Dr Gina van Raphael

Dr Gina van Raphael

@aliagvr.bsky.social

Political Anthropologist｜IR: Diplomacy, Authoritarian Rule｜ME Studies — Historiography, Ethnography, Tribe)｜US Policy Intersection | Non Exec Dir UKG | NRS

1.5K followers403 following1.7K posts

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Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Primer 101 on US-Iranian tensions. How did they start? 🧵 It’s important to know a couple of points: * Iran sits between Iraq and Afghanistan * Iranians are _not_ Arabs (neither Iranians nor Arabs appreciate this confusion)

Dr Gina van Raphael reposted

Victor Y Pyrrhic
@phyrricvictory.bsky.social

In exchange for Musk giving us a few minutes of unwatchable slop, we have given Grok 1000s of acres of land, millions of gallons of potable water, untold electricity, and the trip mining of rare earth and other minerals. Really people, stop using AI.

wired.comGrok Says Its AI-Generated Version of ‘The Odyssey’ Is ‘Not Historically Accurate’Months after Elon Musk declared that the xAI model would outclass Christopher Nolan’s mythological epic, the bot itself admitted defeat.

Dr Gina van Raphael reposted

Timothy Snyder
@timothysnyder.bsky.social

Step by step, day by day, Americans experience the big platforms becoming Orwellian political censors. The US needs a federal government that will tax them and break them up; the democratic world needs to learn the lesson and protect itself.

Alex Gibney@alexgibneyfilm.bsky.social

Note: TikTok - 15% owned by Musk pal Larry Ellison - permanently banned our "Musk" the movie account on the platform. www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politic...

hollywoodreporter.comTikTok “Permanently Suspends” the ‘Musk’ Film Ad Account, Raising Suppression Fears (Exclusive)Move comes just as Alex Gibney doc film expands to nearly 500 screens. Distributor Bleecker Street says it is appealing.
Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Time to call Trump the 1st gay president of the US.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

🤔 What the hell is wrong with Trump? 🤔 Trump gave a bonkers speech in Georgia that included Islamophobic bigotry, oddly sexual comments about men, crazed lies about teachers secretly trans-ing kids, and a variety of other insane rants Here's the lowlight reel:

Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Warren Harding did this in the 1920s. He botched up the word 'normality' and said 'normalcy'. Now that is the word used in America ... for normality. Still wrong.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

a very weird thing about Trump that I have NEVER seen the media comment on is that he thinks "mutilization" is a word and uses it multiple times during every public appearance

Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Not worth commenting except to say, he won't even take 2% of the first primary if he ran. A non-starter.

Robert Reich@rbreich.bsky.social

I know Rahm Emanuel. I worked with him for years in the Clinton administration, and then when he was Obama’s chief of staff. Rahm Emanuel represents everything that’s been wrong about the Democratic Party for the last 30+ years. Be warned. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-rahm-bomb

Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Old news. From 2023: Yann LeCun, an AI "godfather" w/Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton, said concerns that AI could pose a threat to humanity are "preposterously ridiculous". Also in 2023 '34% of respondents said that AI could "destroy humanity" in 10 years'. www.businessinsider.com/yann-lecun-a...

businessinsider.comOne of the 'godfathers' of AI says concerns the technology could pose a threat to humanity are 'preposterously ridiculous'Yann LeCun said concerns about AI were overstated and that if people realized the technology wasn't safe they shouldn't build it, per The BBC.
Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Mummy Dearest weighs in on Baby Elon. 'Watching...your son...falsely labeled a Nazi and a drug addict in “respectable” publications around the world...He waves his arm, trying to express emotion, and they see a fascist salute.' Sure lady. Our fault. Gift🎁link: www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/2aed199...

telegraph.co.ukMaye Musk: My son Elon was a genius by three years oldThe septuagenarian supermodel reveals what it was like to raise the world’s richest – and, at times, most controversial – man
Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

There has never been a phone as perfect as the unsmart Motorola Razr. I have 4 still in the drawer; 3 still fully functional. Zero chance I'll buy a flip or foldable that isn't this.

Bloomberg Opinion@opinion.bloomberg.com

New Apple CEO John Ternus will need to tap his inner Steve Jobs to sell the public on a foldable iPhone that costs $2,000

bloom.bgA $2,000 iPhone Gives Apple’s New CEO His Steve Jobs MomentWhen John Ternus succeeded Tim Cook as chief executive officer of Apple Inc. at the start of this month, he needed no introduction to the company’s more than 160,000 employees. The same can’t really be said of the public, most of whom will be meeting, and sizing up, Apple’s new top boss for the first time on Wednesday. He’ll begin by making the case for buying an iPhone that costs at least $2,000.

Dr Gina van Raphael reposted

Robert Saunders
@robertsaunders.bsky.social

90 years ago, Parliament responded to the rise of Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts by passing the Public Order Act, which banned political uniforms, private militias and the threat of force for political objects. The debates make very resonant reading today. Here's the Liberal Robert Bernays. (Short 🧵)

Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Ed Miliband, 🇬🇧 Foreign Secretary, announced plans for sanctions on Israel “in the coming weeks”, promising a “comprehensive reset” in British-Israeli relations. Mike Huckabee, 🇺🇸 ambassador to Israel, accused the British Government of “Jew hate” www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/ec0cc8d...

telegraph.co.ukBurnham to fast-track sanctions on IsraelPM brings forward restrictions on West Bank settlements despite criticism from White House and Labour MPs

Dr Gina van Raphael reposted

Ann Pettifor
@annpettifor.bsky.social

"AfD thanks Elon Musk... " If that headline does not trigger the mass migration of Liberals, Leftists & those with moral integrity away from Musk's hate-filled platform.. then we shall abandon all hope.

Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

So that's where Trump picked up the bedroom pose.

CtObserve@ctobserve.bsky.social

America’s Most Notorious Fixer Gets a New Biography — ”Cohn lied when it suited him — often, lying turned out to be an effective...” Some are junkies, some are freaks, and others are everyday ghouls...darkness gives them their thrills. Gift Article🎁 www.nytimes.com/2026/09/01/b...

Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Good luck. Venezuelan oil (from the Orinoco Belt) is not only the extra-heaviest and sourest to refine, it's also extremely complex and requires specialised, complex refineries (Arab Sweet Crude by contrast is light and the least complex). This is going to be very costly, slow, and painful.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Nazi Germany also pillaged the natural resources of countries it conquered

Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Excellent reading on MI6's Cambridge 5. In advance of 'Legacy of Spies' (BBC series soon, from John le Carré’s 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold') to boot. 'Pictured:The declassified files that lift the lid on MI5’s Cambridge spies investigation' Gift link: www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/717f3f2...

telegraph.co.ukPictured: The declassified files that lift the lid on MI5’s Cambridge spies investigationRecords shared with The Telegraph reveal anguish over defecting to Moscow, a wife’s deceit and the Queen’s response to her aide’s treachery

Dr Gina van Raphael reposted

Global Project Against Hate and Extremism
@globalextremism.bsky.social

The neo-Nazi movement is getting younger. Youth Club chapters have surged 142% since 2025, as white supremacist groups recruit teenagers as young as 15 through Instagram, YouTube, Telegram and gaming communities. New girls-only chapters show how aggressively the movement is expanding.

globalextremism.orgNeo-Nazi Active Clubs Increasingly Recruiting Teenage Boys And GirlsNeo-nazi Active Clubs are expanding their efforts to recruit teenagers, with Youth Club chapters increasing 142% since 2025. GPAHE identified 220 Active Clubs across 33 countries, including 46 youth c...
Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Stunning: Last month — Trump intervenes in the World Cup football This week — the US demands NATO members pass a loyalty-to-America written test Today — US Ambassador to Belgium *demands* Ghent Uni reinstate Cofnas "today" America thinks it runs the world! www.thetimes.com/us/american-...

thetimes.comTrump official intervenes in suspension of Arday critic Nathan CofnasBill White, a Republican donor appointed ambassador to Belgium last year, asks Ghent University to ensure continued employment of ‘race realist’ academic
Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Incredible evidence of rewilding being *so* beneficial to the land. All England suffering from drought, except rewilded and bore-hole areas. "Rewilded land remains green amid drought-stricken English countryside, images show" www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.comRewilded land remains green amid drought-stricken English countryside, images showNational Trust’s Holnicote estate says restored wetlands and rivers offer proof of resilience to drought, wildfires and flooding
Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Forever fascinating: the Cambridge 5—Philby especially. July 1963: Philby's defection from MI6 to the Soviet Union was made public. In 2016, the BBC broadcast previously unseen footage of his lecture to Stasi operatives wherein he revealed secrets behind his treachery. www.bbc.co.uk/culture/arti...

bbc.co.uk'A masterclass in betrayal': The British double agent who defected to Russia and taught enemy spiesKim Philby's defection to the Soviet Union was made public on 30 July 1963. In 2016, the BBC broadcast previously unseen footage of a lecture he gave to the Stasi.
Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Looks like a fascinating history read: Conversations with an Executioner: a chilling classic reveals the mind of a Nazi mass murderer Nearly 50 years after it was published, an uncensored version of his account is appearing in English for the first time www.theguardian.com/books/2026/a...

theguardian.comConversations with an Executioner: a chilling classic reveals the mind of a Nazi mass murdererPolish war hero Kazimierz Moczarski spent 255 days sharing a cell with an SS general. Nearly 50 years after it was published, an uncensored version of his account is appearing in English for the first...
Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

If anyone thinks Hamas will believe or take Kushner seriously, they're delusional. This is a Trump PR stunt, and Hamas is just playing them. Maybe Iran will do a Lego video about it presently.

Nicholas Grossman@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social

A person without any govt position, who has numerous financial conflicts of interest, should not conduct US foreign policy. And that’s before we get to the fact that he uses this role to corruptly solicit money for himself. It’s wrong. Many seem to have accepted it, but I’ll never stop objecting.

nytimes.comKushner Meets With Hamas to Advance Trump’s Gaza PlanThe president’s son-in-law met the Palestinian militant group’s leaders in Egypt, officials said. He will soon see Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli leader.

Dr Gina van Raphael reposted

Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Replying to @joncooper-us.bsky.social

In other words, Trump used all the journalists as human shields. I hope everyone understands this is *exactly* what he did to the press.

Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Religious people are less intelligent than atheists, according to analysis of scores of scientific studies stretching back over decades Study found 'a reliable negative relation between intelligence and religiosity' in 53 out of 63 studies www.independent.co.uk/news/science...

independent.co.ukReligious people are less intelligent than atheists, according toStudy found 'a reliable negative relation between intelligence and religiosity' in 53 out of 63 studies

Dr Gina van Raphael reposted

George Monbiot
@georgemonbiot.bsky.social

Neoliberalism in a nutshell. UEFA on FIFA's proposal: “The moment external investors acquire ownership interests ... football changes forever. Commercial return becomes a permanent obligation. ... Every decision is no longer driven by what best serves the game, but by what best serves shareholders.”

Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

This is mad. Political history has shown a consistent pendulum swing, and the US is so far right, going left is inevitable. Watch Europe: the UK is the canary in your coal-mine, and we just went farther left. The far right is melting. The US will too; wonderful that Mona Charen's will see it.

The Bulwark@thebulwark.com

The vibes may be exciting, but if Democrats are going to win this year and in 2028, they must reject the DSA. If you’re tempted by a democratic socialist this year, think of what use Republicans will make of these victories, and ask whether you want to do favors for fascists.

Dr Gina van Raphael reposted

James O’Brien
@mrjamesob.bsky.social

New PM, same old media: Burnham is now simultaneously being accused of spending money he hasn't got on the policies he announces *and* not spending enough money on the policies he announces.

Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

Look, Count Binface is an Oxford graduate IRL, and has written for Yes Minister, In The Thick Of It, Have I Got News For You, for John Oliver and Armando Iannucci. Farage never went to university — an unlike Count Binface, never intended to be a joke. This is England: may Count Binface win! 🗑️

Best for Britain@bestforbritain.org

So refreshing to hear a politician actually answer the questions

Dr Gina van Raphael reposted

Dr Gina van Raphael
@aliagvr.bsky.social

It was 100F on July 4th, 1919. Woodrow Wilson was President. "An international peace parade on Pennsylvania Avenue, huge crowds on the Ellipse, and the biggest Fourth Washington had ever seen." Source: Washington Evening Star, Jul 5, 1919, p8 / Library of Congress

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Fox correspondent from Trump's empty fair: "The heat is certainly keeping the crowds at bay"