audrey russo

@MarkMuro1 @baselinescene @pghtech @ChamberPHL Look to places who have spawned & cultivated innovation. Be evidence based. @DARPA @NIHsbir etc. it’s about talent & place.

@chrisbriem I used to love using those sheets as a whiteboard for creative iteration. 🤣🙃

I literally just cleaned out a stack of overhead projector sheets from the bottom of a drawer I needed to empty.

Can we all just take a second to remember that it's now been 70 years since 8-10 *thousand* residents of the Lower Hill District were evicted en masse and we are really only now talking about putting housing back. Housing that is not going to appear anytime soon at best.

Coming up

Sister Mary Kenneth Keller was told computers were “not for women”. She ignored it, earned a PhD, and became the first woman in the U.S. to receive a doctorate in computer science, helping shape modern programming languages.

@chrisbriem Pgh water bills already doubled a year ago…. Now what ?

I will be the first to stipulate that PWSA water bills going up are the result of more than decades of almost criminal levels of underinvestment going back a long long time. That being said, water rates I truly believe are a growing factor in housing affordability within the city. I do not have any great solution to that problem.

The Middle East conflict 101: UN in 1947: “Here is a state for you, the Jews, and here is a state for you, the Arabs.” The Jews: “Awesome. Thanks. We’ve only been waiting for this for thousands of years.” The Arabs: “Sorry no. We’d rather attack than have a state. We don’t want a state. We want no Israel.” The Jews: “Sorry you attacked and lost.” The Arabs: “Don’t worry. We’ll be back.” The Jews: “Here. Take land. Make a state. We just want peace.” The Arabs: “No. No state. No Israel.” The Jews in 1967 (Khartoum summit): “Here. Take land. Make a state. We just want peace.” The Arabs: “No. No state. No Israel.” The Jews in 1991 (Madrid Conference): “Here. Take land. Make a state. We just want peace.” The Arabs: “No. No state. No Israel.” The Jews in 2000 (Camp David Summit): “Here. Take land. Make a state. We just want peace.” The Arabs: “No. No state. No Israel.” The Jews in 2001 (Taba Sunmit), 2005 (Disengagement), 2007 (Annapolis conference), 2008 (realignment plan), 2010, 2013 (Joint peace talks), 2019 (Bahrain workshop), 2020 (Trump peace plan): “Here. Take land. Make a state. We just want peace.” The Arabs: “No. No state. No Israel.” The world in 2024: “Let’s give them a state.” The Arabs: “No. No state. No Israel.” The Jews: “Ok, no state for you.” The world? “Those Jews!” And then there are the wars that the Arabs attacked the Jews and lost: 1948 (war of independence), 1967 (six day war), 1973 (Yom Kippur war), 1982 (Lebanon war), 1987 (first intifada), 2000 (second intifada), 2006 (second Lebanon war), 2008 (operation cast lead), 2012 (operation pillar of defense), 2014 (operation protective edge), 2021 (operation guardian of the walls), 2023 (operation swords of iron). The fact that there is a single human being on planet earth who still doesn’t get the following fact is insane and mind boggling. The Jews want peace. The Arabs who call themselves Palestinians do not. They never have. They never will. Want proof? The PLO: The Palestinian liberation organization was established on May 28th, 1964. There were no settlements then. There was no occupation. What exactly were they looking to liberate? The answer is Israel, every last inch of it. There was Arab terror against Jews well before there was any occupation. There was Arab terror against Jews before there was even a state of Israel. 1929, for example. Arabs massacred Jews in Hebron. Why? It was 1929. Israel was established in 1948. How exactly does that work? Were they massacring Jews to resist the future occupation? 😂 Anyone who thinks that offering the Palestinians a state will solve anything is a fool. Period. Full stop. It’s time the world learned Arabic. The Palestinians want dead Jews. They say it, they vote for it, they act towards it, and then they live stream it. And yes, I said Palestinian, not Hamas. The Palestinian people elected Hamas. Thousands of them participated in October 7th in one way or another. Close to 90% of the Palestinians support Hamas. The Palestinian people exist from day one for the sole purpose of destroying Israel. It’s their entire identity. They keep trying and keep failing. They don’t seem to learn their lesson and neither does the international community. Israel wants peace. Israel is willing to make compromises for peace. Israel also knows well how to handle its enemies when necessary. It has a lot of experience. If you are still reading, and disagree with anything I wrote above, kindly tell me what is inaccurate about what I said and if you can’t, if you agree with the facts I listed here, tell me please how, in 2026, after October 7th, anyone still thinks the Palestinians want or deserve a state. Congratulations on completing your course on the Middle East. You are now officially more knowledgeable about the conflict than 99% of Gen Z and pro Palestinian activities who take to the streets every day chanting for the murder of Jews. Thank you for attending. Any questions?

Watch 🎥 This should be shared EVERYWHERE. This is what happened when 20 random westerners sat down to watch what Palestinian kids are taught in UNRWA schools.

In Rome’s Jewish Ghetto, Pasticceria Boccione is famed for its ricotta cheesecake. Under a 16th century papal edict barring Jews from selling dairy, bakers charred the crust so it looked burnt and plain,hiding the cheese within.A sweet act of defiance,resilience,and survival.

@HistorylandHQ @BryanKeIIy Where is this exactly ?

Street in the mill district in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1941.

Yup it arrived!! @chrisbriem

@chrisbriem And none in the Hill District?

How is it there are so many supermarkets near me. How much can the population of the East End eat?

Yes, the milk and bread rush is on! I, fortunately, am not worried. I just added it up and I live in reasonable walking distances of TWO Giant Eagles, + a fake (Community Market) Giant Eagle, TWO Aldis, a Trader Joes, a Whole Foods, the food section of a Target, and a cheese shop. If all leave me hanging, we have bigger problems. But for everyone else, time may be short for stocking up.

@ZvikaKlein Yup ❤️

I can’t look away from Bari Weiss's story at CBS. It's the drama. The memos. The anonymous staff statements. The internal rebellions that always claim they are defending journalism while quietly defending comfort. The whole thing is a perfect snapshot of what American media became in the last decade. But I’m following it for a more serious reason. Bari Weiss represents a path that almost no journalist takes. She did not just complain about a broken newsroom culture. She published her critique, walked away from the most prestigious platform in the industry, and built a competing institution. Then she returned to a legacy newsroom, not as a guest, not as a columnist, not as a hired pen, but with authority. That is rare. That is the difference between talking about change and making it. I have managed journalists for years. I know how much talent gets wasted on self-censorship. I know how many good reporters learn to anticipate the internal backlash and adjust their writing before the editors even touch it. Weiss built an audience precisely because she wrote as if adults still exist. The Jewish element is central. Weiss refused the defensive crouch. She spoke about antisemitism in ways that most never did; without the usual disclaimers. She treated Jewish safety as a story that belongs on the front page, not in a local news outlet or tiny corner of the internet. David Ellison belongs in this story too. Owners decide whether courage is rewarded or punished. Owners decide whether leadership has cover when the internal outrage machine starts up. Ellison backing Weiss, and backing support for Israel after October 7, signals something that Jews and Israelis understand intuitively: Not only is it important to create news differently - It’s also okay to look at the Middle East through the prism of Western societies; and at Israel as homeland of the Jewish people - and the only democracy in the region. Here’s my honest takeaway: Weiss is doing more for Jews and Israel than most of us, and she is doing it with creative thinking that turns backlash into leverage and chaos into direction. That is leadership. 🇺🇸 ✡️🇮🇱 My @Jerusalem_Post column: jpost.com/international/…

Must read from today’s Australian

@chrisbriem I might have pre-ordered twice….. 🙈😜❤️

Lest I get a big head. #726,065! You know I have to track that. Gotta at least get above #500,000!

So hey, #20 on this Amazon list of new releases in economic history. Like I need yet another obscure metric to obsess on. But I bet a few preorders could push it up a few notches. Just saying. amazon.com/gp/new-release…

@chrisbriem ✅💰

The Jewish community came to Bondi to light the second candle of Hanukkah and is singing songs of peace, because this is who we are, a peaceful people who just want to live freely.

I think of this photo a lot. The owner, Rachel Posner, donated it to Yad Vashem, and on the back wrote in German: “Chanukah 5692 (1932). ‘Death to Judah,’ so the flag says. ‘Judah will live forever,’ so the light answers.” Some lights cannot be extinguished. Chag Sameach.

Bondi Beach shooting: 12 people confirmed dead and several injured in terrorist attack on Jewish community event - ABC News - hate just grows abc.net.au/news/2025-12-1…

“Real life is junior high. The world that you're about to enter is filled with junior high adolescent pettiness, pubescent rivalries, the insecurities of 13-year-olds, and the false bravado of 14-year-olds.” — Tom Brokaw via the 5-Bullet Friday newsletter

@chrisbriem That’s hilarious

@PittsTechAudrey Used to be cheaper. Reykjavik McDonalds (long closed):

Retirement plan finalized.