Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Frank O'Donnell

@frank11285.bsky.social

1.4K followers 1.8K following 1.1K posts

Senior Research Adviser, @apln.network Nonresident Fellow, South Asia Program @stimsoncenter.bsky.social Opinions my own, reposts ≠ endorsement. https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-o-donnell-b84675158

www.linkedin.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Frank O'Donnell @frank11285.bsky.social · Aug 13

Nuclear failsafe reviews - as conducted by 🇺🇸 in 1990-1992 and 2022-2024 - are important measures to safeguard against accidental or inadvertent nuclear use. Today, @apln.network, @nti.org & @theeln.bsky.social co-publish summaries from 🇨🇳 🇮🇳 🇵🇰 🇫🇷 🇬🇧 Track-II failsafe workshops over the last year.

Advancing Nuclear Fail-Safe in the Asia-Pacific | Asia-Pacific Leadership Network

APLN has worked with partners in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the United States to highlight the benefits of independent, internal “fail-safe” reviews in nuclear-armed states. Fail-safe reviews are...

apln.network

1 4 8

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

Jessica Pishko @jesspish.bsky.social · 3h

"Since last fall, sheriffs in Norfolk, Hampden, and Suffolk counties have been accused of misusing campaign funds, drunken driving, and extorting a cannabis company, respectively"

oopsie!

Samantha Gross @samanthajgross.bsky.social · 5h

NEW: Citing ‘serious questions’ and ‘questionable spending,’ Mass. lawmakers move to hold back funding for sheriffs www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/14/m...

Citing ‘serious questions’ and ‘questionable spending,’ Mass. lawmakers move to hold back funding for sheriffs - The Boston Globe

Massachusetts lawmakers propose holding back $162 million for county sheriff’s offices in a spending bill, citing “questionable spending practices."

www.bostonglobe.com

1 20 46

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

Nick Kodama 🌲👻 @nickkodama.bsky.social · 1d

lol they're doing the thing again

Serving in the U.S. Navy was one of the greatest honors of my life.
Happy 250th Birthday to the United States Navy.

INS Godavari (F20)+INS Brahmaputra (F31)+INS Beas (F39).jpg

19 95 410

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

The Diplomat @thediplomat.com · 12h

New Delhi’s claim is an unprecedented development in South Asia. How will Pakistan respond?

India’s Use of Artificial Intelligence During the Indo-Pak Four-Day Crisis

New Delhi’s claim is an unprecedented development in South Asia. How will Pakistan respond?

buff.ly

1 1

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

The Hindu @thehindu.com · 15h

China announced sanctions on Tuesday against five U.S.-linked subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean amid trade tensions between the world's two largest economies, sending the company's shares sharply lower.
www.thehindu.com/news/interna...

China takes steps against U.S.-linked units of South Korea shipbuilder Hanwha

China imposes sanctions on U.S.-linked Hanwha Ocean subsidiaries amid trade tensions, impacting global maritime industry.

www.thehindu.com

2 4

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 17h

NGC 7177 - From Jason Major (jpmajor.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2irrgUb

Dust lanes around the center of NGC 7177, a barred spiral galaxy 56 million light-years away in the constellation Pegasus. Made from Hubble WFC3 observations in Oct. 2017 (PI Peter Erwin).

19 89

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

Reuters @reuters.com · 18h

Thailand, Cambodia to sign ceasefire at ASEAN summit, Malaysia minister says reut.rs/46Qezis

Thailand, Cambodia to sign ceasefire at ASEAN summit, Malaysia minister says

Malaysia and the United States will facilitate a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said on Tuesday.

reut.rs

1 7 10

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

Patrick Wyman @patrickwyman.bsky.social · 1d

My favorite aspect of the Columbus legend is him getting rejected by the Portuguese gets spun as them not recognizing the genius of his idea. No - he went into a roomful of expert navigators and made basic math mistakes, they thought he was a moron, and they wouldn't fund his idea on that basis.

60 680 3.5K

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 1d

the actual story here, which the media never talks about, is that police in this country have become a discrete right-wing political operation. the story isn't about cops leaving (they're lying about that), it's about the police trying to exert influence over elections.

Mark Misoshnik 🏴 @misoshnik.bsky.social · 3d

Lmao is this supposed to be a bad thing?

A tweet from Bari Weiss that says “"It's shaken me to my core," a lieutenant said of Mamdani's unexpected victory in June. "The absolute dread I feel is palpable.
"
Today in @TheFP our @Olivia_Reingold talks to the cops who say they will walk if Zohran Mamdani is elected in November:”

580 5.6K 21K

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 1d

‘An environment of terror’: deadly resurgence of Pakistan Taliban gathers pace

Surge in militancy in region bordering Afghanistan is now one of greatest security threats facing Islamabad Tariq Ahmed never lets his pistol out of his sight these days. Sitting cross-legged on a woven charpai, his face concealed with a scarf, the 26-year-old looks nervously left and right, shifting his gun in and out of his waistband. It was here, just a few months ago in this neighbourhood bordering Pakistan’s north-western border city of Peshawar that his uncle Shehan Shah, 36, was shot dead at point blank range by the Taliban. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

4 14 42

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 1d

Partial Solar Eclipse 2024-04-08 - From Ryan Kinnett (rkinnett.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2pJaDVj

Imaged from La Crescenta, California with a Daystar Quark Chromosphere hydrogen-alpha filter, an Orion 60mm guide scope, and ZWO asi1600mm.

10 49

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

The Beaverton @thebeaverton.com · 2d

A satirical newspaper headline reads "Pentagon warns Toronto dangerously close' to winning World Series" along with photos of the Toronto Blue Jays and Trump next to Pete Hegseth.

5 67 380

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

Steven Lucy @slucy.bsky.social · 2d

"If the person is a U. S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, that individual will be free to go after the brief encounter." -- Justice Kavanaugh

Tom Joscelyn @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 2d

“I spent three nights and three days in federal custody. During that time, I was never told what I was charged with, was not allowed to shower despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, had no phone call to my family, and no access to an attorney.” - George Retes, U.S. citizen and veteran.

I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason.

Jailed for three days without an explanation or ability to notify anyone, George Retes argues the only path to healing starts with the government taking accountability for its actions.

newsletter.ofthebrave.org

3 110 320

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 2d

Mars - Olympus and Arsia Mons - Hope Mission Orbit 257 - From Andrea Luck (andrealuck.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2ofaoad

Download full image here: www.flickr.com/photos/192271236@N03/52668802934/sizes/o/

Credit: UAESA/MBRSC/HopeMarsMission/EXI/AndreaLuck

-----------------------------
North on the right
Orbit: 253 - Spacecraft altitude: 26451 km
Timetag 2022-08-14
Filters: f635+f546+f437
Raw Data from: sdc.emiratesmarsmission.ae/
Files Name:
emm_exi_l2a_20220814T234009_0253_xos4_f635_f_v06-08
emm_exi_l2a_20220814T234020_0253_xos4_f546_f_v06-08
emm_exi_l2a_20220814T234040_0253_xos4_f437_f_v06-08
----------------------------------

Credit: UAESA/MBRSC/HopeMarsMission/EXI/AndreaLuck

Feel free to share, giving the appropriate credit and providing a link to the original image or tweet creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

6 62

Frank O'Donnell @frank11285.bsky.social · 2d

Pakistan closes border with Afghanistan following exchanges of fire

Pakistan closed border crossings with Afghanistan on Sunday, Pakistani officials said, following exchanges of fire between the forces of the two countries.

www.reuters.com

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 2d

This is an exact encapsulation of why I moved to Bluesky.

No amount of handwringing in the Atlantic about how I owe some eternal Promethean suffering to the discourse is going to make me stay on a site I hate, that stopped doing anything for me professionally years ago.

Well – no. Bluesky may or may not be, as one centre-right friend who felt unwelcome put it, “self-righteous island”. But the idea that’s why we went is nonsense. That I’ve largely stopped posting on a site that’s done more to shape my career and social circle than the rest of the internet combined is less about avoiding rival opinions (I love arguing with people who are wrong!) than with the fact the site simply became unusable. It stopped generating the things (good jokes, interesting debate, clicks) I wanted; it became extremely good at generating the things (racists, pornbots, racist pornbots) I did not.

110 670 3.2K

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 3d

Space Station Flyover of Hurricane Matthew - From NASA Marshall Space Flight Center - https://flic.kr/p/MMZDtA

The International Space Station has tracked Hurricane Matthew all week, providing images and video from low Earth orbit as the storm hit the Caribbean Sea and made its way towards Florida. In this photograph taken by Expedition 49 Flight Engineer Kate Rubins on Oct. 4, 2016, at 21:05 GMT, the hurricane's clouds extend across the frame and the space station's solar arrays are visible at the upper-right corner of the image. As the hurricane strengthens and approaches the Florida coast, NASA and NOAA satellites continue to provide forecasters and scientists valuable data on the development and changes in the storm.

For more information about Hurricane Matthew, click here.

NASA Media Usage Guidelines

6 40

Frank O'Donnell @frank11285.bsky.social · 4d

This is very well-put.

rax ‘levon honkers’ king @raxkingisdead.bsky.social · 4d

‘dear rax, how can i make sure i’m ready for the day my very sick mother dies?’
www.patreon.com/posts/140925...

Your question was whether there's a way to prepare for your mother's death, not whether there's a way to worry less about it, and I'll take a stab at answering that question using my experience with my father's as an example. No, you can't prepare for it. It will be like nothing you've felt yet. Maybe you think that if you worry about it really well—if you devote yourself to this anxiety, if you memorize your fear like a prayer—you can defeat it before it defeats you, like Roman's "pre-grieving" on Succession. But it didn't work for him because it doesn't work. Authoritative as it can feel, anxiety is incapable of describing anything it hasn't actually seen, like the death of a parent. All it can do is push us around various ugly landmarks in our minds: awful experiences we've already had, pains we've already processed. Anxiety is the blustering cokehead cousin of self-soothing. It brags about everything it knows to conceal the fact that it doesn't know anything. You can't feel what you haven't felt until, well...until you feel it.

Frank O'Donnell @frank11285.bsky.social · 4d

This isn’t even original quackery from Thiel. Games Workshop should sue him for plagiarizing 40k lore around rise of the God-Emperor.
www.reuters.com/world/us/pet...

Frank O'Donnell @frank11285.bsky.social · 5d

Taliban FM begins first visit by senior Afghan leader to India since 2021

Amir Khan Muttaqi’s trip has been made possible after a UN committee temporarily lifted a travel ban on him.

www.aljazeera.com

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

David_j_roth @davidjroth.bsky.social · 5d

It's a testament to the Dodgers' industry-leading depth that when one of their accomplished-but-washed chud pitchers duffs a game out of reach they actually have another accomplished-but-washed chud with even worse politics to bring in to mop it up. Most teams don't even have one guy that odious.

11 70 600

Frank O'Donnell @frank11285.bsky.social · 5d

UN to slash a quarter of peacekeepers globally over lack of funds -

www.reuters.com

Reposted by Frank O'Donnell

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 6d

WATCH: Trump’s lawless Ice goons shoot an unarmed priest in the head with a pepper ball. Completely out of control.

440 2.6K 4.6K

Frank O'Donnell @frank11285.bsky.social · 7d

“In 2023, Indian state refiners made some payments for Russian oil in yuan, but they stopped due to displeasure from the Indian government during a period of heightened tensions with Beijing, though private refiners continued to use the Chinese currency”

Frank O'Donnell @frank11285.bsky.social · 7d

“Western sanctions imposed on Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine have accelerated usage of alternative currencies, including the yuan and the UAE dirham to settle oil trades, which have long been dominated by the dollar”