Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dave Braneck @braneck.bsky.social · Sep 7

Big moment in club history: Union Berlin make their women’s Bundesliga debut in front of a packed crowd.

Also momentous for women’s football in the city - they’re the first side from Berlin proper to play in the top flight since 2010. This will be fun.

#FCUnion #FCUFCN

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Courthouse News @courthousenews.bsky.social · Aug 29

Germany welcomed them with open arms. A decade later, migrants grapple with a rightward lurch @braneck.bsky.social www.courthousenews.com/germany-welc...

Germany welcomed them with open arms. A decade later, migrants grapple with a rightward lurch

People who arrived here in 2015 have changed significantly — finding work, learning German, even becoming citizens. So has the nation. The far-right, anti-immigration AfD now sits atop the polls.

www.courthousenews.com

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Stadio @stadio.football · Aug 18

This is Stadio.

youtu.be/XCw27DskYRw?...

This is Stadio

YouTube video by Stadio

youtu.be

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Reposted by Dave Braneck

Dave Braneck @braneck.bsky.social · Aug 9

Pumped to again appear on the great @spassbremse.bsky.social, where we discussed finance and sportswashing in football, the women’s Euros, and Berlin’s wildly unsuccessful branding as a ‘sport metropole’.

Plus, of course, stadium bratwurst chat. Check it out!

71 - At the intersection of sports, politics, and culture w/Dave Braneck

Spaßbremse · Episode

open.spotify.com

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Committee to Protect Journalists @pressfreedom.bsky.social · Aug 11

An entire news crew working for Al Jazeera was killed by Israel as they sought to bring the world firsthand reporting from #Gaza.

Among them was prominent journalist Anas Al-Sharif, who had been previously smeared and threatened by the IDF.

#NotATarget

Full statement: cpj.org/2025/08/isra...

Israel kills Al Jazeera journalists in targeted Gaza City airstrike - Committee to Protect Journalists

New York, August 10, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is appalled to learn of the killing today of Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and M...

cpj.org

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Dave Braneck @braneck.bsky.social · Aug 9

Pumped to again appear on the great @spassbremse.bsky.social, where we discussed finance and sportswashing in football, the women’s Euros, and Berlin’s wildly unsuccessful branding as a ‘sport metropole’.

Plus, of course, stadium bratwurst chat. Check it out!

71 - At the intersection of sports, politics, and culture w/Dave Braneck

Spaßbremse · Episode

open.spotify.com

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Dave Braneck @braneck.bsky.social · Aug 8

Germany finally restricting weapons exports to Israel (at least those that ‘could be used in Gaza’).

Great news, and pretty crazy that a Merz-led Groko is taking a stronger stance on Gaza than Scholz and the Greens did

DER SPIEGEL @spiegel.de · Aug 8

Israel plant den Krieg im Gazastreifen trotz internationaler Kritik auszuweiten. Nun reagiert die Bundesregierung. Laut Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz werden alle Rüstungsexporte gestoppt, die im Konfliktgebiet genutzt werden können.

Friedrich Merz: Bundesregierung stoppt Waffenlieferungen für Israels Gazakrieg

Israel plant den Krieg im Gazastreifen trotz internationaler Kritik auszuweiten. Nun reagiert die Bundesregierung. Laut Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz werden alle Rüstungsexporte gestoppt, die im Konfliktgebiet genutzt werden können.

www.spiegel.de

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Ciarán Fahey @cfahey.bsky.social · Aug 8

Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz says it’s stopping exports of military equipment that could be used in Gaza

(AP) #Gaza #Israel #Germany #warcrimes

apnews.com/article/germ...

Germany stops military exports that could be used in Gaza

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says Germany will not authorize exports of military equipment that could be used in Gaza “until further notice.”

apnews.com

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Dave Braneck @braneck.bsky.social · Jul 12

Sweden’s ‘soft hooligans’ supporters out in full force in Zürich before their final group stage match vs Germany.

As someone intrigued by hooliganism but afraid of violence, legal trouble, physical exertion, and spiders (unrelated) I may see if the soft hooligans are taking new members

#WEURO2025

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Dave Braneck @braneck.bsky.social · Jul 4

Germany win 2:0 but in the end it’s a mixed bag - they flexed their attacking muscles and built a nice rhythm, with Bühl and Brand especially starring. But captain Giulia Gwinn’s knee injury could be serious given her history.

#WEURO2025 #GERPOL

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Dave Braneck @braneck.bsky.social · Jul 4

I’m celebrating the 4th of July like any other proud American: by watching Germany take on Poland at the Euros in Switzerland.

Will sadly have to replace the customary bud light and hot dogs with a stadium bratwurst.

#WEURO2025

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Jun 14

Walz announces that Rep. Melissa Hortman is dead as a result of a "politically motivated assassination"

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Zito @zeets.bsky.social · Jun 14

The idea that this political violence is the consequence of people on both sides cheering it on seems like a sympathetic point but just doesn’t hold up to history. In my adult life, I’ve seen people on the right do everything from kill politicians to kill regular citizens, and it’s shrugged off.

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Courthouse News @courthousenews.bsky.social · Jun 6

Germany orchestrates plans to draw younger, more diverse crowds to opera @braneck.bsky.social www.courthousenews.com/germany-orch...

Germany orchestrates plans to draw younger, more diverse crowds to opera

Germany’s opera houses have been rattled by aging audiences, diminished public funding and a decline in civic life. Can these institutions survive in a post-pandemic world?

www.courthousenews.com

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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · May 15

A good morning to read about birthright citizenship from the perspective of the great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, the plaintiff whose case in 1898 affirmed that birthright citizenship is guaranteed to the children of undocumented migrants born in the U.S. wapo.st/3F9Djae

His great-grandfather enshrined birthright citizenship. Norman Wong is trying to save it.

One hundred and twenty-seven years after Wong Kim Ark’s Supreme Court victory enshrined birthright citizenship, Norman Wong is fighting to protect that legacy.

wapo.st

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Reuters @reuters.com · May 16

New Jersey Transit rail strike, first in four decades, begins as wage talks stall reut.rs/4jXEKYt

New Jersey Transit rail strike, first in four decades, begins as wage talks stall

New Jersey's commuter rail engineers walked off the job early on Friday after marathon contract talks stalled ahead of a midnight deadline their union set for meeting its wage demands, igniting the first strike to engulf the third-largest U.S. transit system in more than 40 years.

reut.rs

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Courthouse News @courthousenews.bsky.social · May 8

Germany marks 80 years since WWII’s end while struggling with rise of far right @braneck.bsky.social www.courthousenews.com/germany-mark...

Germany marks 80 years since WWII’s end while struggling with rise of far right

As World War II fades from living memory, its place in the German collective consciousness is as complicated as ever.

www.courthousenews.com

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Reposted by Dave Braneck

Jules Boykoff @julesboykoff.bsky.social · May 7

Just galling on so many levels. US Vice President JD Vance Jokes About Deporting Tourists Attending the 2026 Men's World Cup www.huffpost.com/entry/jd-van...

JD Vance Jokes About Deporting Tourists Attending 2026 World Cup

The vice president warned people attending the five-week tournament next year not to overstay their welcome, or there would be consequences.

www.huffpost.com

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Dave Braneck @braneck.bsky.social · May 6

I see the whole "returning to GroKo under Merz might not be perfect but at least it will bring the stability Germany needs right now" argument is working out splendidly

Ned Richardson-Little @historyned.bsky.social · May 6

Friedrich Merz fails to get his own CDU/CSU-SPD coalition to vote for him as Chancellor. 18 members of the government seem to have decided not to support him on the first ballot, which has failed. This has never happened in the history of the Federal Republic. www.spiegel.de/politik/deut...

Live-Analyse: Friedrich Merz scheitert im ersten Wahlgang

Politisches Erdbeben im Bundestag: Friedrich Merz hat bei der Wahl zum Kanzler im ersten Wahlgang die notwendige Mehrheit verfehlt. Nun kann er einen neuen Anlauf nehmen. Die Sitzung in der Live-Analy...

www.spiegel.de

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Dave Braneck @braneck.bsky.social · Apr 27

It's now official: Union Berlin’s women team is going up to the Bundesliga! Demolishing Gladbach in front of 14,000 fans secures Union’s first ever top flight season, and makes them Berlin’s first women’s Bundesliga club since TeBe back in 2010.

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Musa Okwonga @okwonga.bsky.social · Apr 24

This graphic, from German publication Die Zeit, shows the rise in right-wing extremist incidents in German schools last year. “Most of these are offenses such as swastika graffiti and Hitler salutes, but also racist insults and even death threats against classmates with a migration background.”

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Dave Braneck @braneck.bsky.social · Apr 24

Thanks for the conversation, and for sharing!

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Lukas Mengelkamp @lukasmengelkamp.bsky.social · Apr 24

I had a very good conversation with @braneck.bsky.social on the future of German and European defense policy. Some of it made it into this article, so why don't you give it a read ;-)

Courthouse News @courthousenews.bsky.social · Apr 24

Germany’s massive military makeover still needs to win recruits @braneck.bsky.social www.courthousenews.com/germanys-mas...

Germany’s massive military makeover still needs to win recruits

As the U.S. backs away from the global stage, Germany has committed to hundreds of billions in defense spending. Bringing back conscription could be next.

www.courthousenews.com

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Courthouse News @courthousenews.bsky.social · Apr 24

Germany’s massive military makeover still needs to win recruits @braneck.bsky.social www.courthousenews.com/germanys-mas...

Germany’s massive military makeover still needs to win recruits

As the U.S. backs away from the global stage, Germany has committed to hundreds of billions in defense spending. Bringing back conscription could be next.

www.courthousenews.com

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Reposted by Dave Braneck

Covering Climate Now @coveringclimatenow.org · Apr 22

Germany's Deutsche Welle (DW): “Housing costs all over the world are skyrocketing, and climate change-driven disasters are only making it worse. Could city planning and risk reduction help?” By @braneck.bsky.social

How is the climate crisis affecting affordable housing? – DW – 04/22/2025

Housing costs all over the world are skyrocketing, and climate change-driven disasters are only making it worse. Could city planning and risk reduction help?

www.dw.com

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