B. Safarik
@bradsafarik.bsky.social
PhD, Associate Professor in Poli Sci, interested in political systems of the Global South, increasingly concerned about democratic backsliding in my own country. Polyglot. Eyes wide open.
Reposts are sometimes endorsements
Reposts are sometimes endorsements
Reposted by B. Safarik
From Copernicus: This shows how the expected date for breaching 1.5C has been creeping ever closer in recent years. The orange date shows the baseline for the extrapolation; the red date shows when 1.5C is breached based on the trend...
November 30, 2025 at 6:34 PM
From Copernicus: This shows how the expected date for breaching 1.5C has been creeping ever closer in recent years. The orange date shows the baseline for the extrapolation; the red date shows when 1.5C is breached based on the trend...
Reposted by B. Safarik
Absolute debasement of academic standards
*student submits opinion in psych class
*gets bad grade
*instructor says she can make whatever arguments she wants but must draw on empirical sources
*student & Turning Point says her religious freedom & first amendment rights violated
*professor suspended
*student submits opinion in psych class
*gets bad grade
*instructor says she can make whatever arguments she wants but must draw on empirical sources
*student & Turning Point says her religious freedom & first amendment rights violated
*professor suspended
OU has put the professor here on administrative leave:
November 30, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Absolute debasement of academic standards
*student submits opinion in psych class
*gets bad grade
*instructor says she can make whatever arguments she wants but must draw on empirical sources
*student & Turning Point says her religious freedom & first amendment rights violated
*professor suspended
*student submits opinion in psych class
*gets bad grade
*instructor says she can make whatever arguments she wants but must draw on empirical sources
*student & Turning Point says her religious freedom & first amendment rights violated
*professor suspended
Reposted by B. Safarik
🧵 THREAD — A Brief History of Societies Sliding Into Paranoia
(Chronological perspective, because this isn’t new — but it is repeating.)
When we talk about societies “losing their grip on reality,” it sounds abstract.
(Chronological perspective, because this isn’t new — but it is repeating.)
When we talk about societies “losing their grip on reality,” it sounds abstract.
November 30, 2025 at 3:52 PM
🧵 THREAD — A Brief History of Societies Sliding Into Paranoia
(Chronological perspective, because this isn’t new — but it is repeating.)
When we talk about societies “losing their grip on reality,” it sounds abstract.
(Chronological perspective, because this isn’t new — but it is repeating.)
When we talk about societies “losing their grip on reality,” it sounds abstract.
Reposted by B. Safarik
Leaked files show far-right influences among Project 2025 applicants
Leaked files show far-right influences among Project 2025 applicants
Applicants reportedly cited Nazi theorists and other extremists as inspiration for Trump administration roles
www.theguardian.com
November 30, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Leaked files show far-right influences among Project 2025 applicants
Reposted by B. Safarik
NEW via my #FOIA: These are all the divisions at FBI involved in the review of the Epstein files earlier this year. Between March 15 and March 22, 934 FBI agents and other personnel reviewed the recors
November 30, 2025 at 4:48 PM
NEW via my #FOIA: These are all the divisions at FBI involved in the review of the Epstein files earlier this year. Between March 15 and March 22, 934 FBI agents and other personnel reviewed the recors
Reposted by B. Safarik
Senator Kelly is correct.
Plus a Public Service Announcement:
KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1.
The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal:
"orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."
Plus a Public Service Announcement:
KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1.
The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal:
"orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."
November 30, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Senator Kelly is correct.
Plus a Public Service Announcement:
KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1.
The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal:
"orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."
Plus a Public Service Announcement:
KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1.
The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal:
"orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."
Reposted by B. Safarik
Reposted by B. Safarik
Realtors know that, in many parts of the country, if you educate people about climate risk, the housing market will collapse.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/c...
Zillow Removes Climate Risk Scores From Home Listings
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Realtors know that, in many parts of the country, if you educate people about climate risk, the housing market will collapse.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/c...
Reposted by B. Safarik
Five-byline alert: 🚨
David Sacks “has 708 tech investments .. that could be aided directly or indirectly by his policies, according to a New York Times analysis
“The tech bros are out of control,” said Steve Bannon.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/t...
David Sacks “has 708 tech investments .. that could be aided directly or indirectly by his policies, according to a New York Times analysis
“The tech bros are out of control,” said Steve Bannon.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/t...
November 30, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Five-byline alert: 🚨
David Sacks “has 708 tech investments .. that could be aided directly or indirectly by his policies, according to a New York Times analysis
“The tech bros are out of control,” said Steve Bannon.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/t...
David Sacks “has 708 tech investments .. that could be aided directly or indirectly by his policies, according to a New York Times analysis
“The tech bros are out of control,” said Steve Bannon.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/t...
Reposted by B. Safarik
And maybe even more damning is his repost of this. There is no attempt to pretend this is about a legal process. If you posted this about an elected official there is a non-zero chance you'd end up with a visit from a police officer.
November 30, 2025 at 1:09 AM
And maybe even more damning is his repost of this. There is no attempt to pretend this is about a legal process. If you posted this about an elected official there is a non-zero chance you'd end up with a visit from a police officer.
Outrageous corruption of our Republic.
Every conservative that doesn't loudly denounce this is actively promoting & facilitating the growing fissures within our society &the tentative compact the People have w/ their elected represenatives.
Supposed traditionalists turned nihilists. Madness.
Every conservative that doesn't loudly denounce this is actively promoting & facilitating the growing fissures within our society &the tentative compact the People have w/ their elected represenatives.
Supposed traditionalists turned nihilists. Madness.
All the president’s millions: how the Trumps are turning the presidency into riches
From Vietnam to the Balkans, Donald Trump’s family has launched a global dealmaking blitz since his re-election
www.theguardian.com
November 30, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Outrageous corruption of our Republic.
Every conservative that doesn't loudly denounce this is actively promoting & facilitating the growing fissures within our society &the tentative compact the People have w/ their elected represenatives.
Supposed traditionalists turned nihilists. Madness.
Every conservative that doesn't loudly denounce this is actively promoting & facilitating the growing fissures within our society &the tentative compact the People have w/ their elected represenatives.
Supposed traditionalists turned nihilists. Madness.
Donald Trump's mentor, Roy Cohn, on his Philosophy of Corruption:
"I don't care what the law says. I want to know who the judge is."
"I don't care what the law says. I want to know who the judge is."
Netanyahu "asks" the Israeli president Herzog to cancel his trial.
This is not a pardon request, in any meaningful sense. Netanyahu has not accepted any wrongdoing, and is not planning to step down.
There's a good chance Herzog accepts the request. Netanyahu made him president for this role.
This is not a pardon request, in any meaningful sense. Netanyahu has not accepted any wrongdoing, and is not planning to step down.
There's a good chance Herzog accepts the request. Netanyahu made him president for this role.
November 30, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Donald Trump's mentor, Roy Cohn, on his Philosophy of Corruption:
"I don't care what the law says. I want to know who the judge is."
"I don't care what the law says. I want to know who the judge is."
Reposted by B. Safarik
"Israel has “a de facto state policy of organised and widespread torture”, according to a UN report covering the past two years, which also raised concerns about the impunity of Israeli security forces for war crimes." www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Israel has ‘de facto state policy’ of organised torture, says UN report
Committee highlights allegations including dog attacks and sexual violence, raising concern about impunity for war crimes
www.theguardian.com
November 30, 2025 at 1:14 PM
"Israel has “a de facto state policy of organised and widespread torture”, according to a UN report covering the past two years, which also raised concerns about the impunity of Israeli security forces for war crimes." www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Reposted by B. Safarik
A lawsuit previously alleged that David Gentile—just pardoned by Trump— was an associate of Russian organized crime figure and oligarch Michael Cherney.
A business news outlet found that Cherney’s daughters benefited from some of Gentile’s earliest dealings.
A business news outlet found that Cherney’s daughters benefited from some of Gentile’s earliest dealings.
November 30, 2025 at 1:11 PM
A lawsuit previously alleged that David Gentile—just pardoned by Trump— was an associate of Russian organized crime figure and oligarch Michael Cherney.
A business news outlet found that Cherney’s daughters benefited from some of Gentile’s earliest dealings.
A business news outlet found that Cherney’s daughters benefited from some of Gentile’s earliest dealings.
Reposted by B. Safarik
A trailblazing analysis by ICIJ revealed that as of July 2025, the now Cambodian financial institution Huione Group sent about a million dollars a day in the digital currency tether to accounts at Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Crypto giants moved billions linked to money launderers, drug traffickers and North Korean hackers
An ICIJ investigation traced tens of thousands of transactions and found crypto platforms awash with dirty money.
buff.ly
November 30, 2025 at 1:37 PM
A trailblazing analysis by ICIJ revealed that as of July 2025, the now Cambodian financial institution Huione Group sent about a million dollars a day in the digital currency tether to accounts at Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Reposted by B. Safarik
"Never spread the lie in the headline" should be a hard rule of 21st century journalism.
Research shows that repeating lies helps to spread them, and people read headlines more than they read stories.
Research shows that repeating lies helps to spread them, and people read headlines more than they read stories.
News media has to do better with headlines that present false and unverified public health claims.
November 30, 2025 at 1:10 AM
"Never spread the lie in the headline" should be a hard rule of 21st century journalism.
Research shows that repeating lies helps to spread them, and people read headlines more than they read stories.
Research shows that repeating lies helps to spread them, and people read headlines more than they read stories.
Reposted by B. Safarik
Reposted by B. Safarik
He scammed over 1,000 people, most of whom were not wealthy - veterans, farmers, teachers, nurses, small businesses owners. Some lost everything. But he’s a rich Republican, so Trump let him get away with it. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/u...
Trump Frees Fraudster Just Days Into Seven-Year Prison Sentence
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 12:22 PM
He scammed over 1,000 people, most of whom were not wealthy - veterans, farmers, teachers, nurses, small businesses owners. Some lost everything. But he’s a rich Republican, so Trump let him get away with it. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/u...
Reposted by B. Safarik
I'm late to this powerful, detailed article, but it's well worth a read. What we're doing to these people is an atrocity. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Disappeared to a Foreign Prison
The Trump Administration is deporting people to countries they have no ties to, where many are being detained indefinitely or forcibly returned to the places they fled. Sarah Stillman reports.
www.newyorker.com
November 30, 2025 at 12:09 PM
I'm late to this powerful, detailed article, but it's well worth a read. What we're doing to these people is an atrocity. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Reposted by B. Safarik
“He once boasted that he would “stuff the drugs up the gringos’ noses.” He accepted a $1 million bribe from El Chapo to allow cocaine shipments to pass through Honduras.”
Now Trump set him free.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/n...
Now Trump set him free.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/n...
The Ex-President Whom Trump Plans to Pardon Flooded America With Cocaine
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 1:45 PM
“He once boasted that he would “stuff the drugs up the gringos’ noses.” He accepted a $1 million bribe from El Chapo to allow cocaine shipments to pass through Honduras.”
Now Trump set him free.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/n...
Now Trump set him free.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/n...
Reposted by B. Safarik
1/7
Florida’s transformation was not loud or dramatic. It happened thru quiet procedural shifts that removed guardrails & concentrated authority in executive. A swing state became a controlled state through routine actions that seemed normal at the time. #Voices4Victory #DV1 #ProudBlue #USDemocracy
Florida’s transformation was not loud or dramatic. It happened thru quiet procedural shifts that removed guardrails & concentrated authority in executive. A swing state became a controlled state through routine actions that seemed normal at the time. #Voices4Victory #DV1 #ProudBlue #USDemocracy
November 29, 2025 at 5:32 PM
1/7
Florida’s transformation was not loud or dramatic. It happened thru quiet procedural shifts that removed guardrails & concentrated authority in executive. A swing state became a controlled state through routine actions that seemed normal at the time. #Voices4Victory #DV1 #ProudBlue #USDemocracy
Florida’s transformation was not loud or dramatic. It happened thru quiet procedural shifts that removed guardrails & concentrated authority in executive. A swing state became a controlled state through routine actions that seemed normal at the time. #Voices4Victory #DV1 #ProudBlue #USDemocracy
Reposted by B. Safarik
Supreme Court, media, universities, gerrymandering… that is very similar to Orbán in Hungary.
But the explicitly anti-democratic actions of voter intimidation and suppression are a particular and well-established American twist.
But the explicitly anti-democratic actions of voter intimidation and suppression are a particular and well-established American twist.
1/7
Florida’s transformation was not loud or dramatic. It happened thru quiet procedural shifts that removed guardrails & concentrated authority in executive. A swing state became a controlled state through routine actions that seemed normal at the time. #Voices4Victory #DV1 #ProudBlue #USDemocracy
Florida’s transformation was not loud or dramatic. It happened thru quiet procedural shifts that removed guardrails & concentrated authority in executive. A swing state became a controlled state through routine actions that seemed normal at the time. #Voices4Victory #DV1 #ProudBlue #USDemocracy
November 30, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Supreme Court, media, universities, gerrymandering… that is very similar to Orbán in Hungary.
But the explicitly anti-democratic actions of voter intimidation and suppression are a particular and well-established American twist.
But the explicitly anti-democratic actions of voter intimidation and suppression are a particular and well-established American twist.
Reposted by B. Safarik
Africa’s forests have joined the Brazilian Amazon and Australian forests in becoming carbon sources rather than sinks. Around 2010 the previous storage of our carbon emissions flipped, mainly through deforestation and degradation.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#climatechange #deforestation #Africa
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#climatechange #deforestation #Africa
Loss of tropical moist broadleaf forest has turned Africa’s forests from a carbon sink into a source - Scientific Reports
Africa’s forests and woody savannas have historically acted as a carbon sink, removing atmospheric carbon and storing it as biomass. However, our novel analysis reveals a critical transition from a ca...
www.nature.com
November 30, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Africa’s forests have joined the Brazilian Amazon and Australian forests in becoming carbon sources rather than sinks. Around 2010 the previous storage of our carbon emissions flipped, mainly through deforestation and degradation.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#climatechange #deforestation #Africa
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#climatechange #deforestation #Africa
Reposted by B. Safarik
General Horta N’Tam, Guinea-Bissa’s army chief, has been sworn in as the country’s new head of state after the military seized power and arrested President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, halting a disputed election where both Embaló and Fernando Dias claimed victory.
Guinea-Bissau army head elbows in
N’Tam’s putsch has quashed vote-count bickering, as the incumbent supposedly languishes under armed guard. But critics suspect a ruse, with even more shenanigans afoot.
continent.substack.com
November 30, 2025 at 9:51 AM
General Horta N’Tam, Guinea-Bissa’s army chief, has been sworn in as the country’s new head of state after the military seized power and arrested President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, halting a disputed election where both Embaló and Fernando Dias claimed victory.
Reposted by B. Safarik
The term "has historic roots, including Nazi ideology and, more recently, a violent conspiracy theory that’s inspired terrorist attacks in the US and abroad" www.cnn.com/2025/10/19/u...
November 29, 2025 at 3:17 AM
The term "has historic roots, including Nazi ideology and, more recently, a violent conspiracy theory that’s inspired terrorist attacks in the US and abroad" www.cnn.com/2025/10/19/u...