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Reposted by Laura C. Dees

Ingrid Robeyns @ingridrobeyns.bsky.social · 3d

Today, 250.000 people took to the streets of Amsterdam to protest Israel's genocidal violence in Gaza and the cowardly response by the Dutch government. It followed on two earlier protests, one with 150.000 protesters, and the first one with about 100.000. By Dutch standards, these are huge numbers.

Oxfam Novib @oxfamnovib.bsky.social · 3d

WIJ ZIJN MET MEER❗

#RodeLijn

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The Conversation U.S. @us.theconversation.com · 6d

RIP Jane Goodall, who has died at 91.

She was a gentle disrupter who reshaped how we understand our place in nature. Her research with chimpanzees revolutionized science, and her boundless optimism touched the world.

buff.ly/5Hwx3Z7 🌎🩺

A photo of Jane Goodall, in her later days with a quote from her: "The greatest danger to our future is our apathy.

Each one of us must take responsibility for our own lives, and above all, show respect and love for living things around us, especially each other."

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Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition @freedomflotilla.bsky.social · 10d

Together with 1000 Madleens to #Gaza @1kmadleenfr.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy we are sending a boat with international journalists & health workers in solidarity with Palestinian journalists & medics who continue to report & provide care through #genocide #BreakTheSiege #FreePalestine #AllEyesOnGaza

Photo of a boat at sea with flags & banners, text "Announcing Media & Medics boat to Gaza. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition and Thousand Madleens to Gaza will launch a dedicated boat carrying international journalists and medical professionals to Gaza on October 1." + FFC and Thousand Madleens logos.

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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 11d

When you consider the *ecocide* alongside the genocide being perpetrated in Gaza, you begin to grasp the totality of the Israeli state’s attempt to eliminate both the Palestinians and their homeland.
My column today.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Israel’s ecocide in Gaza sends this message: even if we stopped dropping bombs, you couldn’t live here | George Monbiot

Consider the annihilation of agricultural land alongside the genocide – and grasp the chilling totality of this attempt to eliminate all life, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

www.theguardian.com

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Laura C. Dees @lauradees.bsky.social · 15d

"The big perspective change from ancient DNA study is that people living today are almost never the descendants of the people in the same place thousands of years before." "People’s stories about their history are almost always wrong."

Colin D. Wren @cdwren.bsky.social · 16d

Nice story on Reich's research on ancient DNA "Claims of pure bloodlines? Ancestral homelands? DNA science says no." 🏺🧪 news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Pure bloodlines? Ancestral homelands? DNA science says no. — Harvard Gazette

Geneticist explains recent analyses made possible by tech advances show human history to be one of mixing, movement, displacement.

news.harvard.edu

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Current Biology @currentbiology.bsky.social · 15d

From burying beetles to shamans, follow Manvir Singh @manvir.bsky.social in his sweeping Q&A from our latest issue.

www.cell.com/current-biol...

Manvir Singh

Interview with Manvir Singh, who studies the evolutionary and cognitive origins of human cultural behaviors at the University of California, Davis.

www.cell.com

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Laura C. Dees @lauradees.bsky.social · 19d

goed gedaan @vvdonline.bsky.social! jullie waren nog sneller dan Orban, bravo!

Laura C. Dees @lauradees.bsky.social · 20d

hemeltergend

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Laura C. Dees @lauradees.bsky.social · Sep 8

haha aahh dat is echt leuk! veel plezier :)

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Laura C. Dees @lauradees.bsky.social · Sep 8

in the context of sharing something uplifting every once in a while: this documentary about two brothers dipping their toes in the world of "extreme birdwatching" is so joyful, genuine and funny, and it has stunning bird footage! youtu.be/zl-wAqplQAo?...

LISTERS: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching

YouTube video by owen reiser

youtu.be

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Laura C. Dees @lauradees.bsky.social · Sep 6

“Wie om veiligheid vraagt zonder macht, vraagt om bescherming in plaats van zeggenschap.”

de Volkskrant @volkskrant.nl · Sep 6

Opinie: Wij vrouwen moeten niet de nacht, maar de macht opeisen

www.volkskrant.nl

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Global Voices @globalvoices.org · Sep 1

Today, Global Voices joins with @rsf.org Avaaz and other media outlets to condemn the killing of journalists in #Gaza. Together, we call on the Israeli authorities to allow independent access for international press into Gaza immediately. #ProtectJournalistsInGaza #LetReportersIntoGaza

A dark black-and-grey city scene with the plume of a bomb rising above it and the text: "At the rate journalists are being killed in Gaza by the Israeli army, there will soon be no one left to keep you informed. #ProtectJournalistsInGaza #LetReportersIntoGaza

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Anna Graff @annagraff.bsky.social · Aug 30

Our paper is out! We linked genetic and linguistic data to study how contact changes language and found consistent patterns of borrowing across contact situations
@balthasarbickel.bsky.social @chiarabarbieri.bsky.social @nccrlanguage.bsky.social @isle-uzh.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv7521

Patterns of genetic admixture reveal similar rates of borrowing across diverse scenarios of language contact

Human population contact leads to consistently similar rates of linguistic borrowing, but effects vary across linguistic features.

www.science.org

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omerbartov.bsky.social @omerbartov.bsky.social · Aug 22

Crucial research by courageous Israeli journalists
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

'Starvation is everywhere': Virtual tours of Gaza clinics expose the scale of the horror

***

www.haaretz.com

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Amnesty International @amnesty.org · Aug 18

Israel is carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation in the occupied Gaza Strip, systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life.

Read more:

Israel/OPT: New testimonies provide compelling evidence that Israel’s starvation of Palestinians in Gaza is a deliberate policy

Israel is carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation in the occupied Gaza Strip, systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life, Amnesty International said today.

amn.st

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NPR @npr.org · Aug 17

A new study finds that chimpanzee babies learn vocal and visual communication patterns from their mothers. The findings may shed light on the way human babies learn from those close to them.

Chimpanzees pick up communication styles from their moms, not their dads

A new study finds that chimpanzee babies learn vocal and visual communication patterns from their mothers. The findings may shed light on the way human babies learn from those close to them.

n.pr

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Emine Uğur @overlistener.bsky.social · Aug 11

“The law means nothing if the world looks away.”

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Laura C. Dees @lauradees.bsky.social · Aug 7

Means a lot coming from a super cool researcher 🥹

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Laura C. Dees @lauradees.bsky.social · Aug 7

Thank you, very kind!

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Laura C. Dees @lauradees.bsky.social · Aug 6

It comes with a nicely condensed press release: www.eurekalert.org/news-release...

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Laura C. Dees @lauradees.bsky.social · Aug 5

So happy that this paper lead by Joseph Mine is finally out! Was cool to be part of this project on the social learning of multi-modal communication in chimpanzees, which is slightly outside of my usual scope (and it’s my first co-authored paper too, yay!) :) journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Chimpanzee mothers, but not fathers, influence offspring vocal–visual communicative behavior

The influence of social versus genetic factors on communication in non-human hominids is not well understood. This study shows that, in line with their central caretaking role, chimpanzees exhibit pre...

journals.plos.org

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News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · Aug 4

This is amongst the most impactful two minutes of broadcasting I’ve ever seen.

By Emma Murphy, International Editor, ITV News. #Gaza

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Ingrid Robeyns @ingridrobeyns.bsky.social · Jul 23

What is holding us from imposing complete sanctions on Israel immediately? Possible answers are racism, islamophobia, and giving in to illegitimate pressure from zionists. I don’t see any good reason at all.

Also, use military force to let the food in (since diplomacy failed).

Now!

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Jul 23

Mass starvation spreading across Gaza, aid agencies warn, as pressure on Israel grows – Middle East crisis live

More than 100 aid agencies, including Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children and Oxfam, say ‘our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away’ Palestine Red Crescent says the situation in Gaza is “only getting worse”, with spokesperson Nebal Farsakh calling it an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”. Farsakh said in a video posted to X on Tuesday that there has been no food, clean water or medicine entering the Gaza Strip for more than four months. This has resulted in a catastrophe where people are literally starving to death. More people are being admitted to hospitals with malnutrition especially among children, pregnant women and the elderly. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Laura C. Dees @lauradees.bsky.social · Jul 22

Such a fascinating topic! I’d totally recommend his brilliant book “Bye Bye I Love You” as well, which features reflections on ritual last words and much more relating to the opening and closing of the “interaction window” at the beginning and end of the lifespan.

Michael Erard @michaelerard.bsky.social · Jul 21

A new peer-reviewed open access article by me, all about ritual last words in five major religions. "Ritual last words" are sacred sounds, prayers, songs, names of deities, etc., prescribed to be spoken at the very end of life, ideally at the moment of expiry.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

www.tandfonline.com

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · Jul 21

A horrifying statement published today by the Editorial Committee of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.

"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"

Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:

Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die
July 21, 2025

AFP has been working with 1 writer, 3 photographers and 6 videographers, all freelance, in the Gaza Strip since its staff journalists left in 2024.

Along with a few others, they are now the only ones left to report what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The international press has been banned from entering the territory for nearly two years.

We refuse to watch them die.

One of them, Bashar, has been working with AFP since 2010, first as a fixer, then freelance photographer, and since 2024, as lead photographer. On July 19th he managed to post a message on Facebook: “I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can’t work anymore.”

Bashar, 30, works & lives in the same conditions as all Gazans, moving from one refugee camp to another under Israeli bombings. For > a year he’s lived in utter destitution, working at extreme risk to his life. Hygiene is a major issue for him, with recurring bouts of severe intestinal illness.

Since Feb, Bashar’s been living in the ruins of his home in Gaza City with his mother, 4 brothers & sisters and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is devoid of any furnishings, except a few cushions. On Sunday morning, he reported that one of his brothers had “fallen, due to hunger.”

Even though these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, it’s no longer enough to buy food, or they have to pay completely exorbitant prices. The banking system has collapsed, and those who exchange money via online bank accounts charge a commission of up to 40%.

AFP no longer has the ability to provide them with a vehicle and there is not enough fuel to allow these journalists to travel for their reporting. Driving a car means becoming a target for Israeli airstrikes. AFP reporters therefore travel on foot or by donkey cart. (alt txt continued in next post)

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