Preston Rudy
@pordy24.bsky.social
Sociologist, retired professor; interests - unions, democracy as action, history as context, Int’l comparisons, languages, multicultural living, a sociological imagination.
Reposted by Preston Rudy
💬 «Le but du totalitarisme numérique de Pékin est de contrôler chaque mouvement à chaque instant»
🇨🇳 Juriste et militant des droits de l’homme en exil, Teng Biao décrit l’état de la société civile en Chine et interroge les forces et les faiblesses d’un régime de plus en plus verrouillé :
🇨🇳 Juriste et militant des droits de l’homme en exil, Teng Biao décrit l’état de la société civile en Chine et interroge les forces et les faiblesses d’un régime de plus en plus verrouillé :
«Le but du totalitarisme numérique de Pékin est de contrôler chaque mouvement à chaque instant»
Teng Biao, juriste et militant des droits de l’homme en exil, décrit l’état de la société civile en Chine et explore les forces et les faiblesses d’un régime de plus en plus verrouillé après douze années du pouvoir de Xi Jinping.
www.liberation.fr
December 6, 2025 at 10:02 PM
💬 «Le but du totalitarisme numérique de Pékin est de contrôler chaque mouvement à chaque instant»
🇨🇳 Juriste et militant des droits de l’homme en exil, Teng Biao décrit l’état de la société civile en Chine et interroge les forces et les faiblesses d’un régime de plus en plus verrouillé :
🇨🇳 Juriste et militant des droits de l’homme en exil, Teng Biao décrit l’état de la société civile en Chine et interroge les forces et les faiblesses d’un régime de plus en plus verrouillé :
Machines iterate, they don’t imagine.
Here's a rule of thumb: If "AI" seems like a good solution, you are probably both misjudging what the "AI" can do and misframing the problem.
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December 7, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Machines iterate, they don’t imagine.
Reposted by Preston Rudy
I often think about this quote scrawled on the wall of Laurie Anderson’s Four Talks installation at the Hirshhorn in DC:
October 12, 2025 at 12:59 AM
I often think about this quote scrawled on the wall of Laurie Anderson’s Four Talks installation at the Hirshhorn in DC:
Reposted by Preston Rudy
Had you told me as we were writing the AI Bill of Rights that DeSantis would embrace not just @alondra.bsky.social’s vision for a future where AI isn’t inevitable - but also her language rooting that future in people’s rights - I’d have laughed. But makes sense. Not just good policy; it’s popular.
December 6, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Had you told me as we were writing the AI Bill of Rights that DeSantis would embrace not just @alondra.bsky.social’s vision for a future where AI isn’t inevitable - but also her language rooting that future in people’s rights - I’d have laughed. But makes sense. Not just good policy; it’s popular.
Reposted by Preston Rudy
The way that Newsies inspired a whole generation of strikers 🥲
From the picket line in Dickson City, PA:
From the picket line in Dickson City, PA:
December 6, 2025 at 10:20 PM
The way that Newsies inspired a whole generation of strikers 🥲
From the picket line in Dickson City, PA:
From the picket line in Dickson City, PA:
The administrative superstructure is as ignorant of education as the crowd of of anti-intellectuals in Washington. Faculty and students need to organize to defend and rebuild higher ed.
Heartbreaking. The University of Nebraska will terminate its entire Earth science department.
One of the country's most successful and respected geology & climate programs: gone.
When ideologues & politicians are threatened by the very act of studying climate change, I wonder: who of us is next?
One of the country's most successful and respected geology & climate programs: gone.
When ideologues & politicians are threatened by the very act of studying climate change, I wonder: who of us is next?
It's over.
Despite the fact that the academic council recommended against it, despite the fact that the program brought in more tuition than it cost, and despite the fact that Nebraskans need & deserve this expertise, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences will be cut.
www.dailynebraskan.com/news/adminis...
Despite the fact that the academic council recommended against it, despite the fact that the program brought in more tuition than it cost, and despite the fact that Nebraskans need & deserve this expertise, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences will be cut.
www.dailynebraskan.com/news/adminis...
December 7, 2025 at 5:32 AM
The administrative superstructure is as ignorant of education as the crowd of of anti-intellectuals in Washington. Faculty and students need to organize to defend and rebuild higher ed.
Miller’s political allies have never permitted even the imagination of long term welfare programs, with the exception of the lifelong public money for military industries. And as corporations they never die!
Imagine thinking that people come to America to "access unlimited welfare for life"
Stephen Miller thinks it’s terrible that I can vote
December 7, 2025 at 5:19 AM
Miller’s political allies have never permitted even the imagination of long term welfare programs, with the exception of the lifelong public money for military industries. And as corporations they never die!
Delusional opinions by the old man’s appointees
Deputy Secy of State Christopher Landau says the US “cannot pretend that we are partners” w/ NATO nations because the European Union—of which many are members—pursues “policies of civilizational suicide.”
Landau is a former clerk of SCOTUS Justice Thomas. Stephen Miller lobbied for his appointment.
Landau is a former clerk of SCOTUS Justice Thomas. Stephen Miller lobbied for his appointment.
December 6, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Delusional opinions by the old man’s appointees
Reposted by Preston Rudy
Impossible to understand the tech leader zeal for humanoid robots unless you realize their homes are filled with human staff whose presence makes them, in a basic way, uncomfortable. They want servants without the trace of subjectivity.
December 6, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Impossible to understand the tech leader zeal for humanoid robots unless you realize their homes are filled with human staff whose presence makes them, in a basic way, uncomfortable. They want servants without the trace of subjectivity.
Reposted by Preston Rudy
Great visualization about how warming in the Arctic (like we're having right now) is leading to colder winters with more snowfall 👇
How does global warming cause colder winter storms? whowhatwhy.org/2019/11/23/t...
The Paradox of Global Warming and Colder Winters - WhoWhatWhy
If the cold weather makes it harder for you to argue with climate change deniers about the existence of global warming, this story is for you.
whowhatwhy.org
December 6, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Great visualization about how warming in the Arctic (like we're having right now) is leading to colder winters with more snowfall 👇
Reposted by Preston Rudy
Was lucky enough to read this to blurb and as I wrote, few books have made me angrier. Incredible reporting and analysis.
THE ASSET CLASS, my first book, will be published by @wnbooks.bsky.social on 9 April 2026. It’s a narrative investigation of private equity, a secretive and relentlessly destructive wing of finance that penetrates almost every aspect of our lives - and it’s available to pre-order now!
December 6, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Was lucky enough to read this to blurb and as I wrote, few books have made me angrier. Incredible reporting and analysis.
Reposted by Preston Rudy
This Day in Labor History: December 6, 1977. The United Mine Workers of America walked off the job. This moment demonstrated a moment when workers thought they could gain more power in the economy. But they effectively lost this strike and the war on workers throughout American got underway!!
December 6, 2025 at 2:07 PM
This Day in Labor History: December 6, 1977. The United Mine Workers of America walked off the job. This moment demonstrated a moment when workers thought they could gain more power in the economy. But they effectively lost this strike and the war on workers throughout American got underway!!
Manchin & Sinema, anti-democratic politicians
The social spending bill would have put hundreds of billions into programs that people would have seen before 2024.
-extended Child Tax Credit increase
-20 workdays of paid family and medical leave
-child care, universal pre-K
-health care subsidies
The Blue Dog Coalition Dems delayed the bill.
-extended Child Tax Credit increase
-20 workdays of paid family and medical leave
-child care, universal pre-K
-health care subsidies
The Blue Dog Coalition Dems delayed the bill.
By Not Passing BBB First, Dems Missed Chance to Improve Economy for Low- and Middle-Income Voters
Eight months before Election Day, President Biden is foregrounding his economic record, an issue top of mind for most Americans.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is touting its own claims about its econ...
www.davidrussellmoore.net
December 6, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Manchin & Sinema, anti-democratic politicians
Reposted by Preston Rudy
And check out this brilliant report by @kevinkumashiro.com on Christian Nationalist activism and public education, past and present www.kevinkumashiro.com/schooltimes
School Times for End Times — Kevin Kumashiro
SCHOOL TIMES FOR END TIMES: A Brief History of U.S. Christian Nationalist Activism and Public Education
www.kevinkumashiro.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:53 PM
And check out this brilliant report by @kevinkumashiro.com on Christian Nationalist activism and public education, past and present www.kevinkumashiro.com/schooltimes
US healthcare: little care, more illness, to generate more profit
Starting Jan. 1, traditional Medicare recipients in Washington state will face a new hurdle to get certain procedures covered — private AI companies that get paid based on how many claims they deny.
www.kuow.org/stories/thou...
www.kuow.org/stories/thou...
Thousands of Washington state Medicare users could soon have claims denied by AI
Starting Jan. 1, traditional Medicare recipients in Washington state will face a new hurdle to get certain procedures covered — private AI companies that get paid based on how many claims they deny.
www.kuow.org
December 6, 2025 at 3:39 PM
US healthcare: little care, more illness, to generate more profit
Reposted by Preston Rudy
“we ain’t thinking about fascism, we are in a fascist state. knuckle up AFT, we are in a fight. tell the full picture.”
that’s my president
that’s my president
December 6, 2025 at 3:13 PM
“we ain’t thinking about fascism, we are in a fascist state. knuckle up AFT, we are in a fight. tell the full picture.”
that’s my president
that’s my president
Reposted by Preston Rudy
Reposted by Preston Rudy
Asad Haider, my goodness will we miss your voice and your scholarship making sense of this cursed world of ours.
December 5, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Asad Haider, my goodness will we miss your voice and your scholarship making sense of this cursed world of ours.
Reposted by Preston Rudy
Oh right, which I wrote about in the above excerpt in my Orwell's Roses.
December 5, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Oh right, which I wrote about in the above excerpt in my Orwell's Roses.
Reposted by Preston Rudy
Actual Soviet poster about achieving the five-year plan in four years, just in case anyone wanted to know the origins of that famous example in Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Yakov Guminer, 2 + 2, plus workers' enthusiasm = 5, 1931
Yakov Guminer, 2 + 2, plus workers' enthusiasm = 5, 1931
December 5, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Actual Soviet poster about achieving the five-year plan in four years, just in case anyone wanted to know the origins of that famous example in Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Yakov Guminer, 2 + 2, plus workers' enthusiasm = 5, 1931
Yakov Guminer, 2 + 2, plus workers' enthusiasm = 5, 1931
A world historic change in Int’l politics. Who in the US is contesting this new direction?
The headline, the main takeaway from a European viewpoint is this:
The transatlantic relationship as we know it is over. Yes, we kinda knew this. But this is now official US White House policy. Not a sppech, not a statement. The West as it used to be no longer exists.
The transatlantic relationship as we know it is over. Yes, we kinda knew this. But this is now official US White House policy. Not a sppech, not a statement. The West as it used to be no longer exists.
December 5, 2025 at 3:17 PM
A world historic change in Int’l politics. Who in the US is contesting this new direction?
What a petty, un-American decision
The Trump administration has changed which holidays qualify for free entrance to national parks, removing Martin Luther King Day and Juneteenth and adding Trump's own birthday.
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
National parks change prioritizes Trump birthday over days honoring Black people
Free entrance days at national parks no longer include MLK Day and Juneteenth.
www.sfgate.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:03 PM
What a petty, un-American decision
Reposted by Preston Rudy
60,000 African penguins starved to death after sardine numbers collapsed. Climate crisis and overfishing contributed to loss of 95% of penguins in two breeding colonies in South Africa.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
60,000 African penguins starved to death after sardine numbers collapsed – study
Climate crisis and overfishing contributed to loss of 95% of penguins in two breeding colonies in South Africa, research finds
www.theguardian.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:55 AM
60,000 African penguins starved to death after sardine numbers collapsed. Climate crisis and overfishing contributed to loss of 95% of penguins in two breeding colonies in South Africa.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Preston Rudy
Reposted by Preston Rudy
Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 Ep 67:
www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
… in which @sophiesong.bsky.social joins @alexhanna.bsky.social and me in our dismay at defenders of worker’s rights who’d rather talk to ChatGPT than, you know, actual workers.
Thanks to Ozzy Llinas Goodman for production!
www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
… in which @sophiesong.bsky.social joins @alexhanna.bsky.social and me in our dismay at defenders of worker’s rights who’d rather talk to ChatGPT than, you know, actual workers.
Thanks to Ozzy Llinas Goodman for production!
December 3, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 Ep 67:
www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
… in which @sophiesong.bsky.social joins @alexhanna.bsky.social and me in our dismay at defenders of worker’s rights who’d rather talk to ChatGPT than, you know, actual workers.
Thanks to Ozzy Llinas Goodman for production!
www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
… in which @sophiesong.bsky.social joins @alexhanna.bsky.social and me in our dismay at defenders of worker’s rights who’d rather talk to ChatGPT than, you know, actual workers.
Thanks to Ozzy Llinas Goodman for production!