johnedwinmason
@johnedwinmason.bsky.social
Historian, curator, walker, player of antique French horns. Photography, music, South Africa. UVA Professor Emeritus.
Pinned
"I hope and trust all will come out right in the end, but the immediate future looks dark and troubled. I cannot shut my eyes to the ugly facts before me."
--Frederick Douglass, Lessons of the Hour, 1894
--Frederick Douglass, Lessons of the Hour, 1894
Trump is refusing to send US representatives to the upcoming G20 meeting in South Africa. Two reasons. He believes far-right lies that whites, especially Afrikaners, are persecuted. And he's a racist mfer. Good reporting here: www.npr.org/2025/11/10/n...
Prominent Afrikaners refuse to be 'pawns,' and hit back at Trump's claims about South Africa
Prominent Afrikaners are pushing back after President Trump announced no U.S. officials will attend the G20 in Johannesburg, rejecting his claims of "white persecution" in South Africa as false.
www.npr.org
November 11, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Trump is refusing to send US representatives to the upcoming G20 meeting in South Africa. Two reasons. He believes far-right lies that whites, especially Afrikaners, are persecuted. And he's a racist mfer. Good reporting here: www.npr.org/2025/11/10/n...
Reposted by johnedwinmason
Corporal Waverly Woodson, a medic from Philadelphia (where his father was a postal carrier) tended to hundreds of wounded soldiers under heavy fire at Normandy on D-Day despite being wounded himself.
November 11, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Corporal Waverly Woodson, a medic from Philadelphia (where his father was a postal carrier) tended to hundreds of wounded soldiers under heavy fire at Normandy on D-Day despite being wounded himself.
Reposted by johnedwinmason
Constant, conflicting and false information from the White House causes the public to see truth as relative and dismiss those who disagree as untruthful. It's a tactic with historical ties to 1930s Nazi Germany and modern extremist movements, according to a journalism scholar.
buff.ly/VDmXird
buff.ly/VDmXird
Overwhelm the public with muzzle-velocity headlines: A strategy rooted in racism and authoritarianism
The unrelenting diet of chaotic, contradictory headlines that Americans face today echoes an antidemocratic playbook from the past.
buff.ly
November 11, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Constant, conflicting and false information from the White House causes the public to see truth as relative and dismiss those who disagree as untruthful. It's a tactic with historical ties to 1930s Nazi Germany and modern extremist movements, according to a journalism scholar.
buff.ly/VDmXird
buff.ly/VDmXird
Good news from Germany. A court has ruled in favor of the music industry in its legal battle against OpenAI, saying that the company has violated copyright laws.
En Allemagne, l’industrie musicale remporte une première victoire judiciaire contre OpenAI
En Allemagne, l’industrie musicale remporte une première victoire judiciaire contre OpenAI
Un tribunal de Munich a estimé, mardi, que le géant américain de l’intelligence artificielle avait porté atteinte « aux droits d’exploitation protégés par le droit d’auteur ». L’entreprise s’est dite « en désaccord » avec cette décision et dit étudier « les prochaines démarches possibles ».
www.lemonde.fr
November 11, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Good news from Germany. A court has ruled in favor of the music industry in its legal battle against OpenAI, saying that the company has violated copyright laws.
Reposted by johnedwinmason
Not sure about this headline.
Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA gives families facing food hardships pet food >>>
https://www.29news.com/2025/11/10/charlottesville-albemarle-spca-gives-families-facing-food-hardships-pet-food/
https://www.29news.com/2025/11/10/charlottesville-albemarle-spca-gives-families-facing-food-hardships-pet-food/
November 11, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Not sure about this headline.
Duolingo is woke. 😄
November 11, 2025 at 3:12 AM
Duolingo is woke. 😄
💯 This is the world that American public libraries, schools, universities, parks, health agencies, &, of course, NPR also live in.
The BBC’s core problem is that, like the NHS, it models the benefits and virtues of a not-for-profit public service in a world of rapacious corporate greed and unstinting right-wing hostility to the idea of the public good www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/w...
Why the BBC Is Facing Its Gravest Crisis in Decades
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:38 PM
💯 This is the world that American public libraries, schools, universities, parks, health agencies, &, of course, NPR also live in.
Reposted by johnedwinmason
The BBC’s core problem is that, like the NHS, it models the benefits and virtues of a not-for-profit public service in a world of rapacious corporate greed and unstinting right-wing hostility to the idea of the public good www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/w...
Why the BBC Is Facing Its Gravest Crisis in Decades
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:25 PM
The BBC’s core problem is that, like the NHS, it models the benefits and virtues of a not-for-profit public service in a world of rapacious corporate greed and unstinting right-wing hostility to the idea of the public good www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/w...
Democratic leadership:
Yes: 0.5%
Yes: 0.5%
"Do you think taxes should be raised on billionaires?"
Democrats:
🟢 Yes: 95%
⚫️ No: 2%
Independents:
🟢 Yes: 75%
⚫️ No: 12%
Republicans:
🟢 Yes: 48%
⚫️ No: 32%
Read it here: usapolling.substack.com/p/americans-...
Democrats:
🟢 Yes: 95%
⚫️ No: 2%
Independents:
🟢 Yes: 75%
⚫️ No: 12%
Republicans:
🟢 Yes: 48%
⚫️ No: 32%
Read it here: usapolling.substack.com/p/americans-...
Americans Unite Against Billionaire Influence
Voters across party lines say billionaire power has gone too far and demand higher taxes
usapolling.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Democratic leadership:
Yes: 0.5%
Yes: 0.5%
Reposted by johnedwinmason
Perfect. Saving for future use
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 7:28 PM
Perfect. Saving for future use
Reposted by johnedwinmason
Every single day, a new horrific story.
“We deserve to have 1-year-olds not be pepper-sprayed when they are trying to go shopping. What the president of this country is doing is terrorism. We have to call it what it is.”
— Illinois State Senator Celina Villanueva
“We deserve to have 1-year-olds not be pepper-sprayed when they are trying to go shopping. What the president of this country is doing is terrorism. We have to call it what it is.”
— Illinois State Senator Celina Villanueva
Arianna Sofia Veraza and her parents were driving to Sam's Club for milk, eggs and diapers yesterday when they heard helicopters and horns blaring yesterday. They had turned around to leave when a federal agent pepper-sprayed them through a car window.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/09/c...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/09/c...
Pepper-sprayed Berwyn family rattled after getting caught up in federal blitz
Southwest Side politicians condemned Saturday’s pepper spraying and the federal sweep of Little Village as “state-sponsored terrorism” at a news conference Sunday.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Every single day, a new horrific story.
“We deserve to have 1-year-olds not be pepper-sprayed when they are trying to go shopping. What the president of this country is doing is terrorism. We have to call it what it is.”
— Illinois State Senator Celina Villanueva
“We deserve to have 1-year-olds not be pepper-sprayed when they are trying to go shopping. What the president of this country is doing is terrorism. We have to call it what it is.”
— Illinois State Senator Celina Villanueva
I've been exchanging WhatsApp messages with friends in South Africa* about what the Democrats did last night -- handing Trump a massive win & slamming the door in the face of liberals & progressives who were feeling so hopeful last week. I did a lot of cussing. And it felt so good.
November 10, 2025 at 5:22 PM
I've been exchanging WhatsApp messages with friends in South Africa* about what the Democrats did last night -- handing Trump a massive win & slamming the door in the face of liberals & progressives who were feeling so hopeful last week. I did a lot of cussing. And it felt so good.
Reposted by johnedwinmason
So, of course, Congressional Dems bailed out the hostage takers. It's what they always do. Structurally, that's what corps, PACs, & major donors expect. The combination of massive income inequality + Supreme Court saying that spending $ = free speech ensures outcomes like this at Federal level
November 10, 2025 at 11:23 AM
So, of course, Congressional Dems bailed out the hostage takers. It's what they always do. Structurally, that's what corps, PACs, & major donors expect. The combination of massive income inequality + Supreme Court saying that spending $ = free speech ensures outcomes like this at Federal level
Reposted by johnedwinmason
what a fucking terrible message to send, my god
November 10, 2025 at 1:58 PM
what a fucking terrible message to send, my god
Reposted by johnedwinmason
Trump threatening to attack Nigeria. Only accepting white "refugees" from South Africa. Warfare and insurgency in Sudan and the Sahel. foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/07/a...
Africa Needs a Continental Body With Teeth
The African Union has become a back-scratching club of heads of state.
foreignpolicy.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Trump threatening to attack Nigeria. Only accepting white "refugees" from South Africa. Warfare and insurgency in Sudan and the Sahel. foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/07/a...
Reposted by johnedwinmason
Barbara Klemm, The Louvre, Paris, 1987
November 10, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Barbara Klemm, The Louvre, Paris, 1987
Reposted by johnedwinmason
Henri Cartier-Bresson, the Louvre, 1975
November 10, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Henri Cartier-Bresson, the Louvre, 1975
Reposted by johnedwinmason
Yeah sure @schumer.senate.gov let’s give this guy a way out of this Jesus fucking Christ
November 9, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Yeah sure @schumer.senate.gov let’s give this guy a way out of this Jesus fucking Christ
I'm taking my mind off the Democrats' betrayal by looking for my next car on the Bring a Trailer auction site. I think I've found it.
November 10, 2025 at 4:19 AM
I'm taking my mind off the Democrats' betrayal by looking for my next car on the Bring a Trailer auction site. I think I've found it.
Reposted by johnedwinmason
This right here.
Chris Murphy: "There will be pretty substantial damage to a Dem brand that has been rehabilitated if on the heels of an election in which the people told us to keep fighting, we immediately stop... if we surrender without having gotten anything, I worry it'll be hard to get them back up off the mat"
November 10, 2025 at 1:23 AM
This right here.
Reposted by johnedwinmason
Reposted by johnedwinmason
The average SNAP benefit per month is $177 a person.
The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person.
People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives.
And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.
The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person.
People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives.
And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.
November 10, 2025 at 1:49 AM
The average SNAP benefit per month is $177 a person.
The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person.
People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives.
And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.
The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person.
People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives.
And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.
Reposted by johnedwinmason
The model of holding individual senators responsible is broken here. The retirees clearly agreed to take the fall. Which is why the nos should get no credit for voting no unless they move to oust Schumer
November 10, 2025 at 3:20 AM
The model of holding individual senators responsible is broken here. The retirees clearly agreed to take the fall. Which is why the nos should get no credit for voting no unless they move to oust Schumer
Meanwhile, someone just spent 15 million Euros on a watch.
Cette montre, une Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar référence 1518 fabriquée en 1943, avait un temps détenu le record mondial, en 2016. Elle a depuis été détrônée mais elle continue de séduire les acheteurs. Elle a été adjugée en Suisse pour un montant supérieur à 15 millions d’euros.
Neuf minutes et cinq acheteurs : la folle vente aux enchères d’une montre Patek Philippe pour 15 millions d’euros
l.leparisien.fr
November 10, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Meanwhile, someone just spent 15 million Euros on a watch.
And the Dems have betrayed the nation at a moment the Republicans are shaken by Tuesday's election results. Yes, Mamdani. But, more importantly, the Democratic sweep in Virginia -- governor, lieutenant governor, & attorney general, plus major gains in the state legislature.
I think this is the question Democrats are gonna get over and over: if you just handed over your main demand in the end, why cause a painful shutdown at all?
Governing is more than politics, but wild to see this group of Dems arguably toss the whole party under the bus, *politically* speaking.
Governing is more than politics, but wild to see this group of Dems arguably toss the whole party under the bus, *politically* speaking.
How do you make this your central demand for 40 days and then just let it go
November 10, 2025 at 2:56 AM
And the Dems have betrayed the nation at a moment the Republicans are shaken by Tuesday's election results. Yes, Mamdani. But, more importantly, the Democratic sweep in Virginia -- governor, lieutenant governor, & attorney general, plus major gains in the state legislature.