LightNews
Steven Heydemann
@stevenhyde.bsky.social
2.9K followers 740 following 1.6K posts

Ketcham Chair in Middle East Studies, Prof. of Gov, Smith College; Nonresident Senior Fellow CMEP, Brookings. Former VP, Center for Applied Research on Conflict, USIP. https://smith.academia.edu/StevenHeydemann

Videos
Political science 66%
Sociology 25%
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 1h
www.ynetnews.com/article/hjwl...
Inside Bashar Assad’s secret life in Russia — and exiled dictator’s new addiction
Former Syrian president is reportedly living in luxury exile in Moscow after fleeing a 2024 coup, where he and his family occupy 20 apartments in a high-rise, with Assad spending his days quietly — an...
www.ynetnews.com

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 4h
Those cities in red states are out of control.
1

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 4h
Damn. If only those Mississippi national guard had stayed home and not been sent to do yard work in DC.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Six people dead with multiple injured in three shootings at Mississippi homecoming weekends
Four people were killed in an attack in Leland, while two were killed in Heidelberg, amid a third attack in Rolling Fork
www.theguardian.com
1 1

Reposted by Steven Heydemann

foreignpolicy.com
Foreign Policy @foreignpolicy.com · 6h
The deportation of pro-democracy dissidents to their home countries is a major reversal of years of U.S. policymaking on a topic that had bipartisan support.
Trump Is Supporting Transnational Repression
Instead of sheltering pro-democracy dissidents, America is now returning them for arrest.
foreignpolicy.com
4 33 50

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 9h
Depressing to think that this is a thing.
biblioracle.bsky.social
John Warner @biblioracle.bsky.social · 1d
I strongly urge everyone to not just read this warning from @marcwatkins.bsky.social, but heed it, and be vocal and forceful pushing back against using AI to grade student writing. This must be anathema if we're going to have a world where learning means something. substack.com/inbox/post/1...
The Dangers of using AI to Grade
Nobody Learns, Nobody Gains
substack.com

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 9h
The sheer gall of these guys is impressive. We're only rigging the maps cause that liberal Gavin Newsome isn't playing fair!

So confident in the stupidity of voters. If only that was wrong.

From Politico this morning.
1

Reposted by Steven Heydemann, Michael D. McDonald, Michael Jones‐Correa , and 1 more

marisakabas.bsky.social
Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 10h
New — Video shared with me shows ICE officers in DC detaining a man on Friday.

Bystander filming asks man for his name. ICE agent lies and says he’s not allowed to speak to him “by law” and another says “We’ve arrested American citizens for being too close…If he gets any closer, put him in cuffs.”
200 2.2K 4.9K

Reposted by Steven Heydemann, Rosemary A. Joyce, American Library Association , and 12 more

zohrankmamdani.bsky.social
Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 13h
UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.
350 5K 17K

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 23h
abcnews.go.com/Business/wir...
King Mohammed VI set to speak as Gen Z protesters demand reforms in Morocco
Morocco’s elusive King Mohammed VI is inaugurating parliament in a speech with far higher stakes than his annual addresses as anti-government protests have swept the nation’s cities and questioned the...
abcnews.go.com
1

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 1d
www.france24.com/en/middle-ea...
The Palestine Branch: A den of torture in Assad’s Syria
Branch 235, also known as the Palestine Branch, was one of the most notorious prisons run by the Syrian military intelligence services during the Assad era. Located on the outskirts of Damascus, its…
www.france24.com
1 1

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 1d
Decomposing. Complete collapse.
atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
Trump: "Portland, I mean -- every time I look at that place it's burning down. There are fires all over the place. When a store -- there are very few of them left -- but when a store owner rebuilds a store they build it out of plywood. They don't put up storefronts anymore. They just put wood up."
1 1

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 1d
www.france24.com/en/middle-ea...
Rape and torture in Assad's prisons: Syrian women break their silence
During the brutal 13-year Syrian civil war, Bashar al-Assad's regime imprisoned women for their real or presumed links to the “terrorist” opposition. Many endured rape, sexual violence, and torture du...
www.france24.com

Reposted by Timothy Snyder, Stephen M. Walt, Steven Heydemann , and 12 more

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
Trump: "Portland, I mean -- every time I look at that place it's burning down. There are fires all over the place. When a store -- there are very few of them left -- but when a store owner rebuilds a store they build it out of plywood. They don't put up storefronts anymore. They just put wood up."
1.3K 470 2.3K

Reposted by Steven Heydemann

indivisible.org
Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 1d
Trump’s regime is trying to blackmail colleges and universities to let him and his unqualified bureaucrats run our schools. We must demand that our universities commit to upholding freedom of speech and to providing an affordable, safe education for all. Take action to stop Trump’s “Loyalty Oath.” 👇
University Administrations: Reject Trump's "Loyalty Oath" Compacts
The Trump administration is trying to blackmail schools to let him and his unqualified bureaucrats run our schools. They want to dictate what schools teach, who they admit and hire, what researchers s...
actionnetwork.org
4 81 260

Reposted by Steven Heydemann, Rosemary A. Joyce, Dana R. Fisher

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
The campaign against “antifa” is about establishing a beachhead for further attacks on speech and assembly rights. We see that today in the effort to preemptively label No Kings protesters as “terrorists.”
870 5.9K 19K

Reposted by Steven Heydemann, Blair Fix, Manisha Sinha

leahgreenberg.bsky.social
Leah Greenberg ❌👑 @leahgreenberg.bsky.social · 1d
"After a few moments of laughter, the No Kings Coalition issued the following statement"
67 950 2.8K

Reposted by Steven Heydemann, Christine Kooi

biblioracle.bsky.social
John Warner @biblioracle.bsky.social · 1d
I strongly urge everyone to not just read this warning from @marcwatkins.bsky.social, but heed it, and be vocal and forceful pushing back against using AI to grade student writing. This must be anathema if we're going to have a world where learning means something. substack.com/inbox/post/1...
The Dangers of using AI to Grade
Nobody Learns, Nobody Gains
substack.com
7 120 280

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 2d
Maybe. Let’s wait and see. Loads of ways this can fall apart. Hoping it won’t.

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 3d
www.newarab.com/news/interna...
International commission ends first visit to Syria’s Suweida
A commission looking into violations in Suweida after this year’s sectarian clashes has ended its first visit to the Druze-majority province
www.newarab.com

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 3d
When you elect hatemongers and racists, the results are not a surprise. The protest vote for Trump among Arab communities in MI was understandable, but tragically misguided.

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 4d
I thought menacing immigrants with a gun was required for membership in the AfD.
ruslantrad.bsky.social
Ruslan Trad @ruslantrad.bsky.social · 4d
The radical right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has fired its head of parliamentary security after it was discovered that he had been convicted of menacing two Syrian children with a gun.
AfD security head threatened Syrian children with gun
Philipp Roensch has been fired by the radical right-wing party’s parliamentary group — but he is still listed as a member of its co-leader’s local committee
www.thetimes.com
2

Reposted by Steven Heydemann

eliothiggins.bsky.social
Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 4d
Part of upcoming Bellingcat reporting, with Evident Media, Frontline PBS and The Washington Post -
After U.S. strikes, Iran increases work at mysterious underground site
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
After U.S. strikes, Iran increases work at mysterious underground site
Satellite imagery indicates Iran is increasing construction at a deeply buried site in Pickaxe Mountain, just south of the Natanz nuclear facility hit by Israeli and U.S. strikes in June.
www.washingtonpost.com
1 39 110

Reposted by Steven Heydemann

ruslantrad.bsky.social
Ruslan Trad @ruslantrad.bsky.social · 4d
The radical right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has fired its head of parliamentary security after it was discovered that he had been convicted of menacing two Syrian children with a gun.
AfD security head threatened Syrian children with gun
Philipp Roensch has been fired by the radical right-wing party’s parliamentary group — but he is still listed as a member of its co-leader’s local committee
www.thetimes.com
2 23 54

Reposted by Steven Heydemann, Kimberly A. Prather, Leah Stokes , and 1 more

murray.senate.gov
Senator Patty Murray @murray.senate.gov · 4d
The scenes out of Chicago should outrage us all. These federal agents are out of control, committing senseless acts of violence & putting everyone at risk.
 
American citizens are being detained & brutalized.
 
This kind of immigration "enforcement" shouldn't be acceptable to anyone.
Immigration agents become increasingly aggressive in Chicago
Activists, residents and elected leaders say increasingly combative tactics used by federal immigration agents are sparking violence and fueling neighborhood tensions in the nation’s third-largest cit...
www.pbs.org
320 2.2K 5.5K

Reposted by Steven Heydemann

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 6d
Indeed. Fuck ICE.
malloy.rocks
Oliver Markus Malloy @malloy.rocks · 7d
1 2

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 6d
zeteo.com/p/ever-see-o...
Ever See Our Shocking Film on Online Extremism in Israel?
On the eve of the second anniversary of the Oct 7. attack, here's another opportunity to watch our acclaimed short film ‘Israel’s Reel Extremism’, featuring rare interviews with those Israeli troops.
zeteo.com

Reposted by Steven Heydemann

timothysnyder.bsky.social
Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 6d
"State Terror: A brief guide for Americans"
Revisiting a piece I wrote in April 2025
"In the history of state terror, the escape from law into coercion takes three forms... the leader principle; the state of exception; and the zone of statelessness."
snyder.substack.com/p/state-terror
State Terror
A brief guide for Americans
snyder.substack.com
23 480 1.1K

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Marc Lynch, James Q. Wilson , and 17 more

andrewjweinstein.com
Andrew Weinstein @andrewjweinstein.com · 6d
ICE admits that up to 50% of arrests in its Chicago raids are "collateral.” These aren't statistics. They are parents taken from their children, neighbors taken from our communities. When does a "collateral" U.S. citizen child's trauma matter? This isn't law enforcement; it's a campaign of terror.
830 11K 28K

Reposted by Steven Heydemann

lucyjgaynor.bsky.social
Lucy Gaynor @lucyjgaynor.bsky.social · 6d
Anwar S. - a suspected former #Shabbiha militia leader in #Aleppo, #Syria - was arrested in #Germany last week on charges of Crimes Against Humanity: killing and torture.

Assad used Shabbiha both for the commission of violence, and the evasion of responsibility.

www.reuters.com/world/middle...
German police arrest Syrian man suspected of crimes against humanity
German police arrested on Tuesday a Syrian man suspected of committing crimes against humanity, including killing and torturing, as a militia leader in 2011 in Aleppo, prosecutors said.
www.reuters.com
1 4 7