Jake Godin

Wildfires Ravage One of Africa’s Largest Nature Reserves - bellingcat Satellite analysis of the Etosha wildfires in Namibia has found that more than a third of the nature reserve was burned.

Satellite analysis by Bellingcat found that wildfires destroyed over a third of Namibia’s most visited wildlife reserve last month, impacting crucial grazing lands for endangered species, including black rhinos and elephants. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/10...

Bluesky vs. X engagement comparisons tell familiar story.

Example: My colleague @johngramlich.bsky.social has similar # of followers on each site. Last week, he had a popular post about sports gambling, a topic of interest across political ideology.

X: 59 retweets
B: 1,234 total reposts

Inside an Iranian-Linked Militia Base in Aleppo Countryside Back in the summer, while driving one afternoon on a countryside route not too far from my home as part of a trip to the waterfalls of Handarat and the Handarat Palestinian refugee camp in Aleppo prov...

My latest: a look inside a villa in Aleppo countryside that appears to have been used as a base by an Iranian-linked militia during the war in Syria. I stumbled upon it while driving & the graffiti still remains. Took photos for historical documentation www.aymennaltamimi.com/p/inside-an-...

Absolute shock in France: Lecornu, who was just appointed prime minister by Macron two weeks ago, announced today that he was resigning.

The country was already in unprecedented territory, but this pushes it to another level; odds of new elections shortly just soared.

I visited the apartment building ICE raided on Tuesday today. Story to come, but you can walk right in. Half of the apartments have no doors on them. Children's stuff abandoned in some flats. *Citizen* residents told me they were arrested and held for hours in zipties. This is America

Geolocation| Aftermath of an Israeli airstrike, reportedly on the Abdel Aal family house near Al-Yaffa Street in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, Gaza City, Northern #Gaza
18 people were reportedly killed.
31.511656, 34.470293
🗓️4 Oct. 2025
Photos: [GRAPHIC] www.facebook.com/rakan2021r/p...

Pyrography on a small, beveled circular piece of wood depicting a large frog with six eyes and a back covered with small double crosses. It wears a small crown with an eye on it. The burning patterns make it look like the frog is swimming in murky water.

#inktober day 4: murky 🐸
Heket from Cult of the Lamb

#art #cultofthelamb #fanart #woodburning #pyrography

When Trauma Finds You Sometimes, trauma finds you while you’re waiting for it, when your body is tense anticipating its appearance. Your guard is up. Somehow, you soften its blows. Sometimes, though, trauma finds …

I wrote about how vicarious trauma can find you when you least expect it, through two experiences that I've had while working with images as an open source researcher.

Neither were graphic.

Both had a serious impact on me.

giancarlofiorella.com/2025/10/04/w...

I completely echo the reminder to treat all rumors with caution. In a situation like this, unless you are physically on the ground doing investigations yourself, the most important thing to do for information hygiene is to wait.

At least one other person, who identified herself on social media as Kat Abughazaleh, a former journalist also running for Congress, landed on the ground during that same protest after she was pushed by a federal law enforcement agent in a camouflage uniform wearing a full face covering, sunglasses and a helmet, video by CNN affiliate WBBM showed.

Absolutely INSANE use of passive voice in this CNN piece

just incredible

@katmabu.bsky.social “landed on the ground” during the protest???

Trump tells Congress that the U.S. is in 'armed conflict' with drug cartels President Trump says the U.S. is in an "armed conflict" with unspecified drug cartels. That's according to a document sent to Congress about the military strikes on suspected drug boats.

Honored to speak with @npr.org about the Trump administration's legal justification for lethal strikes in the Caribbean.

"What this boils down to is the President of the United States asserting a prerogative to kill people based solely on his own say so."

www.npr.org/2025/10/03/n...

Trump referenced a weekend conversation with Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, and he alluded to being told by Kotek that the reality in Portland is different from what’s being portrayed to him. “I spoke to the governor, she was very nice,” Trump said. “But I said, ‘Well wait a minute, am I watching things on television that are different from what’s happening? My people tell me different.’ They are literally attacking and there are fires all over the place…it looks like terrible.”

Trump told NBC on Sunday that he saw some Portland riot footage on Fox and thought it reflected current events.

It didn't. It was 5 years old, from the George Floyd aftermath.

And we learned that due to the diligence of a local TV reporter, who got the transcript.

www.cjr.org/laurels-and-...

Earlier this morning, on President Trump's orders, I directed a lethal, kinetic strike on a narco-trafficking vessel affiliated with Designated Terrorist Organizations in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility. Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike, and no U.S. forces were harmed in the operation. The strike was conducted in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela while the vessel was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics - headed to America to poison our people. Our intelligence, without a doubt, confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, the people onboard were narco-terrorists, and they were operating on a known narco-trafficking transit route. These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!!

Further premeditated killing by the Trump administration.

Labelling the victims of these strikes as "narco-terrorists" does not magically make these attacks legal.

Director of Eisenhower Library in Kansas ousted after refusing to give Trump administration a sword The director of the presidential library and museum in Abilene, Kansas, said he was suddenly told to resign or be fired. He refused to give the Trump administration a historic sword from the museum’s collection.

BREAKING: The director of the presidential library and museum in Abilene, Kansas, said he was suddenly told to resign or be fired. He refused to give the Trump administration a historic sword from the museum’s collection.

MSF strongly condemns the killing of Omar Hayek by Israeli forces this morning in #Gaza. Our thoughts are with his family and colleagues.

Omar is our fourteenth colleague to be killed in Gaza since the war started. We call yet again for an end to the genocide.

Our researchers have noticed today that NASA FIRMS, one of the main free and available open source sites for monitoring fires around the world has a new notice on it stating that NASA is no longer updating the site due to a lack in federal funding. firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/

Trump targets states that voted for Harris in shutdown fight The Office of Management and Budget is withholding billions in energy and infrastructure money in more than a dozen states that voted against Trump.

all presidential administrations are partisan, but trump and the people in his white house are partisans bordering on sectarians, and one result is that they see nothing of actions that strain and weaken the union itself

Rodrick Johnson, 67, is one of many residents who were detained by federal agents during the South Shore raid. A U.S. citizen, he said agents broke through his door and dragged him out in zip ties. Johnson said he was left tied up outside the building for nearly three hours before agents finally let him go. “I asked [agents] why they were holding me if I was an American citizen, and they said I had to wait until they looked me up,” Jones said. “I asked if they had a warrant, and I asked for a lawyer. They never brought one.”

What DHS pulled in Chicago on Tuesday is wildly unconstitutional. They smashed down almost every door in the building, dragged entire families into the street, and detained people for hours ("Kavanaugh stops").

Ms. Fisher was held for five hours and another senior citizen was held for three hours.

NEW: Watchdog group Public Citizen files Hatch Act complaint against US Small Business Administration for public message blaming "Senate Democrats" for government shutdown

Here it is:
www.citizen.org/wp-content/u...

Pyrography on a small, beveled circular piece of wood. The edge of the circle is embellished with vines, leaves, and stars, and in the center is a mustachioed bug in a gorget and pauldrons leaning against a smaller bug that is carrying a pack on his back.

#inktober day 1: mustache!

Silksong has become my nightly humiliation ritual, but Garmond and Zaza are my saving grace. thank you don quixote bug 🐛

#art #silksong #fanart #pyrography #woodburning

UPDATE: Live feeds from several Global Sumud Flotilla ships are now *dropping* as several sources indicate Israeli ships are approaching the flotilla The flotilla is carrying 500 volunteers from 45+ countries trying to break Israel's siege of Gaza & aid starving Palestinians

UPDATE: Live feeds from several Global Sumud Flotilla ships are now *dropping* as several sources indicate Israeli ships are approaching the flotilla

The flotilla is carrying 500 volunteers from 45+ countries trying to break Israel's siege of Gaza & aid starving Palestinians

State Department email telling staff, even apparently some who were already laid off, that their work is essential even during the shutdown

Per message shared w/ me:
The State Department just notified certain staff they are to work during the shutdown because their job is "necessary for emergencies involving the safety of human life" or "essential to national security"

Except…some people who got this were laid off weeks ago in the RIF!

“It feels like coerced speech where the government is forcing employees to spread its propaganda in communicating with the public,” says Don Moynihan (@donmoyn.bsky.social), a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan.

The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.

someone please check on every government website because the banners are killing me

HUD:

The normal route for the U.S. to provide security guarantees to another country is via treaty subject to Senate advice and consent.

This is just an executive order.

@eamena.bsky.social is a good follow, as well as @mfradley.bsky.social

JUST IN: A U.S. citizen from Alabama who has been detained twice by ICE while working at a construction site, has filed a class action suit claiming ICE's broad warrantless arrest powers violate the constitution. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Trump mandates all federal agencies send email blaming Dems for potential gov’t shutdown Workers call the partisan email "a vile slap in the face."

SCOOP — The White House instructed all federal agency leadership on Tuesday to send out a mandatory message to workers blaming the impending potential government shutdown on House Democrats, The Handbasket was first to learn. Absolutely no modifications to the email were permitted.

My story:

Pope Leo criticizes 'inhuman' treatment of immigrants in US Pope Leo on Tuesday appeared to offer his strongest criticism yet of U.S. President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies, questioning whether they were in line with the Catholic Church's pro-life teachings.

Pope Leo in remarks to journalists tonight: "Someone who says I am against abortion but I am in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don't know if that's pro-life.” www.reuters.com/world/pope-l...

Breaking: HHS, Commerce, Probably Other Agencies Send Entire Staff Email Blaming Democrats for Shutdown Please forgive the multiple editions in one day — occasionally I'll send breaking news out such as this. On Tuesday afternoon, employees at the Department for Health and Human Services and the Depart...

My guess is this was coordinated across the entire executive branch, like a Hands Across the Hatch Act Violation event or something