu.be/V9NhncU5_CE?...
-> how scrolling through Bluesky feels for me as an European.
Reposted by Balthasar
Social media undercuts public health and institutional trust
A new study finds causal evidence that morally charged attacks generate anger and social media engagement which exacerbates the political polarization of public health
www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10....
A new study finds causal evidence that morally charged attacks generate anger and social media engagement which exacerbates the political polarization of public health
www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10....
September 9, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Social media undercuts public health and institutional trust
A new study finds causal evidence that morally charged attacks generate anger and social media engagement which exacerbates the political polarization of public health
www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10....
A new study finds causal evidence that morally charged attacks generate anger and social media engagement which exacerbates the political polarization of public health
www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10....
Reposted by Balthasar
Call on Big Tech to run its data centers on around the clock renewable energy:
AI data centers must run on 100% renewable energy
Tech giants must invest in cheaper and cleaner renewable energy options for AI data centers
act.stand.earth
September 3, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Call on Big Tech to run its data centers on around the clock renewable energy:
Reposted by Balthasar
Critizing the radical right actually works to create a distance between voters and these parties. If all other parties do it together.
Returning from vacation and looking for a late summer read? @ivobantel.bsky.social and I got you covered!
In our new @wepsocial.bsky.social paper, we assess how mainstream parties rhetorically create an affect-based "common front" against the radical right.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
In our new @wepsocial.bsky.social paper, we assess how mainstream parties rhetorically create an affect-based "common front" against the radical right.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
September 3, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Critizing the radical right actually works to create a distance between voters and these parties. If all other parties do it together.
Reposted by Balthasar
A comprehensive review of research on the topic shows that “educating students in responsible phone use is a more sustainable and wholistic attempt to address problematic usage rather than enacting whole-of-school banning policies.” journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
August 22, 2025 at 10:53 PM
A comprehensive review of research on the topic shows that “educating students in responsible phone use is a more sustainable and wholistic attempt to address problematic usage rather than enacting whole-of-school banning policies.” journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Balthasar
if you watch the tech industry long enough you learn the promised benefits never materialize but the unforeseen harms continue to be perpetuated long after the companies move on to the next big thing yet governments are too worried about scaring away investment to do anything
“The AI in the study probably prompted doctors to become over-reliant on its recommendations, ‘leading to clinicians becoming less motivated, less focused, and less responsible when making cognitive decisions without AI assistance,’ the scientists said in the paper.”
AI Eroded Doctors’ Ability to Spot Cancer Within Months in Study
Artificial intelligence, touted for its potential to transform medicine, led to some doctors losing skills after just a few months in a new study.
www.bloomberg.com
August 13, 2025 at 3:39 AM
if you watch the tech industry long enough you learn the promised benefits never materialize but the unforeseen harms continue to be perpetuated long after the companies move on to the next big thing yet governments are too worried about scaring away investment to do anything
Reposted by Balthasar
This economist ran the numbers and concluded that dating men ... doesn't really pencil out.
This Economist Crunched the Numbers and Stopped Dating Men
And she’s never been happier.
www.thecut.com
August 12, 2025 at 8:50 PM
This economist ran the numbers and concluded that dating men ... doesn't really pencil out.
Reposted by Balthasar
Look at how parenthood imposes a greater mental health burden on mothers than on fathers!
"[Parenthood] creates a long-run gender gap in antidepressant prescriptions of about 93.2% ([in] Austria) and 64.8% ([in] Denmark)."
"[Parenthood] creates a long-run gender gap in antidepressant prescriptions of about 93.2% ([in] Austria) and 64.8% ([in] Denmark)."
August 13, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Look at how parenthood imposes a greater mental health burden on mothers than on fathers!
"[Parenthood] creates a long-run gender gap in antidepressant prescriptions of about 93.2% ([in] Austria) and 64.8% ([in] Denmark)."
"[Parenthood] creates a long-run gender gap in antidepressant prescriptions of about 93.2% ([in] Austria) and 64.8% ([in] Denmark)."
Reposted by Balthasar
AI PROPONENTS: “Ugh, stop complaining! This is a fun tool that’s great for organizing ideas. Heck, it’ll make you more efficient if you’d just get over yourself! Stop acting like it’s so bad!”
AI COMPANIES: “We paid a celebrity so we could put their face on a chatbot that teaches kids to fuck”
AI COMPANIES: “We paid a celebrity so we could put their face on a chatbot that teaches kids to fuck”
This is bonkers.
August 14, 2025 at 2:05 PM
AI PROPONENTS: “Ugh, stop complaining! This is a fun tool that’s great for organizing ideas. Heck, it’ll make you more efficient if you’d just get over yourself! Stop acting like it’s so bad!”
AI COMPANIES: “We paid a celebrity so we could put their face on a chatbot that teaches kids to fuck”
AI COMPANIES: “We paid a celebrity so we could put their face on a chatbot that teaches kids to fuck”
Reposted by Balthasar
Over the past 16 months, @thenation.com has published regular dispatches from Lujayn, a teenager in the Gaza Strip. Lujayn has endured huge loss and trauma. Now she, along with the rest of Gaza, is starving. But she is still writing.
This is her latest. www.thenation.com/article/worl...
This is her latest. www.thenation.com/article/worl...
I’m a Teenager In Gaza. And I Am Starving.
What hits you first is the exhaustion carved into every face. The sickly pallor. The terrifying weight loss ravaging everyone—yes, including me.
www.thenation.com
August 14, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Over the past 16 months, @thenation.com has published regular dispatches from Lujayn, a teenager in the Gaza Strip. Lujayn has endured huge loss and trauma. Now she, along with the rest of Gaza, is starving. But she is still writing.
This is her latest. www.thenation.com/article/worl...
This is her latest. www.thenation.com/article/worl...
Reposted by Balthasar
“I don’t know how to find the words to describe what we seem to have seen hundreds of times, but every time it hurts like never before. Thirty-one killed: five children, the youngest just two.” ❤️🇺🇦 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The enormity of the attacks on Ukraine is impossible to grasp. Let me show you the horror of a single day | Oleksandr Mykhed
The rumble, the explosions and the deaths: they are so frequent that they seem normal. It’s a fight to protect our homes, our cities and the psyche, says author Oleksandr Mykhed
www.theguardian.com
August 14, 2025 at 10:45 PM
“I don’t know how to find the words to describe what we seem to have seen hundreds of times, but every time it hurts like never before. Thirty-one killed: five children, the youngest just two.” ❤️🇺🇦 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Balthasar
🎉 Delighted to share new research out today: The Political Consequences of the Mental Load
📄 European Sociological Review
doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcaf019
@europeansocreview.bsky.social
What happens to political engagement when the “mental load” of running a household gets too heavy? 🧵
📄 European Sociological Review
doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcaf019
@europeansocreview.bsky.social
What happens to political engagement when the “mental load” of running a household gets too heavy? 🧵
The political consequences of the mental load
Abstract. How do levels of cognitive household labour—the ‘mental load’ involved in anticipating, fulfilling, and monitoring household needs—affect politic
doi.org
August 15, 2025 at 8:40 AM
🎉 Delighted to share new research out today: The Political Consequences of the Mental Load
📄 European Sociological Review
doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcaf019
@europeansocreview.bsky.social
What happens to political engagement when the “mental load” of running a household gets too heavy? 🧵
📄 European Sociological Review
doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcaf019
@europeansocreview.bsky.social
What happens to political engagement when the “mental load” of running a household gets too heavy? 🧵
Reposted by Balthasar
Many other tech journalists are busy pushing moral panic bullshit in order to manufacture consent for this type of mass surveillance and the complete dismantling of free expression (LGBTQ content, repro justice content etc) online. And the left more broadly has also dropped the ball. It’s bad!
How genuinely,how is only @taylorlorenz.bsky.social speaking about the ramifications of these "safety" bills. Like the internet is being carved up and gate kept and people treat it like a slop topic,make a video and a few jokes and move on youtu.be/nsD0e1k4d90?... where are journalist at?
YouTube's AI Age Verification is a Disaster
YouTube video by Taylor Lorenz
youtu.be
August 15, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Many other tech journalists are busy pushing moral panic bullshit in order to manufacture consent for this type of mass surveillance and the complete dismantling of free expression (LGBTQ content, repro justice content etc) online. And the left more broadly has also dropped the ball. It’s bad!
Reposted by Balthasar
Fascinating observations on EVs from @davidfickling.bsky.social:
- High adoption rates in developing countries
- EVs pencil out unsubsidized
- Oil & gas are ~1/3 of all imports to India & Pakistan
- EVs could eliminate India's current account deficit
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti... 🎁 🔗
- High adoption rates in developing countries
- EVs pencil out unsubsidized
- Oil & gas are ~1/3 of all imports to India & Pakistan
- EVs could eliminate India's current account deficit
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti... 🎁 🔗
August 11, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Fascinating observations on EVs from @davidfickling.bsky.social:
- High adoption rates in developing countries
- EVs pencil out unsubsidized
- Oil & gas are ~1/3 of all imports to India & Pakistan
- EVs could eliminate India's current account deficit
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti... 🎁 🔗
- High adoption rates in developing countries
- EVs pencil out unsubsidized
- Oil & gas are ~1/3 of all imports to India & Pakistan
- EVs could eliminate India's current account deficit
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti... 🎁 🔗
Reposted by Balthasar
NEW -
Media Platforming and the Normalisation of Extreme Right Views - cup.org/4mmVIAL
"exposure to uncritical interviews increases agreement with extreme statements and perceptions of broader support in the population"
- @dianebolet.bsky.social & @florianfoos.bsky.social
#OpenAccess
Media Platforming and the Normalisation of Extreme Right Views - cup.org/4mmVIAL
"exposure to uncritical interviews increases agreement with extreme statements and perceptions of broader support in the population"
- @dianebolet.bsky.social & @florianfoos.bsky.social
#OpenAccess
August 12, 2025 at 9:05 AM
NEW -
Media Platforming and the Normalisation of Extreme Right Views - cup.org/4mmVIAL
"exposure to uncritical interviews increases agreement with extreme statements and perceptions of broader support in the population"
- @dianebolet.bsky.social & @florianfoos.bsky.social
#OpenAccess
Media Platforming and the Normalisation of Extreme Right Views - cup.org/4mmVIAL
"exposure to uncritical interviews increases agreement with extreme statements and perceptions of broader support in the population"
- @dianebolet.bsky.social & @florianfoos.bsky.social
#OpenAccess
Reposted by Balthasar
The Economist says that Israel is practising ethnic cleansing in Gaza www.economist.com/leaders/2025...
Why Israel must hold itself to account
And how it can be made to do so
www.economist.com
August 8, 2025 at 12:01 PM
The Economist says that Israel is practising ethnic cleansing in Gaza www.economist.com/leaders/2025...
Reposted by Balthasar
Irish residential electricity prices also rose 46%, from 23.8 to 34.8 euro-cents per kWh, over the last five years as annual data center electricity demand grew from ~0 to ~4.5 TWh.
www.seai.ie/data-and-ins...
www.seai.ie/data-and-ins...
August 10, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Irish residential electricity prices also rose 46%, from 23.8 to 34.8 euro-cents per kWh, over the last five years as annual data center electricity demand grew from ~0 to ~4.5 TWh.
www.seai.ie/data-and-ins...
www.seai.ie/data-and-ins...
Reposted by Balthasar
since the start of the Israel-Gaza war on October 7, 2023, 186 journalists have been killed—the Committee to Protect Journalists
August 11, 2025 at 9:20 AM
since the start of the Israel-Gaza war on October 7, 2023, 186 journalists have been killed—the Committee to Protect Journalists
Reposted by Balthasar
We have plastic in our brains. And our livers, kidneys, heart, bloodstream and more. In just 8 years, scientists have observed an increase in the amount of bodily plastic.
The outcomes of becoming part-plastic are not good.
🎁 via @opinion.bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
The outcomes of becoming part-plastic are not good.
🎁 via @opinion.bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
August 11, 2025 at 9:31 AM
We have plastic in our brains. And our livers, kidneys, heart, bloodstream and more. In just 8 years, scientists have observed an increase in the amount of bodily plastic.
The outcomes of becoming part-plastic are not good.
🎁 via @opinion.bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
The outcomes of becoming part-plastic are not good.
🎁 via @opinion.bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by Balthasar
Among those arrested was Sir Jonathon Porritt, 75, a former government adviser who said he had long been concerned about the erosion of civil liberties under successive governments. He was arrested under Section 13and bailed until 23 October
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Half of arrests at Palestine Action ban protest were 60 or over, data shows
Total of 532 arrests at London protest on Saturday, most for displaying placards or signs in support of proscribed group
www.theguardian.com
August 11, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Among those arrested was Sir Jonathon Porritt, 75, a former government adviser who said he had long been concerned about the erosion of civil liberties under successive governments. He was arrested under Section 13and bailed until 23 October
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Balthasar
“UK civil liberties are trapped in a manufactured crisis. Peaceful citizens of conscience – including pensioners – have become terrorists, at the will of a human rights lawyer turned authoritarian who now lunges at opinions that expose the moral vacuum of his unrecognisable government.”
Police arrest 474 people at protest over Palestine Action ban in London
Number of arrests was highest recorded in relation to single operation in at least past decade, according to Met police
www.theguardian.com
August 10, 2025 at 12:30 PM
“UK civil liberties are trapped in a manufactured crisis. Peaceful citizens of conscience – including pensioners – have become terrorists, at the will of a human rights lawyer turned authoritarian who now lunges at opinions that expose the moral vacuum of his unrecognisable government.”