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Cris van Eijk

@crisveijk.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1.6K following 1.3K posts

International law, the (space) commons, and how they're made. PhD @newcastleuni.bsky.social | 🇺🇸🇳🇱🏳️‍🌈 | 🔊: krɪs van aɪk | he/him www.ncl.ac.uk/law/study/research/st…

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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
That being said. I read a lot of declassified internal primary sources, and you’d be surprised how often the history of space debris concerns was filed into folders marked ‘UFO / Fragments’, and also how many useful records are swept up by conspiracist FOIAs. 👀😅
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
And to that extent, the bottom line is that our world (or mine, anyway) is maybe not one that still needs to hear “and maybe YOU have power, too!” and practice middle-distance-staring. It’s one in which we DO have varying levels of power, & a poor record of wielding it for good or when it matters.
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
No no; I get you (and worded it like the ring was pulling levers lmao, was at char limit). But I think a difference between the MCU and DCU so far might be “w/ great power / great responsibility” vs “how do we wield (/refuse) power without losing ourselves on the way”
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Maybe it’s my lapsed Catholicism echoing through me, instead of a more Protestant approach to power and achievement? 🥲
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Hmmm, I see what you mean, but. I think I read it as less about the ring exerting either a test or a cost to wielding its power per se, & more about the importance of John *choosing* it, for the right reasons, & without being forced, or agreeing due to bitter resignation, or to satisfy others.
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
(I mean the watch, and that hurt people hurt people - but this is a show about ending those cycles. I don’t mean things I clearly did not mean. Just inb4 someone takes this and runs)
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
It’s an uncomfortable & confronting version, not the one he would have chosen, but there’s a lesson here, too. It’s not about getting the most comfortable version of accountability. Also, that engaging *despite* defensiveness, discomfort, & even wrongdoing by survivors is how the healing happens.
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
And in a sense, he was clearly trying/failing to seek that kind of closure elsewise via a safety room for billionaire weirdo business model. This is a version of the thing he came back to town for.
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The usual Pr*me or CBS version of this show would have their male lead stare deeply into the middle distance, and say like, “yeah, kid. We all lost a part of ourselves that day” as music swelled. That would be it. Kid’s college fund, the one that went to rebuild a new house, would still be spent.
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
They are emphasising reparations via core principles - like repairing harm done to a place, people, & community, based on impact & contribution, not guilt or intent. There is meaning to the notion that reparation is community-based & systemic, but feels individual as hell for those involved.
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
*Lanterns spoilers* I’ve seen a few ‘why did John give her money’ takes on the timelines and Guys, it’s a reparations narrative. John (unintentionally, but meaningfully) contributed to levelling a town / killing people. The main culprit served time, came back; John left w/o repair, & then thrived.
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 05/10/2026
Holy shit.
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Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
These are the 20th and 21st paragraphs of a story titled "Superpowers Race to Put Nuclear Reactors on the Moon" www.nytimes.com/2026/10/04/w...
Target dates have repeatedly slipped, and [highlight] few experts expect the countries to meet their deadlines. [/highlight] Nobody has a proven lander that can lower heavy, potentially radioactive material onto bumpy lunar terrain. Nobody has ever installed a reactor in low gravity.

The moon bases have not been built, and how much electricity they would need is open to speculation. That is why experts say that all or parts of the reactor designs could change.
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I’ve been wondering if it’s just user error or something else, but the digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org domain in general hasn’t worked for me for about 8 months now.
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
>_> not me becoming the UN historical gag jukebox to avoid writing this chapter-
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Aw, not *again*....! At least this one is actually digitised, at search.archives.un.org/s-0472-0002-...
search.archives.un.org
Redirecting…
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Okay you know what, just because I appreciate your work, here's the moment a Missouri-based Methodist priest decided the UNHQ's onsite dive bar was altogether too sinful. "'Soberly' yours," indeed. We only drink *checks notes* uh.... orange juice?
Letter from D.J. Van Devander (Huffman Memorial Methodist Church) to Trygve Lie (16 April 1951) UNARMS S-0472-0002-01-00001, 9

“It is reported upon good authority that there is a drinking bar adjacent to the assembly room of the United Nations, and that many persons who are transacting important business of the United Nations are frequenting this bar and then trying to make momentous decisions while under the influence of such drinks. Surely there is never a time in the life of the world when sober thinking is required. Boys are dying in Korea and apparently no great effort is being made by the United Nations to end that war and stop the killing, but at the same time men who have been elected to the high office of representative to the United Nations can indulge in drinking and give no great concern to the Korean war or other matters which should be considered by sound sober minds. Therefore in the name of humanity and in the name of God, do something about removing the bar from the United Nations Building.”Routing Slip from Correa to Glenn Bennett (21 April 1951) UNARMS S-0472-0002-01-00001, 8 
“Could you reply that your Committee (or Office) will ‘give the most careful consideration’ to the problem? 
‘Soberly’ yours, Correa”
Letter from Glenn Bennett (HQ Planning Office) to D.J. Van Devander (23 April 1951) UNARMS S-0472-0002-01-00001, 7
“The Secretary-General has asked me to reply to your letter of April 16 and I shall be very glad to bring it to the attention of all those concerned with the planning of our new Headquarters.” 

“Our experience in the past has been that our bars did more business in orange juice than they have in alcoholic beverages, when it comes to serving delegates, and I am sure that we all agree with you that the problems of this world require sound, sober minds.”
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“How did *you* spend the ‘60s?” “Translating jargon about milk production rates by continent into Russian. Why, what about you?”
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I bought my rhizomatic, antihierarchical, deeply interrelational go-to-work machine from the richest man alive, wait why are you laughing no stop laughing hold on-
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Justin Walsh @jstpwalsh.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
🤔
A Tesla in a parking lot. Its California license plate reads "DELEUZE"
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I bought my rhizomatic, antihierarchical, deeply interrelational go-to-work machine from the richest man alive, wait why are you laughing no stop laughing hold on-
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
[From UNARMS S-0855-0011-09]
Dear Mr. Narasimhan,

We should be very grateful if the Secretary-General would send letters of thanks to the following artists for their participation in Staff Day:

Rodney Dangerfield,
520 E 77th Street,
New York, N.Y. 10021


Members of the cast of "HAIR" (individual letters)
Walter RIVERA
Robalee BARNES
Fred DIAZ
George GARCIA
Ursaline KAIRSON
Ronnie McCAIN
Allan NICHOLLS
Kathrynann WRIGHT
Nathaniel GRANT
Angie ORTEGA
Charlotte LAMBETH
Janet POWELL
Valerie WILLIAMS

C/- Biltmore Theatre, Backstage,
261 West 47th Street,
New York, N.Y. 10017
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Reminds me of the time the UN Secretariat invited the cast of Hair for Staff Day in 1970. Very different groups, on a level I doubt any mortal interpreter could fully bridge.
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
.... out of literally ALL THE THINGS- bsky.app/profile/eliv...
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It's perhaps *not* a coincidence that maybe the EU's most protective & far-reaching consumer rights protection regime *also* happens to be the system hundreds of EU legislators rely on to get to/from work. >_>
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Adam Rogers @jetjocko.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
A lot of things make me feel kind of dumb, including how to take at face value the logic of “we are a multibillion dollar transnational industry building a vengeful elder god, and we definitely won’t stop unless you regulate us the way we want, which is a secret.”
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This is a crucial gap between proper EIAs (including public data release, public participation, & peer review) vs US space licensing regimes, where the govt accepts SpaceX's proprietary, processed, opaque data, then nods sagely & reaches for the APPROVED stamp.
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
There's a reason traffic lights don't use a tiered subscription model where only the RedLight+ subscribers can see *all* the other cars on the road. Except, in this analogy, the cars drive at ~27,000km/h, and most are coming at you from angles approaching 180°. And you drive via dial-up trailcam.
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
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Jerry Threet @jerrythreet.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
PUBLISHING classified information is certainly NOT illegal. It is illegal for the government employee to share classified information with the media. Those are TWO VERY DIFFERENT things.
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Engines all fail at once? Bits of the plane fall off? Even some airport strikes? Not necessarily 'extraordinary' circumstances. EU: Good news! Your musical instruments may be better protected by EU law than actual US consumers are at home. Was that what y'all meant by 'sax-based rights', or??
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
There is, incidentally, no ideal way to establish this point without sounding something like "I know you are, at this second, managing several dozen/hundred people all delayed at once. But thing is, *I'm* a special special boy whose trip ends in Dublin, and according to my *special* rights...."
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Exactly - esp because, per CJEU caselaw now codified into regs, that regime applies to trips to/from the EU (~/UK), *including* to any legs of that trip that start/end in third countries. The average US domestic gate personnel is probably *not* expecting EU law to shape their workday like that.
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It's perhaps *not* a coincidence that maybe the EU's most protective & far-reaching consumer rights protection regime *also* happens to be the system hundreds of EU legislators rely on to get to/from work. >_>
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Annalee Newitz @annaleen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Truly this thread is the best absurdist thriller novel I have read this year
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Not legal advice, etc, but just in case the UK-specific site doesn't include the EU's recent clarifying updates from summer 2026. Though medical emergencies are 'extraordinary circumstances', airlines are still obliged to provide care, food, info, etc: eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-conten...
4.3.2.   Provision of meals, refreshments and accommodation

The intention of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 is to ensure that the needs of passengers waiting for their return flight or re-routing are appropriately taken care of. The extent of appropriate care will have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, with due regard to the needs of passengers in the relevant circumstances and the principle of proportionality (i.e. according to the waiting time). The price paid for the ticket or the temporary nature of the inconvenience suffered should not interfere with the right to care.

With regard to Article 9(1), point (a), on meals and refreshments, the Commission considers the expression ‘in a reasonable relation to the waiting time’ to mean that operating air carriers should provide passengers with appropriate care corresponding to the expected length of the delay and the time of day (or night) at which it occurs, including at the transfer airport in the case of connecting flights, in order to reduce the inconvenience suffered by the passengers as much as possible, while bearing in mind the principle of proportionality. Particular attention has to be given to the needs of people with a disability or reduced mobility and unaccompanied children.

Furthermore, passengers should be offered care free of charge in a clear and accessible way, including, where possible, via electronic means of communication. This means that passengers should not be left to make arrangements themselves, e.g. finding and paying for accommodation or food. Instead, operating air carriers are obliged to actively offer care. Operating air carriers should also ensure, where available, that accommodation is accessible for people with a disability and their service dogs.

If care has not been offered even though it should have been, passengers who have had to pay for meals and refreshments, hotel accommodation, transport between the airport and the place of accommodation and/or telecommunication servic…"4.3.3.   Care in extraordinary circumstances or exceptional events

According to Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, the air carrier is obliged to fulfil the obligation of care even if the cancellation of a flight is caused by extraordinary circumstances, that is to say circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 contains nothing that would allow the conclusion to be drawn that it recognises a separate category of ‘particularly extraordinary’ events – beyond the extraordinary circumstances referred to in Article 5(3) – that would lead to the air carrier being exempted from all its obligations, including those under Article 9 of this Regulation, even in the case of extraordinary circumstances that persist over a long time, particularly since passengers are especially vulnerable in such circumstances and events (92).

In exceptional events, the intention of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 is to ensure that appropriate care is provided in particular to passengers waiting for re-routing under Article 8(1), point (b). However, penalties should not be imposed on airlines if they can prove that they have used their best endeavours to comply with their obligations under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 taking into consideration the particular circumstances linked to the events and the principle of proportionality."
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sarah jeong @sarahjeong.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
ok i'm done being polite. do not mention these fucking hot springs to me again. i do not have fresh socks or a fucking toothpaste, i am not getting in the goddamn hot springs in this state
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
[Instance 1 of 2 was a flight from SFO to the EU, which for most of us was leg 2 of a trip from Melbourne. We'd stopped in Dulles after engine issues, which all became very relevant at the 4hr mark, since the owed compensation broadly scales with the total distance travelled.]
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
That legal regime relies in practice on a very tired law nerd approaching a US gate staffer - who should have clocked out hours ago, & who caused none of the problems they're being underpaid to solve - with the words "I see we're now at 3hrs45mins delay. So, um, there's a court in Luxembourg..."
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I have, on two separate occasions, unexpectedly spent Too Many hours delayed at Dulles Airport, after 10PM, & en route to the EU. I have, both times, found myself giving impromptu popup seminars on EU passenger rights protections to the various people huddled around the only working outlets.
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Mark Kersten @markkersten.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The Netherlands says it has requested the European Commission to prepare to use the Blocking Statute to protect the #ICC 👇 www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland/m...
volkskrant.nl
Minister Berendsen bereid laatste redmiddel in te zetten om Internationaal Strafhof te beschermen tegen VS
Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Tom Berendsen probeert rond de Algemene Vergadering van de Verenigde Naties in New York de steun voor het Internationaal Strafhof overeind te houden, ondanks dreigement...
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
oooh another example!! bsky.app/profile/cris...
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Hey, if there's one thing I hear about New York City, it's the difficulty of finding things!! Especially things for everyday working life or office professonals. Someone should really look into that!!
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A moment of silence for the staff at the nearest Staples, or wherever else the Mission goes for all their undersized office paraphernalia needs.
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
.... Bruh. Or, I s'pose, 'Hwæt'. (Looking forward already to Maria Dahvana Headley's scathing review in the LRB...)
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Also: there were whole Channel Islands under occupation, which would have the very same non-right to sue for whateverthehell the supposed claim is here according to their weird weird brains. Bonus: they can keep my country's name out of their racist mouths.
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Oops!! Looks like they forgot who the opposition was in WWII!! ah well. I'm sure that's not foreshadowing their wider politics.
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Sergey Vasiliev @sevslv.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Everything must be ready to activate the EU Blocking Statute to shield the ICC from US sanctions targeting it as an institution. The European Commission and all EU member states that considered this measure premature or too radical must now realise that it can no longer be postponed.
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Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
He is not wrong. "There are reasonable grounds to believe that the reported 68 attacks that killed 223 people constituted crimes against humanity of murder under customary international law" - United Nations Special Rapporteur on U.S. Killing “Narco-Terrorists” at Sea www.ohchr.org/sites/defaul...
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Cris van Eijk @crisveijk.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I'll DM you!!
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