aarongell

As someone who grew up on (white) teen movies, I was struck by how much that Patel scene looked like something straight out of a spec script in the 1980s. The racialized minority over performing nationalism as white frat boys clearly broadcast to everyone but him that he is not really one of them.

Enhance your #snowday by reading my essay on Klaus Mann's delicious antifascist novel Mephisto, a savage takedown of elite complicity that has no relevance whatsoever to contemporary America
libertiesjournal.com/online-artic...

Many thanks to @celestemarcus.bsky.social and @readliberties.bsky.social for publishing it!

Enhance your #snowday by reading my essay on Klaus Mann's delicious antifascist novel Mephisto, a savage takedown of elite complicity that has no relevance whatsoever to contemporary America
libertiesjournal.com/online-artic...

🚨France, Germany, Italy, and the United States have escalated attacks on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, demanding her resignation over remarks she did not make. Here’s everything you need to know: 1. U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz and the leading Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee accused Albanese of calling Israel the “common enemy of humanity.” 2. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot went further, branding her a “political activist who stirs up hate,” accusing her of comparing Israel to the Third Reich, and announcing France will formally demand her removal at the UN Human Rights Council session on February 23, 2026. He insisted she must resign immediately. 🔴3. But Albanese never called Israel the “common enemy of humanity.” She described the system enabling genocide in Palestine as humanity’s common enemy. The quote has been widely misrepresented. 4. French officials also criticized her for appearing at the Doha Forum alongside a Hamas leader and Iran’s foreign minister. In fact, she was not on stage with those figures. Paris has long accused her of “justifying” the October 7 attacks for contextualizing them within decades of occupation, a characterization President Emmanuel Macron previously called a “disgrace.”

5. The Trump administration has previously demanded her removal and imposed sanctions on her for documenting Israel’s crimes. 6. Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul echoed the push, writing: “I respect the UN system based on independent rapporteurs. However, Albanese has made numerous inappropriate statements in the past. I condemn her recent statements on Israel. Her position is untenable.” 7. Italy’s foreign minister also supported her removal, stating that Albanese’s positions “do not reflect those of the Italian government” and that her “behaviors, statements, and initiatives are not appropriate for the position she holds within a body of peace and guarantee such as the United Nations.” 8. Supporters, including various scholars, say the campaign is political retaliation for her reports on Israeli human rights violations. 9. Amnesty International France called Paris’s move a “shameful misrepresentation,” stating: “No, Francesca Albanese did not designate Israel as the common enemy of humanity… We denounce this attack on the independence of her mandate.” The group added it was “shocking” that France’s foreign minister repeated false claims while publicly prioritizing the fight against disinformation.

10. In an interview with L’Humanité, Albanese responded to @jnbarrot : “Everyone makes mistakes, it’s human. But we correct, we rectify,” calling on him to apologize and retract his false comments. 11. The backlash has not come only from Western governments.. “We don’t agree with much of what she says. We wouldn’t use the language that she’s using in describing the situation,” the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said. The fight now centers on whether @FranceskAlbs , an independent UN Special Rapporteur can continue documenting Israeli crimes without political reprisal. 🎥 Video via L’Humanité. References in reply.

Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt @FranceskAlbs My full AJ Forum speech last week: the common enemy of humanity is THE SYSTEM that has enabled the genocide in Palestine, including the financial capital that funds it, the algorithms that obscure it and the weapons that enable it.

🚨France, Germany, Italy, & the U.S. have escalated attacks on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, demanding her resignation over remarks she did not make.

Here’s everything you need to know:

1. U.S. Amb. Mike Waltz & the leading Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee accused...

YourFavoriteGuy @guychristensen_ . @TeamYouTube just deleted my entire channel over my free speech standing against the genocide of Palestinians Can I call on this community to rally to restore my voice? Meanwhile, I urge everyone to make sure they have me on SubStack: http://yourfavoriteguy.com

YouTube has removed the channel of pro-Palestinian political commentator Guy Christensen, a U.S.-based activist known for short videos discussing the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza. He had 50K+ subscribers and tells Drop Site he avoided discussing Hamas to prevent this outcome.

I broke the story yesterday that masked ICE agents (not DOJ) were removing items including a personal computer from the home of Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who shot Renee Good. I have yet to see a single news outlet cover this or an elected official even acknowledge it.

The video also allegedly shows the CBP agent saying “Do something, bitch” before shots were fired. In private Signal chats, the CBP agent boasted to other officers: “I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.” If he felt comfortable enough communicating that to fellow employees, it speaks to an irredeemable organizational culture.

This is the second time in three months a DHS agent called a US citizen a "bitch" as he shot her. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/whos-threa...

A screencap from a phone. A Guardian story reads, "Federal agents taunted Chicago woman to 'do something' before shooting her, attorney claims A text reads, "Read it. 5 shots, 7 holes"

As a reminder, here are texts Charles Exum wrote bragging abt shooting Marimar Martinez in Chicago on 10/4.

Exum yelled "Do something bitch" as he shot, first through windshield, then side window. ALSO a Greg Bovino deployment. ALSO a weapons instructor.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Is it really the government’s role to pick winners and losers in the narcotic trade?

just had a real heart to heart with chatgpt

what hackery

The Red and the Black | Aaron Gell The persecution of anti-Cop City activists is part of a long history of state repression of dissidents in the American South.

Further reading thebaffler.com/salvos/the-r...

is it maybe due to it being gross?

i feel like if we'd just called it the u.s. army instead of the "union army" we might have avoided a lot of recent trouble

To be fair he’s not mayor

AI: If you'd like I can do the exact thing you've already asked me to do three times. Do you want me to build that list now?

Me: Yes, please, and destroy the world while you're at it

deep breaths, andrew

bluesky take heed

I was really excited to get this from thrift books… until I opened it

Count me one those parents of a trans child who is furious with the complete lack of moral courage in a large chunk of the Democratic Party.

Trinidadian Family Says U.S. Military Killed Relative in Boat Attack

Trinidad and Tobago defense minister: “The strike took place in international waters, so the government … has no jurisdiction to investigate.”This is false. What he’s really saying is sovereignty and citizens’ lives are worth less than maintaining deals with Trump. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/w...

Huh: TikTok took down my 8-second video featuring this image of Debbie Brockman — the news producer just detained by Trump’s CBP agents — saying it violates the “joy of TikTok”

Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: ‘I didn’t want them to take her’ During the Sept. 30 raid one tenant protected a terrified girl and her mom. Remnants at the complex, including a detailed map of all the units, offer clues to what authorities may have known before th...

During a military-style raid on a building in Chicago’s South Shore, one resident heard a knock on his door. 

It wasn’t the feds —  it was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for help.

He let them hide in his unit for the next 3 days.

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

How McKinsey and Climate Change Wrecked Insurance A secret report shows that Florida underwriters were banking massive profits while stiffing customers. Welcome to insurance in the era of climate collapse.

Just published a big piece about insurance, climate collapse, and how McKinsey turned a system based on mutal aid into another way to pick our pockets.

The result is a zombie industry that is doomed to fail & take down the economy along with it. In @newrepublic.com newrepublic.com/article/1997...

How McKinsey and Climate Change Wrecked Insurance A secret report shows that Florida underwriters were banking massive profits while stiffing customers. Welcome to insurance in the era of climate collapse.

Just published a big piece about insurance, climate collapse, and how McKinsey turned a system based on mutal aid into another way to pick our pockets.

The result is a zombie industry that is doomed to fail & take down the economy along with it. In @newrepublic.com newrepublic.com/article/1997...

How McKinsey and Climate Change Wrecked Insurance A secret report shows that Florida underwriters were banking massive profits while stiffing customers. Welcome to insurance in the era of climate collapse.

Recommended: deep dive on the insurance industry in an era of climate-fueled catastrophes. @aarongell.bsky.social @newrepublic.com
newrepublic.com/article/1997...

reality tv pilot. they're going to hand out leadership roses

no idea what this guy's ranting about (sometimes clicking is just too much effort) but the title gave me a chuckle