M. Nicole Nazzaro

Science, international studies, sports, parenting, and the @Mariners. Russian speaker. Нет войне. No longer posting on X. Find me at @mnicolen.bsky.social.

[M. Nicole Nazzaro @NNScienceWriter]

Moving to the butterfly community. Find me there at https://t.co/kAXkP8fdfS.

[M. Nicole Nazzaro @NNScienceWriter]

@Hermi1M @TMobilePark @Mariners Look who I found when I was watching the replay of Tuesday’s game! This is Root Sports, our local Mariners station. You’re famous! ♥️

[Buffalo Bills @BuffaloBills]

We’re all so proud of you.

Congratulations to our MVP, @JoshAllenQB. 🥹 #NFLHonors

[Holly Rowe @sportsiren]

For National Women and Girls in Sports day…Don’t just post…INVEST. Buy tickets to local games. Donate to help buy equipment, uniforms. Sponsor a youth team. WE CAN keep girls in sports by making opportunities plentiful. #nationalgirlsandwomeninsportsday

[Dan Wuori @DanWuori]

I don’t know what they’re discussing, but I do know it’s serious.

I mean get a load of that little face!

Then take a moment to admire mom’s expert mirroring of her newborn’s thoughtful tone, expression, and energy throughout this video - pausing only briefly to chuckle at those adorably expressive eyebrows.

This is the way brains get wired: Face to face with highly engaged adults.

Kudos to bebeginsayfasi on IG for this outstanding “serve and return” interaction.

[Rick Steves @RickSteves]

Dump Thy Neighbor?

As our new president and his favorite broligarch move to dismantle US foreign aid in the name of making America “great again,” consider this:

There are 8 billion people on this planet. About half of them live on less than $7 a day. Around 10% are in what the UN calls “extreme poverty” — trying to live on less than $2 a day. And 4% are Americans who live on an average of about $220 per day.

Before January 21, when Trump froze virtually all foreign aid, the US allocated slightly less than 1% of its wealth to help the world’s poorest people. And for more than 60 years, that work has been done by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), whose goal is both self-serving and compassionate: to “further America's interests while improving lives in the developing world.”

This weekend, Trump declared USAID is run by “liberals and lunatics” — and Elon Musk tweeted it was “time for it to die” as his crew took over the agency’s offices and demanded access to classified material. And today, with Musk crowing, “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the woodchipper,” we are learning that Marco Rubio is now in control of the agency.

Trump was elected by the most conservative Christians in the USA. But all Christians, whether liberal or conservative, follow the teachings of Jesus Christ — and if you distill Jesus’s message into three words, it’s “love thy neighbor.” As a traveler, I’ve come to understand that if there is a God, then all people are children of their heavenly creator. Therefore, we are all brothers and sisters. And logically, proximity (what country you happen to live in) has nothing to do with “love thy neighbor.”

But let’s just say the typical MAGA American Christian is more of a nationalist than a Christian (a.k.a. a “Christian Nationalist,”) and they care more about being rich and safe than actually loving thy neighbor. The president those Christian Nationalists helped elect, whose slogan is “Make America Great Again,” is in the process of dismantling humanitarian aid in the interest of saving tax dollars. But ironically, pulling out of this work will actually make America less safe and less great. Forgetting about any ethical or Christian-compassion dimension of foreign aid, ending these programs will make the Global South both more desperate and less stable — leaving a huge vacuum for China (which seems to understand the concept of “soft power” much better than MAGA Americans) to fill in these weakened countries. And to top it off, millions of people will no longer be providing a market for us to trade with — and will instead become refugees.

As a traveler who has spent about three months a year overseas for 40 years, who has researched and produced a one-hour TV special called “Hunger and Hope: Lessons from Ethiopia and Guatemala,” and whose primary teaching and philanthropic goals have been to fight poverty at home and abroad, I’ve learned something very fundamental: Even if you’re only motivated by greed, if you know what’s good for you and your loved ones, you don’t want to be filthy rich in a desperately poor world. It’s just not a pretty picture.

And if you really want to make America great, the best possible use of US tax dollars is to continue to dedicate less than 1% of the total federal budget to fighting global poverty — not in the name of Jesus, but in the name of a more stable and prosperous world where the USA is a strong leader. (And talk about a twofer…you get to love thy neighbor as well!)

Concerned? Raise your voice!

[AFRICAN & BLACK HISTORY @AfricanArchives]

On this day in 1960, four black college students staged a sit-in at a whites-only lunch counter at Woolworth's in Greensboro, NC.

They sparked a national movement across the country. Instructions were simple: sit quietly and wait to be served. #BlackHistoryMonth

[Black, Blessed & Unbothered @MelanatedTalk]

Period.

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

From our earliest days, Black history has always been American history – and Black folks have profoundly shaped our American culture through music, art, literature, sports, and beyond. One month a year is not sufficient to celebrate the power of the movements and the people who have fought for the rights we enjoy today. That’s something that we have to do each and every day, as we strive to live up to their example and make sure our children and grandchildren remember their stories.

[Fred Hutch Cancer Center @fredhutch]

On #WorldAIDSDay, we amplify voices of those working to @HelpEndHIV: community advocates, study volunteers & researchers like the Cape Town HVTN Immunology Lab. They play an important role in vaccine and prevention research that moves us closer to an HIV-free world. @hancprograms

[M. Nicole Nazzaro @NNScienceWriter]

@fast_women Bluesky works well and it’s gaining traction. See you over there!

[M. Nicole Nazzaro @NNScienceWriter]

This is all I have today. For science and for new discoveries that keep humanity moving forward, let’s get to work.

[Dr. Catharine Young @DrCatharineY]

Complicated times especially for science and scientists. We must do all we can in our own sphere of influence to keep working towards a better world.

[M. Nicole Nazzaro @NNScienceWriter]

@Rajulesrirama @runningpunks You showed up. You did the best you could for today. Put that one in the win column and have a good night’s sleep.

[M. Nicole Nazzaro @NNScienceWriter]

Vote.

[M. Nicole Nazzaro @NNScienceWriter]

@BTapintofitness Me for sure. I do a lot of treadmill running this time of year.

[M. Nicole Nazzaro @NNScienceWriter]

@mingimapetla Best wishes fora great run!

[M. Nicole Nazzaro @NNScienceWriter]

Good luck to all running the @nycmarathon tomorrow!

[M. Nicole Nazzaro @NNScienceWriter]

@runhappy72 Thank you for your posts - and your handle! Running happy is my goal too. 🏃‍♂️

[M. Nicole Nazzaro @NNScienceWriter]

@ravenscimaven Brilliant!