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aarongell

@aarongell.bsky.social
490 followers 1.2K following 531 posts

Writer at New Republic, Guardian, Businessweek, Economist, Fast Co and Baffler.

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Reposted by aarongell
Sheryl Weikal says Prosecute ICE @leftistlawyer.com · 20/06/2026
You've probably seen that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with four states with GOP attorneys general (Iowa, Nebraska, Alaska, and Texas), is suing the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). THREAD. www.ftc.gov/system/files...
ftc.gov
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Philadelphia Inquirer @inquirer.com · 01/06/2026
New Jersey state troopers meant to protect Newark protesters from ICE are violently shredding the First Amendment instead.
inquirer.com
Mikie Sherrill’s state police riot in Newark is a national disgrace | Will Bunch
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
@sulliview.bsky.social Hi Margaret, Hoping to chat for a story I'm working on. Got a sec? aaron.gell@protonmail.com
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
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.
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
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...
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
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...
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Drop Site @dropsitenews.com · 13/02/2026
🚨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...
🚨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.
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Drop Site @dropsitenews.com · 14/02/2026
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.
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
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Chad Loder @chadloder.dev · 10/01/2026
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.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
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...
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.
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emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
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...
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"
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
just had a real heart to heart with chatgpt
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
is it maybe due to it being gross?
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
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
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
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
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
deep breaths, andrew
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
bluesky take heed
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
I was really excited to get this from thrift books… until I opened it
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Richard Hellinga @richhell.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
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.
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BTS @bigtentsocialist.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
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...
nytimes.com
Trinidadian Family Says U.S. Military Killed Relative in Boat Attack
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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
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”
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Sophie Sherry @sophiesherry.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
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/...
chicago.suntimes.com
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...
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
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...
newrepublic.com
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.
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
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...
newrepublic.com
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.
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Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Recommended: deep dive on the insurance industry in an era of climate-fueled catastrophes. @aarongell.bsky.social @newrepublic.com newrepublic.com/article/1997...
newrepublic.com
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.
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
no idea what this guy's ranting about (sometimes clicking is just too much effort) but the title gave me a chuckle
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
can @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social go a day without showing his ass? this guy has been performing sagacity so hard he's forgotten how to think. take a little break, pal, we'll save your seat
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 17/09/2025
Rep. Ronny Jackson calls to forcefully mass institutionalize trans people and calls them a cancer. www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/r...
Alt text: A screenshot of a news article excerpt. The text quotes a person making derogatory comments about transgender women, saying they have "an underlying level of aggressiveness" and claiming left-wing media tells them daily that they are victims. The speaker argues that transgender Americans face psychiatric issues and that society needs stronger mental health interventions. He continues by saying, "We have to treat these people. We have to get them off the streets, and we have to get them off the internet," calling transgender identity a "virus" and a "cancer" spreading across the country.
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
At this point, if you’re a journalist at the Washington Post who *hasn’t* been forced out by the new idiots in charge, you should probably take a hard look at your work to see what you’re doing wrong
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Organization for Accessible Journalism @accessiblejournalism.org · 14/09/2025
Great analysis on how the media took a bad situation and made it worse — and threw trans people under the bus — by @newsjennifer.bsky.social. eapmstyleguide.org/9-14-2025-me...
eapmstyleguide.org
The media made a bad situation even worse
At a time when serious people are calling for calm and reconciliation, the media’s failure to follow the most basic rules of good journalism made America less safe.
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Panderdude 🇺🇦 @panderingstooge.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
Gift article. Venezuelan speedboat not the 1st but apparently the 3rd time Trump's reckless military actions resulted in failed missions and civilian deaths. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/u...
nytimes.com
How a Top Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission Into North Korea Fell Apart
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
“You need to run for president”- Joe Rogan anoints new progressive superstar. My interview with @jamestalarico.bsky.social in @guardian www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
theguardian.com
Joe Rogan anoints a new progressive star – can James Talarico triumph in Texas?
The state house member seemed like an unlikely aspirant for the US Senate battle, but an appearance on Rogan sparked the question: can he turn Texas blue?
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Michael Calderone @calderone.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
In a powerful first-person account, Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk opens up for the first time about her shocking arrest and 45 days in an ICE detention center. www.vanityfair.com/news/story/r...
vanityfair.com
“Even God Cannot Hear Us Here”: What I Witnessed Inside an ICE Women’s Prison
Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk opens up about her 45 days in a South Louisiana processing facility—and the generous and compassionate women she met.
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
My interview with author @tim-weiner.bsky.social is doing numbers on @theguardian.com! Can we make it to three?! www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
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Stellbound: Stellraiser II @antlervel.vet · 24/08/2023
I wrote a My Favorite Murder spec script
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
I think Epstein is to MAGA what Gaza was to the Harris campaign, i.e. unmistakable evidence of complete moral bankruptcy.
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Legacy of Ashes author @tim-weiner.bsky.social has never been a big defender of the CIA. But in a recent interview about his new book, The Mission, he expressed genuine horror at Trump’s anti-Langley revenge crusade. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
theguardian.com
CIA historian Tim Weiner: ‘Trump has put national security in the hands of crackpots and fools’
The longtime chronicler of the spy agency on his Legacy of Ashes follow-up and what keeps him up at night
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Jason Linkins @dceiver.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
@aarongell.bsky.social profiled Francesca Albanese for us back in February newrepublic.com/article/1914...
newrepublic.com
The U.N. Expert on Palestine Who Captured the World’s Attention
AIPAC ​h​ates her. Social media loves her. Amid a bitter​ war, Francesca Albanese became an unlikely star.
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Schooley @schooley.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
Are we the baddies but with a mask.
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Kyle Lukoff @kylelukoff.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
Lavonnia Moore, the librarian fired for including one of my books on a display after a child requested it, sounds incredible and what happened to her should be a crime. roughdraftatlanta.com/2025/07/05/l...
roughdraftatlanta.com
South Georgia library manager fired for trans-inclusive display
The branch manager at the Pierce County Library was fired after displaying a trans-inclusive children's book in a public display.
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NPR @npr.org · 06/07/2025
NPR's Gaza producer faced Israeli military fire, private U.S. contractors pointing laser beams at his forehead and masked thieves as he tried to get food from a U.S.-supported group. By Anas Baba
n.pr
Knives, bullets and thieves: the quest for food in Gaza
NPR's Gaza producer faced Israeli military fire, private U.S. contractors pointing laser beams at his forehead and masked thieves as he tried to get food from a U.S.-supported group.
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
As a journalist myself, I think writers deserve more credit for their work. Ben Ryan (oddly a freelance health reporter 🤔) takes the lead, with Nicholas Fandos and Dana Rubinstein. Hit piece or objective reporting, they own this
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
when you can't stop thinking about him
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
I sure wonder what ron galotti is up to
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
Thread: 30 years ago, I got the greatest scoop of my career—the 1st @foofighters interview...E V E R. (I think?) I had an in. I knew Dave in high school. I shot & designed the album cover for Dain Bramage (& am now married to the woman whose hands are in that photo fwiw)
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Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 29/06/2025
We should all be disgusted by the flood of anti-Muslim remarks spewed in the aftermath of Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the NYC mayoral primary — some blatant, others latent. Shame on the members of Congress who have engaged in such bigotry and anyone who doesn’t challenge it.
axios.com
Attacks on Muslims flood mainstream after Mamdani win
Openly racist rhetoric has become normalized at the highest levels of American politics.
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
This is cold-blooded murder. Every supporter of Israel needs to accept reality, denounce this evil, and take personal responsibility for ending it. archive.is/rHhMU
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aarongell @aarongell.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Former @sierraclub.org honcho Carl Pope tells us what he "got wrong" about climate change (methane is bad, actually) but never mentions most US methane comes from beef and dairy production. Earnestly hoping we all survive to read his next mea culpa in 2045. archive.is/kzB2B
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