Thomas Beck
@tomfodw.bsky.social
Historian of 19th & 20th century Russia/Europe (mostly pre-1921); science fiction author & fan; lover of cats, dogs, chocolate, books, movies, television, baseball, soccer, ice hockey, cricket, Hawaii.
Follow my Substack! https://thomasbeck.substack.com
Follow my Substack! https://thomasbeck.substack.com
Reposted by Thomas Beck
"Open Nazism isn’t an ideological deviation. Fuentes is the logical heir to the antisemitic 'great replacement' conspiracy theory Carlson spent years popularizing at Fox." www.liberalcurrents.com/the-heritage...
The Heritage Foundation, Groypers, and the Narcissism of Small Differences
Fuentes is the fly born of Heritage’s maggot.
www.liberalcurrents.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:50 PM
"Open Nazism isn’t an ideological deviation. Fuentes is the logical heir to the antisemitic 'great replacement' conspiracy theory Carlson spent years popularizing at Fox." www.liberalcurrents.com/the-heritage...
I enjoyed the PBS Great Performances production of Twelfth Night. Excellent cast work sticking to the text while adding nice modern twists.
My favorite is still the late 1970d BBC version with Felicity Kendal, Alec McCowen, and Robert Hardy. (Also my favorite rendition of the closing song.)
My favorite is still the late 1970d BBC version with Felicity Kendal, Alec McCowen, and Robert Hardy. (Also my favorite rendition of the closing song.)
November 15, 2025 at 4:31 AM
I enjoyed the PBS Great Performances production of Twelfth Night. Excellent cast work sticking to the text while adding nice modern twists.
My favorite is still the late 1970d BBC version with Felicity Kendal, Alec McCowen, and Robert Hardy. (Also my favorite rendition of the closing song.)
My favorite is still the late 1970d BBC version with Felicity Kendal, Alec McCowen, and Robert Hardy. (Also my favorite rendition of the closing song.)
Reposted by Thomas Beck
My goodness. The stuff of nightmares. Bravo to everyone who enabled this.
One of the best pieces of science journalism of 2025 is Jon Cohen’s terrifying article on how Trump/RFK Jr/their crew of MAGA/MAHA dudes, like Jay Bhattacharya, have dismantled US pandemic preparedness (www.science.org/content/arti...)
Then read Jay’s astoundingly stupid “pandemic prevention plan”😢
Then read Jay’s astoundingly stupid “pandemic prevention plan”😢
November 15, 2025 at 4:19 AM
My goodness. The stuff of nightmares. Bravo to everyone who enabled this.
Meanwhile, Tehran is about to die of thirst.
23 million people under flood alerts as Los Angeles braces for month's worth of rain in a day
The area usually receives an average of 0.78 inches of rain in November.
www.nbcnews.com/weather/floo...
The area usually receives an average of 0.78 inches of rain in November.
www.nbcnews.com/weather/floo...
23 million people under flood alerts as Los Angeles braces for month's worth of rain in a day
The area usually receives an average of 0.78 inches of rain in November.
www.nbcnews.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Meanwhile, Tehran is about to die of thirst.
I sincerely hope I'm wrong here. A war against Venezuela (NOT "with" Venezuela) has the potential to tear this country apart. Especially if we send in ground forces and it bogs down. I too well remember Vietnam and all the controversies over "US Out!" and "Support Our Troops!" What happens if we
November 15, 2025 at 12:36 AM
I sincerely hope I'm wrong here. A war against Venezuela (NOT "with" Venezuela) has the potential to tear this country apart. Especially if we send in ground forces and it bogs down. I too well remember Vietnam and all the controversies over "US Out!" and "Support Our Troops!" What happens if we
She can still win if Mike Pence has the courage.
Kai Trump's pro golf debut goes about as well as grandpa's presidency
President Donald Trump’s granddaughter, Kai Trump, gave the golf world a great show of her nepobaby privilege by coming in dead last at her LPGA Tour debut on Thursday.�
The high school senior ...
www.dailykos.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:08 AM
She can still win if Mike Pence has the courage.
Reposted by Thomas Beck
Sixty-five years ago today, four first-graders desegregated New Orleans's public schools: Ruby Bridges at William Frantz Elementary School, and Leona Tate, Tessie Provost, and Gail Etienne at McDonogh 19 Elementary School. They faced violent mobs and threats to their lives. They were 6 years old. 🗃
November 14, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Sixty-five years ago today, four first-graders desegregated New Orleans's public schools: Ruby Bridges at William Frantz Elementary School, and Leona Tate, Tessie Provost, and Gail Etienne at McDonogh 19 Elementary School. They faced violent mobs and threats to their lives. They were 6 years old. 🗃
“Cuts to specific programs are difficult to track. But it’s clear that more than $1 billion in drug and vaccine development investments have been scuttled and more than $1 billion in anticipated funding is in limbo.
“‘It’s as if it stopped raining, so therefore why would we fix the roof?’”
“‘It’s as if it stopped raining, so therefore why would we fix the roof?’”
Trump's next pandemic will likely kill even more people: social-murder-as-policy
Trump’s going to enjoy killing all of us needlessly. Because a special combination of failure to vaccinate, refusal to adequately mitigate, and insistence that all businesses and schools remain fully ...
www.dailykos.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:07 PM
“Cuts to specific programs are difficult to track. But it’s clear that more than $1 billion in drug and vaccine development investments have been scuttled and more than $1 billion in anticipated funding is in limbo.
“‘It’s as if it stopped raining, so therefore why would we fix the roof?’”
“‘It’s as if it stopped raining, so therefore why would we fix the roof?’”
😳🤯😱🤬
You’ll never find a better distillation of how technology and capitalism fit together in the 21st century.
During the height of the pandemic, Tyson used Palantir to predict Covid-19 infections among meatpacking workers down to a nearly exactly figure. But rather than using this data to increase worker protections, Tyson used it plan for labor shortages + plant closures
My latest for @sentientmedia.org
My latest for @sentientmedia.org
November 14, 2025 at 4:58 PM
😳🤯😱🤬
Reposted by Thomas Beck
It's hard to overstate what a disaster Kash Patel is. See the many disturbing details here, from @vermontgmg.bsky.social, an expert on the FBI. "The longer this chaos continues," he writes, "the more likely we’re going to face a catastrophic intelligence failure." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Kash Patel, the FBI's agent of chaos
The biggest little scandal in Washington right now is how bad Patel is at being FBI director.
www.motherjones.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:31 PM
It's hard to overstate what a disaster Kash Patel is. See the many disturbing details here, from @vermontgmg.bsky.social, an expert on the FBI. "The longer this chaos continues," he writes, "the more likely we’re going to face a catastrophic intelligence failure." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Thomas Beck
Reposted by Thomas Beck
There's a lot we have not visualized in a useful way.
One of the big ones is the SHIFT in govt employment from "people who cure cancer" and "people who make sure your Social Security comes on time" and "people who care for veterans" to "people who kidnap your neighbors."
One of the big ones is the SHIFT in govt employment from "people who cure cancer" and "people who make sure your Social Security comes on time" and "people who care for veterans" to "people who kidnap your neighbors."
The fascist's unemployment solution: hiring some people to terrorize and cage others
www.huffpost.com/entry/us-hir...
www.huffpost.com/entry/us-hir...
U.S. Hires 50,000 Federal Workers Under Trump, Boosting Immigration Roles
The bulk of the new hires, reported first by Reuters, work at Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
www.huffpost.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:20 PM
There's a lot we have not visualized in a useful way.
One of the big ones is the SHIFT in govt employment from "people who cure cancer" and "people who make sure your Social Security comes on time" and "people who care for veterans" to "people who kidnap your neighbors."
One of the big ones is the SHIFT in govt employment from "people who cure cancer" and "people who make sure your Social Security comes on time" and "people who care for veterans" to "people who kidnap your neighbors."
Reposted by Thomas Beck
“Hiding your friends as subcontractors is like playing hide the salami with the taxpayer”
When making Noem's $220,000,000 ad campaign, DHS bypassed the competitive bidding process, designed to prevent waste & corruption in federal contracts, to give the job to the husband of her spokesperson
When making Noem's $220,000,000 ad campaign, DHS bypassed the competitive bidding process, designed to prevent waste & corruption in federal contracts, to give the job to the husband of her spokesperson
November 14, 2025 at 12:51 PM
“Hiding your friends as subcontractors is like playing hide the salami with the taxpayer”
When making Noem's $220,000,000 ad campaign, DHS bypassed the competitive bidding process, designed to prevent waste & corruption in federal contracts, to give the job to the husband of her spokesperson
When making Noem's $220,000,000 ad campaign, DHS bypassed the competitive bidding process, designed to prevent waste & corruption in federal contracts, to give the job to the husband of her spokesperson
Reposted by Thomas Beck
Never forget the same people defending pedophilia have spent years trying to convince the public that drag queens and trans people are a threat to children.
It’s all smoke and mirrors to allow the real predators to roam free.
It’s all smoke and mirrors to allow the real predators to roam free.
November 14, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Never forget the same people defending pedophilia have spent years trying to convince the public that drag queens and trans people are a threat to children.
It’s all smoke and mirrors to allow the real predators to roam free.
It’s all smoke and mirrors to allow the real predators to roam free.
Reposted by Thomas Beck
Conservatives think free speech is when they can say what they want and when you can say what they want. bsky.app/profile/phil...
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M adopts policy requiring professors to get OK from school president to discuss certain race and gender issues.
November 14, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Conservatives think free speech is when they can say what they want and when you can say what they want. bsky.app/profile/phil...
"The H3N2 human flu acquired new mutations over the summer, AFTER the vaccine strains had been chosen. The new subclade K is causing major outbreaks in Japan, Canada, and the UK. The US CDC is, of course, absent due to being gutted and then shut down for six weeks. The H3N2 strain is
Infectious Updates: 11/13/25
Foreign food safety inspections� Are at historic lows �due to Trump cuts.� And so are domestic inspections, to be honest.
Which might be why� There are more infant botulism cases in more states , ...
www.dailykos.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:55 PM
"The H3N2 human flu acquired new mutations over the summer, AFTER the vaccine strains had been chosen. The new subclade K is causing major outbreaks in Japan, Canada, and the UK. The US CDC is, of course, absent due to being gutted and then shut down for six weeks. The H3N2 strain is
Reposted by Thomas Beck
Check out the latest chapter in my new series, Inside the Kremlin’s Global Far-Right Operations, on how the Russian Orthodox Church operates as an arm of Russian intelligence services to carry out operations across the West and beyond.
Chapter 2: Russia's Orthodox Church
Welcome to my new series, Inside the Kremlin’s Global Far-Right Operations.
olgalautman.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Check out the latest chapter in my new series, Inside the Kremlin’s Global Far-Right Operations, on how the Russian Orthodox Church operates as an arm of Russian intelligence services to carry out operations across the West and beyond.
Reposted by Thomas Beck
Georgian protesters have turned to loud marches in downtown Tbilisi as police continue to prevent them from blocking Rustaveli Avenue. Police officers struggled to control movement of groups of demonstrators as they paced through narrow streets.
🎥 Nini Gabritchidze/Civil.ge
🎥 Nini Gabritchidze/Civil.ge
November 13, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Georgian protesters have turned to loud marches in downtown Tbilisi as police continue to prevent them from blocking Rustaveli Avenue. Police officers struggled to control movement of groups of demonstrators as they paced through narrow streets.
🎥 Nini Gabritchidze/Civil.ge
🎥 Nini Gabritchidze/Civil.ge
Reposted by Thomas Beck
ah this is probably what gets me watching a shitload of MLS
🚨 Massive move: Apple is ditching the MLS paywall! ⚽📺
Starting next season, every MLS game will be available to all Apple TV subscribers, no extra Season Pass needed! 👏
Soccer fans everywhere just scored a huge win 🇺🇸
Starting next season, every MLS game will be available to all Apple TV subscribers, no extra Season Pass needed! 👏
Soccer fans everywhere just scored a huge win 🇺🇸
November 13, 2025 at 9:01 PM
ah this is probably what gets me watching a shitload of MLS
Reposted by Thomas Beck
November 12, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Reposted by Thomas Beck
liberals are obsessed with identity politics issues like who is and isn't a pedophile while trump is laser focused on unleashing the power of the american economy
November 13, 2025 at 12:39 AM
liberals are obsessed with identity politics issues like who is and isn't a pedophile while trump is laser focused on unleashing the power of the american economy
Reposted by Thomas Beck
Predictable but still amazing to watch people who spent literally years accusing every librarian, teacher, and trans person they could find of sexually grooming children suddenly throw themselves in with "actually it's ephebophilia"
Megyn Kelly: "I know somebody very close to this case…Jeffrey Epstein, in this person's view, was not a pedophile…He was into the barely legal type, like he liked 15 year old girls…He wasn't into like 8 year olds…There's a difference between a 15 year old and a 5 year old."
November 13, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Predictable but still amazing to watch people who spent literally years accusing every librarian, teacher, and trans person they could find of sexually grooming children suddenly throw themselves in with "actually it's ephebophilia"
With all the awful stuff happening around the world in relative obscurity (climate change, Sudan, etc.), this seems particularly awful and flagrant. 😱🤯
ICE's attacks on immigrants are about to get much worse
Because Immigration and Customs Enforcement is flush with cash and has no guardrails, agency officials are going to hire bounty hunters. And they’ve got $180 million to do it.�
What could ...
www.dailykos.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:02 PM
With all the awful stuff happening around the world in relative obscurity (climate change, Sudan, etc.), this seems particularly awful and flagrant. 😱🤯
Reposted by Thomas Beck
"The Kyiv dam must be destroyed, the city must be flooded, Kharkiv must be destroyed, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy - wiped off the face of the earth, like Dnipro& other cities."
Russian propagandist Solovyev calls for the Ukrainian capital to be flooded
And yet, Russia keeps saying it wants peace.
Russian propagandist Solovyev calls for the Ukrainian capital to be flooded
And yet, Russia keeps saying it wants peace.
November 13, 2025 at 11:21 AM
"The Kyiv dam must be destroyed, the city must be flooded, Kharkiv must be destroyed, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy - wiped off the face of the earth, like Dnipro& other cities."
Russian propagandist Solovyev calls for the Ukrainian capital to be flooded
And yet, Russia keeps saying it wants peace.
Russian propagandist Solovyev calls for the Ukrainian capital to be flooded
And yet, Russia keeps saying it wants peace.
Reposted by Thomas Beck
I’m excited to launch my new series on Russia and the far-right. I’ve worked on this for so long, and over the coming months will share my research and documented info in one place so everyone can see how Russia has weaponized the far-right to subvert democracy in the U.S. and across Europe.
Chapter 1: Russia’s Fascist Foundations
Welcome to my new series, Inside the Kremlin’s Global Far-Right Operations.
open.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:39 PM
I’m excited to launch my new series on Russia and the far-right. I’ve worked on this for so long, and over the coming months will share my research and documented info in one place so everyone can see how Russia has weaponized the far-right to subvert democracy in the U.S. and across Europe.