Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 48m

Eyad Elyan, a Palestinian academic at Scotland’s Robert Gordon University specializing in AI and 3D modeling:

“What is especially troubling, however, is how such fabricated content is uncritically accepted and amplified by mainstream media outlets.”

Jack Sapoch @jacksapoch.bsky.social · 16h

Many of these “illustrations” aren’t based on verified intelligence at all.

Our analysis of 43 official IDF videos found recycled 3D environments, spatial inaccuracies, and assets lifted from unrelated artists and institutions.

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Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 13h

"Driving is an expression of our society’s permanent gridlock, and even a deeper rot: It reveals that we have lost the thread that connects us to one another and that the only way forward is to cut someone else off."

(h/t @baydoun.bsky.social for sharing)

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/o...

Opinion | The Chaos of Driving in Lebanon Tells a Story of a Country Unraveled

www.nytimes.com

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Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 1d

9/10 of the people taking ayahuesca indeed end up like this.

“The rishi has been teaching us a lot of different things about pain and anger, and now, thanks to his teachings, we’re all about abundant love and universal acceptance.”

Slipknot Travels To India To Begin Psychedelic, Free-Love Phase Of Career

RISHIKESH, INDIA—In an effort to break down creative barriers and open their minds to new types of spirituality, members of the heavy metal band Slipknot reportedly traveled to India this week to begi...

theonion.com

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the Diasporist @thediasporist.bsky.social · 4d

@yossibartal.bsky.social on the cargo ship carrying 162 tons of military goods produced by a German metals conglomerate on its way to Israel: thediasporist.de/162-tons-of-...

162 Tons of Ammunition – the Diasporist

A German metals conglomerate profits from another war of destruction

thediasporist.de

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Reposted by Chris Osieck

The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 3d

The people of Wilmington, North Carolina protest a Nazi regime-linked company being among the suppliers of 563 tonnes of bomb shells and ammunition to Israel from the US – as reported by The Ditch Thursday

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Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 1d

All strength, Sonia. 🙏🏼

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Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 1d

“Four of the women who spoke to AP said the men who solicited them identified themselves as aid workers, and, in one case, a community leader promising aid.”

www.ap.org/news-highlig...

Women in Gaza say they were promised food, money or work in exchange for sexual interactions | The Associated Press

After weeks of scraping by to feed her six children in Gaza, the 38-year-old woman thought she’d found a lifeline. At a shelter, a friend told her

www.ap.org

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Justin Salhani @justinsalhani.bsky.social · 2d

A pair of reports released today by the Cost of War project show that Israel could not have continued war in Gaza and elsewhere across the region without US military & diplomatic support.

US has provided Israel w/ over $31 billion since Oct 2023

www.aljazeera.com/features/202...

Reports: Israel couldn’t wage wars on Gaza, Lebanon Iran without US support

Twin reports from the Costs of War Project find the US has backed Israel with more than $21bn since October 2023.

www.aljazeera.com

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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 2d

This war of revenge has lasted two nightmare years. There’s only one hope for peace: Israel recognising Palestine | Raja Shehadeh

Donald Trump’s proposals are in play, but here in the West Bank we live in fear that the devastation of Gaza is coming our way, says writer and lawyer Raja Shehadeh

www.theguardian.com

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Jan Okorn @okornjan.bsky.social · 2d

Moving family saga of attitudes to otherness from the decolonization of Indonesia to present-day Netherlands.

Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 2d

The echoes of my grandmother Charlotte’s letters carry into the present: once files weighed people as ‘Western-oriented’ or ‘assimilable’; now forms speak of safe-country lists, case prioritisation and queues. The terms shift while families still have to fight to stay together.

New Lines Magazine @newlinesmag.bsky.social · 2d

A trove of family documents reveals how Dutch-Indonesian families were caught between two worlds as an empire collapsed. @chrisosieck.bsky.social writes for @newlinesmag.bsky.social on a painful personal story that crosses continents and generations.

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Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 2d

“While the entire world was exposed to horrific scenes from the Strip every day, Israeli media chose to ignore the situation in the best case, and deny it in the worst.” From the report by @molad-institute.bsky.social here: m.molad.org/articles/art...

Ayala Panievsky @panievsky.bsky.social · 2d

שנתיים למלחמה הן זמן טוב לחשבון נפש. ⁦‪הארץ‬⁩ מסקרים היום את הדוח שכתבנו במולד ומגלה מה התקשורת בישראל מעלימה מאיתנו: רק ב-3% (!) מהאייטמים נחשפה הקטסטרופה בעזה, בפחות ממאית האייטמים הופיעו דוברים ערבים, נציגי אופוזיציה זכו לעשירית החשיפה של נציגי הקואליציה ועוד הרבה נתונים כאן 👈👈 ⁦‪shorturl.at/0fLf

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Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 2d

It’s a very US-centric app and news from the Middle East or Asia either you need to specifically look for or get moderated into oblivion due to the fact that it’s considered too violent. Which I can understand but I also find ICE raids violent and those don’t get censored.

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Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 2d

The echoes of my grandmother Charlotte’s letters carry into the present: once files weighed people as ‘Western-oriented’ or ‘assimilable’; now forms speak of safe-country lists, case prioritisation and queues. The terms shift while families still have to fight to stay together.

New Lines Magazine @newlinesmag.bsky.social · 2d

A trove of family documents reveals how Dutch-Indonesian families were caught between two worlds as an empire collapsed. @chrisosieck.bsky.social writes for @newlinesmag.bsky.social on a painful personal story that crosses continents and generations.

Caught Between States as an Empire Dissolved

A Dutch-Indonesian family’s documents from the mid-20th century reveal a painful story of separation and an administrative nightmare that prefigures today’s xenophobic politics

newlinesmag.com

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Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 3d

🤷🏽‍♂️

www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/syr...

How UN Humanitarian Aid Has Propped Up Assad

Why have sanctions been so unsuccessful at stopping Assad’s killing machine? A big part of the blame lies with the UN-led humanitarian effort in Syria.

www.foreignaffairs.com

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Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 3d

“She cares more about dogs than she cares about human beings here,” one UN worker said. Another aid worker described Tkalec’s negotiations over dog food as showing “deep insensitivity toward Palestinian colleagues”.

www.thenewhumanitarian.org/investigatio...

Top UN official in Gaza accused of “serving Israeli interests”

Suzanna Tkalec has praised Israeli authorities while presiding over a deteriorating humanitarian system in Gaza.

www.thenewhumanitarian.org

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Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 3d

"The plan unveiled this week by President Trump was devised by the conflict’s most powerful participants and presented as an ultimatum to Palestinians, whose political hopes were left unanswered. In other words, it’s the opposite of what finally worked in Northern Ireland."

Opinion | Northern Ireland, Gaza and the Road to Peace

www.nytimes.com

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Robin Yassin-Kassab @qunfuz.bsky.social · 4d

It turns out, not surprisingly, that liberal values are necessary to underpin a multicultural society. If we are all equal and respected we can all get on. When genocide enters the balance, we can't.

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Reposted by Chris Osieck

Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 4d

Hamas’ statement is not acceptance of the new Trump plan. It’s an agreement to end the war & reach terms of agreement “upon further negotiations”. The momentum created by the Trump/Arab States meeting in NY has largely dissipated through Netanyahu’s efforts. I don’t think we’re going to get a deal.

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Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 4d

It's kind-of like the US supporting warlords in Afghanistan (e.g. Dostum, Raziq).

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Sam Doak @samdoak.bsky.social · 4d

We went through months of footage to find details of the IDF’s support for a Gaza militia positioning itself as an alternative governing force

Found the Popular Forces to be receiving aid directly from the GHF, and moving vehicles & equipment with relative ease over the border

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Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 5d

Dutch colonial history gets more attention then before, mainly around wartime violence. But its legacy runs deeper: racist colonial policies were inherited and recycled, and still resurface, often in new forms, in European politics today. The wounds are lasting, even if less visible.

New Lines Magazine @newlinesmag.bsky.social · 5d

7.🧵 And a trove of family documents reveals a painful story of separation and an administrative nightmare. @chrisosieck.bsky.social recounts his Dutch-Indonesian family’s journey in the aftermath of empire.

newlinesmag.com/first-person...

Caught Between States as an Empire Dissolved

A Dutch-Indonesian family’s documents from the mid-20th century reveal a painful story of separation and an administrative nightmare that prefigures today’s xenophobic politics

newlinesmag.com

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Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 5d

Relatives had destroyed letters from the eastern front from Onnen in the 1990s. But they still had pictures of him, which the Bellingcat volunteers were able to use for an AI image analysis.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Historian uses AI to help identify Nazi in notorious Holocaust murder image

Jürgen Matthäus has for years been investigating the killer – and is confident he has finally solved the mystery

www.theguardian.com

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Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · 5d

American fascism their own Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach.

Jack Hopkins-The Original @therealjackhopkins.bsky.social · 6d

Larry Ellison believes more surveillance makes “citizens behave.” Trump believes it makes subjects obey. The danger isn’t what Trump tweets. It’s what Ellison builds while nobody’s watching.👇

www.jackhopkinsnow.com

Warning: Larry Ellison and the Authoritarian Dream Trump Wants Him to Build

How One Tech Titan Became the Most Dangerous Man You’ve Never Voted For

www.jackhopkinsnow.com

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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 5d

I think President Trump sincerely wants a diplomatic "win" in Gaza.

The question is whether he can translate that desire into actual results.

The US President has leverage, if he is willing to use it.

"Based on the Statement just issued by Hamas, I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE. Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly... this is about long sought PEACE in the Middle East." - President Trump

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Signal @signal.org · 5d

We are alarmed by reports that Germany is on the verge of a catastrophic about-face, reversing its longstanding and principled opposition to the EU’s Chat Control proposal which, if passed, could spell the end of the right to privacy in Europe. signal.org/blog/pdfs/ge...

signal.org

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