Isaac Rabinovitch
@isaac32767.picknit.com
He, his. People who are wondering if they should follow me back should know that I'm pretty boring and nitpicky. Officially designated RadLib Crank.
Why I give my pronouns: https://rb.gy/p9p5yu
Why I give my pronouns: https://rb.gy/p9p5yu
Curious to know if the Open Desk is a fork of an existing open source office suite.
The International Criminal Court is ditching Microsoft Office, saying it’s too dependent on US tech, in favor of Open Desk, a German open source alternative.
The move comes after Microsoft revoked ICC head Karim Khan’s email access when he was sanctioned by the US for the warrant against Netanyahu.
The move comes after Microsoft revoked ICC head Karim Khan’s email access when he was sanctioned by the US for the warrant against Netanyahu.
International Criminal Court to ditch Microsoft Office for European open source alternative | Euractiv
The court will move its internal work environment to Open Desk, a German-developed open source software
www.euractiv.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Curious to know if the Open Desk is a fork of an existing open source office suite.
Reposted by Isaac Rabinovitch
Like I dunno, maybe the reason it took a lady to break open the story of all the men protecting the dude trafficking underage girls is because the male journos were all emailing him making jokes about it?
November 12, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Like I dunno, maybe the reason it took a lady to break open the story of all the men protecting the dude trafficking underage girls is because the male journos were all emailing him making jokes about it?
Cute take, but of course the NYT doesn't mention that Trump's order to end the penny is illegal.
Yes, I know, we should have ditched it years ago. (Canada did in 2012.) But the way Trump gets to do whatever he wants is still scary.
Yes, I know, we should have ditched it years ago. (Canada did in 2012.) But the way Trump gets to do whatever he wants is still scary.
The American penny died on Wednesday in Philadelphia. It was 232. The cause was irrelevance and expensiveness, the Treasury Department said. Nothing could be bought any more with a penny, as the cost to mint the penny had risen to more than 3 cents. nyti.ms/48bFd5K
November 12, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Cute take, but of course the NYT doesn't mention that Trump's order to end the penny is illegal.
Yes, I know, we should have ditched it years ago. (Canada did in 2012.) But the way Trump gets to do whatever he wants is still scary.
Yes, I know, we should have ditched it years ago. (Canada did in 2012.) But the way Trump gets to do whatever he wants is still scary.
Reposted by Isaac Rabinovitch
There are a lot of Portlanders who consider themselves progressive but turn reactionary when they see visible poverty.
The urge to just make poverty disappear from sight instead of working toward holistic solutions is why we don’t have nice things in this country.
Poverty is a social creation.
The urge to just make poverty disappear from sight instead of working toward holistic solutions is why we don’t have nice things in this country.
Poverty is a social creation.
November 11, 2025 at 4:59 PM
There are a lot of Portlanders who consider themselves progressive but turn reactionary when they see visible poverty.
The urge to just make poverty disappear from sight instead of working toward holistic solutions is why we don’t have nice things in this country.
Poverty is a social creation.
The urge to just make poverty disappear from sight instead of working toward holistic solutions is why we don’t have nice things in this country.
Poverty is a social creation.
Reposted by Isaac Rabinovitch
A weird aspect of male supremacy is that the baseline presumption of innocence is exponentially higher in cases of violence against girls and women than in most crimes.
i mean c’mon. the president’s best friend was the most notorious pedo in the country’s history who ran a massive child trafficking ring. every bit of circumstantial evidence we have says that trump was a participant. if this were a criminal trial we’d have enough evidence to compel a plea deal.
November 12, 2025 at 3:27 PM
A weird aspect of male supremacy is that the baseline presumption of innocence is exponentially higher in cases of violence against girls and women than in most crimes.
Reposted by Isaac Rabinovitch
Fortunately, I already figured out the plots of the next several Toy Story films
November 12, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Fortunately, I already figured out the plots of the next several Toy Story films
November 12, 2025 at 2:16 AM
A not unconnected fact: I never did get around to watching Wonder Woman.
Israeli actor Gal Gadot has been awarded Israel’s Genesis Prize in recognition of her strong support for the country at a time when many in the entertainment industry have criticized it over the war in Gaza.
Gal Gadot win's Israel's Genesis Prize for her wartime support
Israeli actor Gal Gadot has been awarded Israel’s Genesis Prize in recognition of her strong support for the country at a time when many in the entertainment industry have criticized it.
bit.ly
November 11, 2025 at 10:26 PM
A not unconnected fact: I never did get around to watching Wonder Woman.
I would take this a little further. Since an llm doesn't really connect the words it generates with the ideas behind them, I would say that llm is a text extruder pretending to be an ideology pretending to be a person.
I do, of course, have a paragraph from "Why We Fear AI" for this
November 11, 2025 at 9:43 PM
I would take this a little further. Since an llm doesn't really connect the words it generates with the ideas behind them, I would say that llm is a text extruder pretending to be an ideology pretending to be a person.
Reposted by Isaac Rabinovitch
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
November 11, 2025 at 3:41 PM
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Mary Shelley then. I'm a lifelong SF fan, and she basically invented the modern form of the genre.
You can only pick one. I’m sorry.
Jane Austen or Mary Shelley
Jane Austen or Mary Shelley
November 11, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Mary Shelley then. I'm a lifelong SF fan, and she basically invented the modern form of the genre.
Reposted by Isaac Rabinovitch
Precisely. As a world “leader” the U.S. is done for decades.
In a White House meeting with civil rights leaders in early 2021, President Biden recounted his first trip to Europe. Biden he announced to them, “America’s back!” The European leaders said “yeah, but for how long?”
They were skeptical.
In a White House meeting with civil rights leaders in early 2021, President Biden recounted his first trip to Europe. Biden he announced to them, “America’s back!” The European leaders said “yeah, but for how long?”
They were skeptical.
There's arguably no effective way for any future administration to undo the strategic damage being done to the U.S.'s relations with these and other states.
No matter what we do, the U.S. will be seen as an untrustworthy, craven & mercurial "partner"—something simply to be endured or hedged.
No matter what we do, the U.S. will be seen as an untrustworthy, craven & mercurial "partner"—something simply to be endured or hedged.
November 11, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Precisely. As a world “leader” the U.S. is done for decades.
In a White House meeting with civil rights leaders in early 2021, President Biden recounted his first trip to Europe. Biden he announced to them, “America’s back!” The European leaders said “yeah, but for how long?”
They were skeptical.
In a White House meeting with civil rights leaders in early 2021, President Biden recounted his first trip to Europe. Biden he announced to them, “America’s back!” The European leaders said “yeah, but for how long?”
They were skeptical.
"The Golden Road is a profound and well-documented essay on the Indosphere, a phenomenon that revolutionized the ancient world and remains largely unknown in the West.” I don't speak Spanish, but Google Translate does OK with this insightful review. An important book that breaks new ground.
"La vía dorada es un ensayo profundo y bien documentado sobre esa Indosfera que revolucionó el mundo antiguo y que es un fenómeno muy poco conocido en Occidente". Zenda sobre lo último de @willdalrymple.bsky.social .
www.zendalibros.com/la-india-cor...
www.zendalibros.com/la-india-cor...
La India, corazón olvidado del mundo antiguo - Zenda
Luis Mazarrasa escribe en Zenda acerca de 'La vía dorada', un libro de William Dalrymple publicado por la editorial Desperta Ferro.
www.zendalibros.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:45 PM
"The Golden Road is a profound and well-documented essay on the Indosphere, a phenomenon that revolutionized the ancient world and remains largely unknown in the West.” I don't speak Spanish, but Google Translate does OK with this insightful review. An important book that breaks new ground.
Reposted by Isaac Rabinovitch
things take time to percolate but truly the weirdest shit keeps percolating and resonating. I interviewed a super normie at no kings last time and he had a sign joking about being antifa and the number one thing he was mad about off the top of his head was venezuelan boat strikes
November 11, 2025 at 1:30 PM
things take time to percolate but truly the weirdest shit keeps percolating and resonating. I interviewed a super normie at no kings last time and he had a sign joking about being antifa and the number one thing he was mad about off the top of his head was venezuelan boat strikes
Reposted by Isaac Rabinovitch
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
November 11, 2025 at 1:50 AM
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
Reposted by Isaac Rabinovitch
I received like 3 years of death threats for this.
worth it
worth it
November 10, 2025 at 8:25 PM
I received like 3 years of death threats for this.
worth it
worth it
Reposted by Isaac Rabinovitch
Doctors owe patients duties. Lawyers owe clients duties. Clergy owe penitents duties. A a minimum, all have a duty to act in the best interests of the patient/client/penitent.
You want to privilege communications with a LLM, you need to explain what duty the LLM owes the babbler.
You want to privilege communications with a LLM, you need to explain what duty the LLM owes the babbler.
More and more people these days are interacting with LLMs as legal, psychological, and spiritual confidants. The government should not be able to have access to those thoughts willy nilly. My latest: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/o...
Opinion | Doctors, Lawyers and Priests Keep Secrets. Why Not Your Chatbot?
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Doctors owe patients duties. Lawyers owe clients duties. Clergy owe penitents duties. A a minimum, all have a duty to act in the best interests of the patient/client/penitent.
You want to privilege communications with a LLM, you need to explain what duty the LLM owes the babbler.
You want to privilege communications with a LLM, you need to explain what duty the LLM owes the babbler.
Reposted by Isaac Rabinovitch
I got this useful bon mot from a middle school teacher recently.
In response to, “I DONT UNDERSTAND,” he calmly said, “okay what steps have you taken to understand?”
And that’s when I realized that a lot of folks have no steps.
In response to, “I DONT UNDERSTAND,” he calmly said, “okay what steps have you taken to understand?”
And that’s when I realized that a lot of folks have no steps.
November 10, 2025 at 6:05 PM
I got this useful bon mot from a middle school teacher recently.
In response to, “I DONT UNDERSTAND,” he calmly said, “okay what steps have you taken to understand?”
And that’s when I realized that a lot of folks have no steps.
In response to, “I DONT UNDERSTAND,” he calmly said, “okay what steps have you taken to understand?”
And that’s when I realized that a lot of folks have no steps.
Hang on, when did reading become so performative?
November 10, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Hang on, when did reading become so performative?
Reposted by Isaac Rabinovitch
MSNBC reported Schumer's office felt that the longer that shutdown went on, the more likely it was that people would start to blame the Dems.
My kingdom for Democrats that don't govern out of fear. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The American people are far braver than their reps.
My kingdom for Democrats that don't govern out of fear. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The American people are far braver than their reps.
November 10, 2025 at 2:18 AM
MSNBC reported Schumer's office felt that the longer that shutdown went on, the more likely it was that people would start to blame the Dems.
My kingdom for Democrats that don't govern out of fear. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The American people are far braver than their reps.
My kingdom for Democrats that don't govern out of fear. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The American people are far braver than their reps.
Reposted by Isaac Rabinovitch
The problem with making Victor Frankenstein and Lex Luthor into parodies of Elon Musk and Peter Thiel is buying into the idea that these guys have inventions that actually work that they themselves invented. You're saying that the real life villains are smart and they are fundamentally not.
November 9, 2025 at 9:04 PM
The problem with making Victor Frankenstein and Lex Luthor into parodies of Elon Musk and Peter Thiel is buying into the idea that these guys have inventions that actually work that they themselves invented. You're saying that the real life villains are smart and they are fundamentally not.
Reposted by Isaac Rabinovitch
And honestly, we all should aspire to and hope for more whimsy in our lives—it’s bleak out there
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 3:47 PM
And honestly, we all should aspire to and hope for more whimsy in our lives—it’s bleak out there
Reposted by Isaac Rabinovitch
Once again I want to thank Mr Patel for single handedly demolishing the model minority myth when it comes to desis
November 9, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Once again I want to thank Mr Patel for single handedly demolishing the model minority myth when it comes to desis
I kept wanting to say this, but I'm not a lawyer, and online legal arguments between non-lawyers tend to be kind of pointless.
Really, people are in love with the "juries are antifa now!" narrative.
Really, people are in love with the "juries are antifa now!" narrative.
Sandwich verdict wasn’t jury nullification. It was failure to prove the required “reasonable fear of physical injury” in a case where the agent was wearing A BULLETPROOF VEST. The only crime was the waste of resources on this case. My thoughts in @MSNBCDaily.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Opinion | The sandwich thrower was wrong. But Jeanine Pirro was, too.
To establish a forcible assault, jurors were required to find that Dunn caused “reasonable apprehension of immediate bodily harm.” That allegation was laughable.
www.msnbc.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:04 PM
I kept wanting to say this, but I'm not a lawyer, and online legal arguments between non-lawyers tend to be kind of pointless.
Really, people are in love with the "juries are antifa now!" narrative.
Really, people are in love with the "juries are antifa now!" narrative.