Author | Lightnews

Carmen Celestini

@philofwrite.bsky.social

3.8K followers 1.9K following 630 posts

Researcher in conspiracy theories, religion, gender, extremism, end times, and hate. Lecturer at the University of Waterloo. Carmencelestini.com The Canadian Far Right and Conspiracy Theories available December 2024 https://shorturl.at/j9JtE

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Carmen Celestini @philofwrite.bsky.social · Jan 18

Came home yesterday to find copies of our book had arrived. It was not an easy road, but I'm very proud of this.

So weird to see my name on the cover of a book. I'm so grateful to everyone who has supported and believed in me!

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Reposted by Carmen Celestini

Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 3h

So you should really watch this. Just 2 minutes. But a window into the truly radical nature of the people Trump is nominating.

When pressed today, the nominee to be Ambassador to South Africa refuses to oppose reinstituting laws to prevent black people from voting in America.

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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 6h

The U.S. military killed six people overnight in the 10th reported strike on a boat alleged to be involved in drug smuggling, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced.

U.S. kills six in latest strike on alleged drug boat, Hegseth says

The operation marked the 10th known attack on suspected smugglers from Latin America, pushing the reported death toll to at least 43.

wapo.st

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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 8h

Hmmm….

Tau Cabalander @taucabalander.bsky.social · 13h

🤔

Graph of who Americans think is their biggest supplier of foreign oil, perception vs reality, showing a perception of 53% from Saudi Arabia and 22% from Canada, vs. the reality of 4.3% from Saudi Arabia and 61.46% from Canada

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Carmen Celestini @philofwrite.bsky.social · 8h

of America to a new Trump Era. Bannon even threw in a couple "Judeo-Christian" adjectives to describe the nation. Oh, and leaders like Vought are the populist nationalists making America great for the common person.

Carmen Celestini @philofwrite.bsky.social · 8h

I watched the entire interview with Steve Bannon from the Economist. Yes, he does state that they have a plan for Trump to stay in power for another term. He uses interesting language throughout tho. That Trump has Divine Providence, and refers to Trump as America's Moses, leading the people

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Carmen Celestini @philofwrite.bsky.social · 10h

In my book, Constructed Victimhood, coming out in 2026 I focus on the self created victim status of white, Christian men in Canada and how populist leaders manipulate these emotions for political power.

Exhibit A

www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Inside one Conservative MP’s ‘Restore the North’ tour, a Canadian take on Charlie Kirk’s movement | CBC News

By asking how to 'restore the North,' Conservative MP Jamil Jivani hopes to expand Charlie Kirk's U.S. campus tour movement — and ignite a national conversation here in Canada.

www.cbc.ca

Reposted by Carmen Celestini

davidakin @davidakin.bsky.social · 10h

Senator Paula Simons asks the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada why they have not pivoted away from X as part of their social media strategy despite the platform's growing problems .. [they] say they have no plans to shift to Mastodon or Bluesky. #media
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJUe...

CBC stays on X to reach audiences despite hate speech concerns - but isn't on Bluesky or Mastodon.

YouTube video by Senator Paula Simons

www.youtube.com

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Carmen Celestini @philofwrite.bsky.social · 10h

Seems revisionism is the foundation of the Trump GOP, at every level.

davidakin @davidakin.bsky.social · 10h

From the Reagan Library itself, watch the full 5:10 ofr President Reagan's Radio Address on Free and Fair Trade on April 25, 1987 www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t5Q... (Re-post!)

President Reagan's Radio Address on Free and Fair Trade on April 25, 1987

YouTube video by Reagan Library

www.youtube.com

Reposted by Carmen Celestini

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 10h

This will not come as a surprise to any social media or internet researchers.

"Today, the European Commission preliminarily found both TikTok & Meta in breach of their obligation to grant researchers adequate access to public data under the Digital Services Act (#DSA)." ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

Commission preliminarily finds TikTok and Meta in breach of their transparency obligations under the Digital Services Act

Today, the European Commission preliminarily found both TikTok and Meta in breach of their obligation to grant researchers adequate access to public data under the Digital Services Act (DSA).

ec.europa.eu

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Naomi Oreskes @naomioreskes.bsky.social · 14h

If you think mis- and disinformation is no big deal , read this: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Relative engagement with sources of climate misinformation is growing across social media platforms - Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports - Relative engagement with sources of climate misinformation is growing across social media platforms

www.nature.com

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Yusuf Sarfati @yusufsarfati.bsky.social · 1d

This is murder irrespective of whether they are bringing drugs or not.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Trump: "I don't think we're necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war, I think we're just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. We're going to kill them. They're going to be, like dead."

Reposted by Carmen Celestini

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 1d

Oh wow:

"During the fracas, a federal agent fired a pepper round that struck a (UCC) clergyman, Jorge Bautista, near the chin. The impact caked his face and clothing in orange powder. Bautista said the agent shot him in the face from about 5 feet away."

"'I’m in a lot of pain,'" Bautista texted…"

A man, identified as a UCC minister, squints in pain with his face caked in orange from apparent pepper balls allegedly shot by ICE/DHS agents.

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Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 1d

BREAKING

President Trump says he is not going to attempt to deploy the National Guard to San Francisco after a conversation with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie.

The president says he has also spoken to SalesForce CEO Marc Benioff and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

The Federal Government was preparing to "surge" San Francisco, California, on Saturday, but friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge in that the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making substantial progress. I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around. I told him I think he is making a mistake, because we can do it much faster, and remove the criminals that the Law does not permit him to remove. I told him, "It's an easier process if we do it, faster, stronger, and safer but, let's see how you do?" The people of San Francisco have come together on fighting Crime, especially since we began to take charge of that very nasty subject. Great people like Jensen Huang, Marc Benioff, and others have called saying that the future of San Francisco is great. They want to give it a "shot." Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday. Stay tuned!

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 1d

Local Reform chair Neville Watson quits party. An evangelical Christian who was seeking to diversify the party,he was uncomfortable at party language on immigration, support for Tommy Robinson among activists & he felt a weaponisation of Christianity against Islam
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Reform’s only Black branch chair quits over ‘harmful’ migration debate

Exclusive: Neville Watson leaves amid concerns about weaponisation of religion and erosion of community relations

www.theguardian.com

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Carmen Celestini @philofwrite.bsky.social · 1d

Now that you've said that, I would agree! Comstock Laws are basically back so Griswold makes sense

Carmen Celestini @philofwrite.bsky.social · 1d

It was a great discussion for the entire 1.5 hour of class. These students are smart, funny, engaged, and enraged.

Side note, they preferred me over the AI. So, that's a win.

Carmen Celestini @philofwrite.bsky.social · 1d

Today in class we discussed fascism, Marx, Polyani, and concepts of labour, self regulating capitalism, and 2025 America. When discussing labour and ideas of demand, I showed an AI generated and voiced video on the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act.

Then asked can AI replace the labour of Academics?

Reposted by Carmen Celestini

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Enten: "Trump is doing absolutely awful in the minds of the American people. We're talking about new lows. CNBC, -13 net approval on the economy. It's -19 among Quinnipiac ... He's not just beating himself with record lows -- this is the lowest for any president ever."

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Carmen Celestini @philofwrite.bsky.social · 1d

One of my dearest friends is looking after my puppy today, while I'm on campus. She sent this pic and said that my baby has gathered toys and is sad I'm not home. Oh my heart.

A puppy in a sweater laying in their bed surrounded by dog toys.

Carmen Celestini @philofwrite.bsky.social · 1d

This is not a surprise given the language in the Roe v Wade decision.

I remember speaking to my students about this in my Religion, Sex, and Politics course, and wondering if Loving v Virginia would be reconsidered as well.

Brian Tyler Cohen @briantylercohen.bsky.social · 1d

Source:

Court to consider whether to hear challenge to same-sex marriage on Nov. 7

The court is scheduled to consider whether to hear Kim Davis’ challenge to same-sex marriage at their private conference on Friday, Nov. 7. As a general practice, the court does […]

www.scotusblog.com

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 1d

Comically authoritarian

Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 1d

The DC ACLU is suing on behalf of a man who was arrested by a National Guardsman and MPD officers for playing the Imperial March (from Star Wars) as an act of protest. www.acludc.org/app/uploads/...

Ohio National Guard member Sgt. Devon Beck was not amused by this satire. On
September 11, 2025, Mr. O’Hara saw Sgt. Beck, along with several other Guard members, walking
in uniform in the Logan Circle neighborhood, near the intersection of 14th and R Streets NW. Mr.
O’Hara calmly walked behind the Guard members, began playing The Imperial March aloud on
his phone, and started recording. In less than two minutes, Sgt. Beck turned around and threatened
to call D.C. police officers to “handle” Mr. O’Hara if he persisted. Mr. O’Hara continued recording
and playing the music. Sgt. Beck contacted the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Defendant
MPD Officers Brown, Campbell, Reyes-Benigno, and Lopez Martinez came to the scene and, in
essence, did what Sgt. Beck had threatened, putting Mr. O’Hara in handcuffs and preventing him
from continuing his peaceful protest.

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Sander van der Linden @profsanderlinden.bsky.social · 1d

Public health is under attack by a deluge of misinformation. We offer a consensus report from the American Psychological Association summarizing what we know & what interventions are effective in countering it. We provide 8 concrete recommendations. Open-access - awspntest.apa.org/fulltext/202...

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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 1d

Mark Carney gets it. Canada needs to diversify and fast. The debate is not about whether, but how and how fast. #cdnpoli

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NBC News @nbcnews.com · 1d

Author Michael Wolff has sued first lady Melania Trump, charging that she threatened a $1 billion legal action against him to stop him from reporting and writing about her alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Author Michael Wolff sues Melania Trump over Jeffrey Epstein threat

The legal action accuses the first lady of trying to muzzle Wolff by threatening him with a $1 billion lawsuit.

nbcnews.to

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Adam Rothman enjoys a good sandwich @adamrothman.bsky.social · 1d

You will not be surprised to learn that the Society of Architectural Historians is not happy right now.
sah.org/2025/10/16/s...

Statement on the Proposed Ballroom Addition at the White House - Society of Architectural Historians

The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) expresses great concern over the proposed ballroom addition to the White House. On July 31, 2025, the White House issued a statement that a 90,000 sq. ft....

sah.org

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