Author | Lightnews

Logan Williams @obtusatum.bsky.social · 5h

It is LAPD issue.

Did this tactical situation require "the element of surprise"? Do the actions of the LAPD show "reverence for human life"?

bsky.app/profile/phil...

3. Use of Force Guidelines for the Bokken®:
a. The use of force policy for the Bokken does not differ from that of the side handle baton'.
1) While control of a suspect through verbalization is preferable,
2) When verbalization appears to be ineffective and an officer has reasonable belief that the situation may escalate to a physical confrontation, the Bokken may be drawn as a show of force.
3) This action may de-escalate the situation.
4) Baton provides officers with an alternative between unarmed self-defense skills and deadly force
5) Officer must constantly evaluate the situation and use reasonable force accordingly
6) There are many variables that can dictate the amount of force used
a) Mental illness
b) Type of weapon used by suspect
c) The size of the suspect compared to that of the officer
d) Location and number of suspects
b. Warning
1) A verbal warning, when feasible, shall be provided to a suspects) prior to the actual use of a Bokken.
2) The warning is not required when an officer is attacked and must respond to the suspect's actions.
3) Additionally, if a tactical plan requires the element of surprise in order to stabilize the situation, a warning need not be given.
4) The verbal warning and the person who gave it, or the reason it was not given shall be documented in the appropriate reports.

Los Angeles Police Department
Mounted Patrol/Bokken Baton
1850-23808
Expand Course Outline
4. What constitutes a reasonable amount of force in a "lone officer" situation may not fit a similar field situation where several officers are present. An officer's response in each incident must be based upon the tactical situation, Department policy on the use of force, and relevant State and Federal case law.
5. Tactics De-Escalation Techniques Directive No. 1610
6. Reverence for human life
Guiding principle in any use of force situation
b. It is both moral and ethical to place the highest value on human life
c. Not policy, but a philosophy for how to approach police work
d. Consistent with the department's mission, vision, and values
e. Helps build public trust
f. Using tactical de-escalation techniques and reasonable force demonstrates this principle

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 7h

At some point, the reliance on these euphemisms becomes a kind of propaganda or acquiescence.

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Logan Williams @obtusatum.bsky.social · 7h

Is that a wooden katana? Is that LAPD standard issue? Why are they beating people waiting in line to get into a bar?

L.A. TACO @lataco.bsky.social · 13h

LAPD on horses charge at and beat guests standing in line to the Short Stop in Echo Park. @shoton35mm.bsky.social

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L.A. TACO @lataco.bsky.social · 13h

LAPD on horses charge at and beat guests standing in line to the Short Stop in Echo Park. @shoton35mm.bsky.social

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John Wiseman @lemonodor.bsky.social · 22h

I first started mapping GPS jamming in case it was an early warning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I hope it's not a sign of some mad Trumpian attack on Venezuela.

Logan Williams @obtusatum.bsky.social · 2d

Recent GPS interference near Venezuela and Trinidad, per GPSJAM, as noticed by a Bellingcat workshop participant. I believe this is a recent development for the area. CC @lemonodor.bsky.social

"High" (>10% of planes affected) levels of GPS interference seen on a map of Venezuela and the souther Caribbean

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Logan Williams @obtusatum.bsky.social · 1d

The data clearly shows Brooklyn voters are the most motivated by Halloween I Voted! stickers.

a graph of the proportion of the nyc election early vote by borough. the proportion of brooklyn has slowly grown, reaching its peak on October 31

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Kolina Koltai @koltai.bsky.social · 2d

If you aren't paying attention to what is happening in Illinois/Chicago, you're missing out on Bovino and federal agents using tear gas, pepper balls, and force against the people.

Check out our investigation alongside @evidentmedia.org

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claudia irizarry aponte @clauirizarry.bsky.social · 2d

Council Spent $1.5 Million on Anti-Ballot Measure Mailers Despite Electioneering Ban www.thecity.nyc/2025/10/31/a...

Council Spent $1.5 Million on Anti-Ballot Measure Mailers Despite Electioneering Ban

Records obtained by THE CITY show nearly $1.3 million on postage and $207,000 on printing to urge voters to block proposals that would fast-track affordable housing by constraining Council members’ po...

www.thecity.nyc

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Logan Williams @obtusatum.bsky.social · 2d

gpsjam.org?lat=10.62674...

GPSJAM GPS/GNSS Interference Map

Map showing possible GPS interference around 10.627, -63.669 on 2025-10-29.

gpsjam.org

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Logan Williams @obtusatum.bsky.social · 2d

Recent GPS interference near Venezuela and Trinidad, per GPSJAM, as noticed by a Bellingcat workshop participant. I believe this is a recent development for the area. CC @lemonodor.bsky.social

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Logan Williams @obtusatum.bsky.social · 2d

The housing shortage in New York City is killing people.

Samantha Maldonado @smaldo.bsky.social · 2d

A man drowned in a basement in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and another in a boiler room in Washington Heights today during the downpour.

www.thecity.nyc/2025/10/30/f...

Two Die in NYC Basements as Squall Brings Massive Rain Burst to City

Two men, one in Central Brooklyn and another in Upper Manhattan, were found dead in flooded areas after intense rain arrived late on Thursday.

www.thecity.nyc

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Logan Williams @obtusatum.bsky.social · 3d

Apologies, should have included the source: sites.bu.edu/kleinstein/f...

sites.bu.edu

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Logan Williams @obtusatum.bsky.social · 3d

It's not just overall turnout. It's about who turns out.

three graphs of mayoral election turnout, showing that:
- when the election is the same cycles as a presidential election, old homeowners are represented proportionally to the population
- when the election is in a midterm cycle, old homeowners are overrepresented
- when the election is off-cycole, old homeowners are very overrepresented

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Paul Chin • 陈保罗 @paulch.in · 4d

#Jamaica needs our support more than ever right now and, never ones to shy away from self-reliance, they’ve set up an officially sanctioned website for recovery donations. The footage of Hurricane Melissa’s destruction in St. Elizabeth coming in from my family is HARROWING.

supportjamaica.gov.jm

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John Wiseman @lemonodor.bsky.social · 4d

If you want to try your own queries in PIMINTO, my geospatial AI search tool, now you can: piminto.obliscence.com. There are some pretty neat features that I didn't include in the demo video, including a third way to query besides text and images. www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjH0...

PIMINTO Demo 01

YouTube video by John Wiseman

www.youtube.com

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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 4d

New incredible detail here: ICE says a match in its facial recognition app Mobile Fortify is a "definitive" determination of a person's status, and that this overrides birth certificates. This is an app ICE is using in the field to scan people

www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...

Ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee Bennie G. Thompson said in a statement “Mobile Fortify is a dangerous tool in the hands of ICE, and it puts American citizens at risk of detention and even deportation.” He also said “ICE officials have told us that an apparent biometric match by Mobile Fortify is a ‘definitive’ determination of a person’s status and that an ICE officer may ignore evidence of American citizenship—including a birth certificate—if the app says the person is an alien. ICE using a mobile biometrics app in ways its developers at CBP never intended or tested is a frightening, repugnant, and unconstitutional attack on Americans’ rights and freedoms.”

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The Space Pope @popecrocodylus.bsky.social · 4d

From an article about the man in the SS uniform arrested for attacking the woman in Georgia. Just wild that we've accepted that there's a huge social media platform where an account called "@GasChambers" is allowed to openly do Nazi fundraising and that's fine, in fact all the reporters post there.

There are signs that Morgan is becoming a cause célèbre for neo-Nazis in the United States. The white supremacist Paul Miller, who gained notoriety for making hate-filled videos while wearing Nazi garb, said on social media that he was working to secure Morgan’s release and directed followers to a crowdfunding campaign that he said was from Morgan directly.

“I am in contact with @GasChambers_,” Miller tweeted on Sunday, referring to an X account that says it has raised money for Morgan. “We are going to pay the bail for Kenneth in the next few days he will be free. Gaschamber was very kind and gracious. We just spoke on the phone. We are going to get kenneth out very soon.”

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Logan Williams @obtusatum.bsky.social · 4d

He's still got it, folks.

Chris Sommerfeldt @c-sommerfeldt.bsky.social · 4d

At a Gracie Mansion event tonight honoring Uzbek heritage, Mayor Adams said "New York is the Tashkent of America, but Brooklyn is the capital of that."

(Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan)

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Logan Williams @obtusatum.bsky.social · 4d

This is a little more subtle at least.

Logan Williams @obtusatum.bsky.social · 5d

A ship with no AIS captured by Sentinel-2 yesterday, 150 miles west of Acapulco. browser.dataspace.copernicus.eu?zoom=16&lat=...

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 5d

What percentage of politicians in your country are still relying on this site as a primary means of public communication?

It feels slightly maddening that this isn't being treated as an extremely urgent problem.

Josiah Mortimer @josiah.writes.news · 11d

This is a "recommended" tweet pushed to a (very much not-Nazi) contact's iPhone lockscreen last week.

Who knows how many millions it was pushed to by Musk's platform, including in this case, in the UK?

It's now been deleted, but only after getting thousands of RTs.

Red Pill Media tweet: "Yes, I like Hitler. No, I don't believe in the Holocaust narrative"

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Logan Williams @obtusatum.bsky.social · 6d

Good luck Tristan! Excited to see what you produce.

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Tristan Lee @tristanl.ee · 6d

I'm excited but a bit sad to announce that I've left Bellingcat to start a nonprofit investigative outlet focused on the far-right. We're called Decoherence Media, and we're launching today.

Decoherence Media @decoherence.media · 6d

Welcome to Decoherence Media, an independent nonprofit founded by @jennefer.bsky.social and @tristanl.ee that investigates authoritarian and anti-democratic movements using open-source and data-driven methods.

Welcome to Decoherence Media!

We're an independent, journalist-founded nonprofit investigating authoritarian and anti-democratic movements using open-source and data-driven methods.

decoherence.media

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Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 6d

" That whole ordeal - being in a prison, no phone call, no lawyer, no shower - that entire situation threw me for a loop. It wasn't just the arrest itself. ... I mean, before all this happened, I didn't know that federal officials were basically untouchable." www.npr.org/2025/10/24/n...

A U.S. citizen detained by ICE is pushing to hold agents accountable

NPR's Adrian Florido speaks with George Retes, a U.S. citizen who was detained by federal immigration officers in July while attempting to enter his workplace.

www.npr.org

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Dolan's Knicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 7d

Apparently as much as $2m for the mailers alone! www.cityandstateny.com/politics/202...

Amid ballot proposals fight, City Council spends $2 million on mail

The council declined to specify how much of that went toward mailers criticizing the charter changes that would diminish their power in some land-use housing decisions, but indications are that it was...

www.cityandstateny.com

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