Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Mehran Seyed Hosseini

Emissary Of Night | ليلى @diplomatofnight.com · 1d

“The alleged underground Hamas command center at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, used to justify an unprecedented assault on the biggest medical center in Gaza, was actually an animation the IDF had used the previous year, saying at the time it was a tunnel beneath a UN school.”

Jack Sapoch @jacksapoch.bsky.social · 2d

NEW: Since October 2023, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit has released dozens of 3D animations illustrating alleged Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian sites

The style is now unmistakable: satellite zoom-ins, black & white wireframes, and red-textured houses - a new visual language of war

5 150 320

Reposted by Mehran Seyed Hosseini

Emily Dische-Becker @emilydische.bsky.social · 2d

"Wir haben 43 Videos aus den letzten zwei Jahren identifiziert und analysiert. Sie geben vor, Orte darzustellen, wo Waffensysteme in Häusern versteckt sind: Orte, die es aber so nicht gibt." www.srf.ch/news/interna...

Propaganda in 3D: Wie Israel mit Computeranimationen systematisch die öffentliche Meinung beeinflusst

Mit fragwürdigen 3D-Animationen versucht Israel systematisch die öffentliche Meinung zu beeinflussen.

www.srf.ch

2 62 130

Reposted by Mehran Seyed Hosseini

Heba Gowayed هبة جويد @hebagowayed.bsky.social · 18d

Incredible. Italy brought to a standstill as Italians descend to the streets to protest for Gaza. No business as usual. Schools closed. Businesses closed. Shameful on the rest of us.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Disruption across Italy as tens of thousands protest against Gaza war

Schools and stations closed and ports blocked in one of Europe’s biggest demonstrations opposing Israel’s offensive

www.theguardian.com

7 580 1.5K

Reposted by Mehran Seyed Hosseini

medico international @medico2.bsky.social · 22d

All Eyes on Gaza - Stoppt den Genozid ❗️
📣 Großkundgebung
🗓️ Samstag, 27.9., 17 Uhr
📍 Großer Stern, Straße des 17. Juni, Berlin

Wir sehen uns nächste Woche!
Weitere Infos: all-eyes-on-gaza.de
#AllEyesOnGaza #StopTheGenocide #CeasefireNow

5 27 61

Reposted by Mehran Seyed Hosseini

Yossi Bartal @yossibartal.bsky.social · 22d

Exklusiv: Meine Investigativrecherche zur Durchfuhr von Ersatzteilen für die israelische Luftwaffe am Flughafen Köln/Bonn sowie über die Verantwortung von deutschen Behörden und internationalen Unternehmen wie FedEx für einen laufenden Genozid.

Pünktlich getroffen: via Köln nach Gaza – the Diasporist

Im August verkündete die deutsche Bundesregierung einen temporären Lieferstopp von Rüstungsgütern nach Israel an. Er sollte gelten für Waffen, “die im Gazastreifen zum Einsatz kommen können”. Dennoch ...

thediasporist.de

2 42 82

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · 23d

"Ausgschlossen von der Neuregelung sind u.a. ... Einkünfte aus selbständiger Arbeit" curious to see how this is gonna go down

1 1

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · Sep 5

Personally I also think that rich pensioners (and their soon to be rich kids) should pay more and there are certainly roads which could be taken there, but then we are ralking about a different Verteilungskampf.

2

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · Sep 5

for 45 years (very unlikely), they would currently get a gross pension of ca. €3600 per month. In absence of a further income source, would they count as rich? Their household income would probably be higher, and ideally the tax authorioties (but not the pension system) would know about.2/3

1 1

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · Sep 5

Two issues of the top my head: you can have pensioners with very few points but high househould income (e.g. civil servants who worked as dependent emplyoees early in their lifes) benefiting from such a measure. Also if someone has earned an income near the income cap (Beitragsbemessungsgrenze)1/3

1 1

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · Sep 5

I understand your point. But that cost has to be paid by someone somehow. And looking at the pension level and the pension distribution, I don't think reducing or redistributing pensions is the way to go.

1

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · Sep 5

(which is one of the controversial topics in the German policy debate) and therefore the sustanibility factor is dropped, there will still be a link, which however would be weaker than the current link.2/2

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · Sep 5

yes, the sustainability factor itself hasn't yet had a negative effect on pension adjustments. The ca. 10% decrease in pension level since its introduction has been mainly caused by the "Riester-Treppe" through the "contribution rate factor". But even if net pension level (before taxes) is fixed1/2

1

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · Sep 5

Sorry, I should have said I find it hard to argue why "Höherwertung der Ost-Entgelte" (one could say one of the "costs" of reunification) be paid through a flat contrbution rate?

1

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · Sep 5

a lower adjustment, since the pension level refers to net pension level (before taxes) 2/2

1

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · Sep 5

I didn't mean that indirectly. I meant through the so-called contribution rate factor and the so-called "sustainability factor" in the pension formula (see also def. of Äquivalenzbeitragszahler). Even if the pension level is fixed in the future, an increase in the contribution rate will result in1/2

1

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · Sep 5

takes demographic change into account. And to the extent that demographic change is caused by increasing life expectancy it tends to (cet. par.) increase rates of return.2/2

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · Sep 5

for my take on tha tax subsidy (see below), but at least since 2000 the increase has been only nominal and there doesn't seem to be a trend that it is increasing as proportion of the federal budget (see e.g. rentenupdate.drv-bund.de/DE/1_Archiv/...) The pension model used in the IMK-paper 1/2

1

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · Sep 5

pension claims. Secondly, even if you don’t count this item and the early-retirement costs (which by the way include more than the costs for early-retirement after 45 years you are still left with ca. €92bil which would be very hard to argue should be paid through direct contributions.2/2

1

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · Sep 5

www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de/Bund/DE/Pres...
On slide 16 there is a list of expenditure items which are not covered by direct contributions. Firstly, pension for widows is only counted partially (only the part which goes beyond what the widows would have got, had they chosen to split 1/2

www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de

1

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · Sep 5

The rate of pension increases in Germany is also tied indirectly to revenues (even if the current “Haltelinie” for the pension level is continued).

1

Mehran Seyed Hosseini @hobsblume.bsky.social · Sep 5

could be a problem if real wages hadn’t increased at all in the preceding decades. Also a better way to compare who is getting what out of the system would be to compare expected rates of return. It is done here: www.imk-boeckler.de/fpdf/HBS-009...
No sign it is decreasing for younger cohorts.

1

Reposted by Mehran Seyed Hosseini

WSI Düsseldorf @wsiinstitut.bsky.social · Sep 1

#Rente vor dem Kollaps? Mitnichten. Die #Rentenversicherung ist stabil und verlässlich. Die größte Herausforderung besteht aktuell darin, dass über Rentenpolitik richtig diskutiert werden muss. WSI-Rentenexperte Florian Blank @taz.de zu Fehlern der Debatte taz.de/Gesetzliche-...

Gesetzliche Rente: Finanzierbarkeit ist politisch, nicht neutral

Die Rente wird derzeit schlechtgeredet, ihre Vorteile bewusst ignoriert. Verloren geht dabei die Tatsache: Rentenpolitik ist auch Verteilungspolitik.

taz.de

1 12 16

Reposted by Mehran Seyed Hosseini

Max Granger @maxgranger.info · Aug 10

“I urge you not to let chains silence you or borders hold you back. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our plundered homeland." -Anas Al-Sharif, final will and testament

1 12 19

Reposted by Mehran Seyed Hosseini

Max Granger @maxgranger.info · Aug 10

Israel just killed beloved Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sharif in a targeted air strike.

4 53 96

Reposted by Mehran Seyed Hosseini

Tomer Dotan Dreyfus @tomerdd.bsky.social · Aug 6

while being the second biggest weapon exporter of the weapons that kill, injure and torture them, the German government refuses to take responsibility and host injured palestinian children for treatment in a few german cities who expressed an interest to do so. 1/

1 16 48