Jake Godin

@godin.bsky.social

Senior Researcher, Bellingcat. Previously at Scripps News.

@chadbourn.bsky.socialReposted by @godin.bsky.social

The first Russian diesel cargo heading for the US left St Petersburg on September 22, two weeks *before* Trump announced the deal with Putin, Windward reports. The Greek-flagged tanker Minerva Zen carrying 275,000 barrels of diesel/gasoil is due at the US East Coast around 11–12 October.

Map of tanker’s route
@yoruk.bsky.socialReposted by @godin.bsky.social

…, a Greek tanker was loading sanctioned Russian diesel in St Petersburg’s Peterburgskiy Neftyanoy Terminal. It sailed for the US on September 23rd and will arrive to the East Coast in one week, likely the Port of Wilmington

@yoruk.bsky.socialReposted by @godin.bsky.social

Trump has been hiding his Russian diesel deal for over a month: the deal was announced yesterday, but it was likely agreed when Witkoff and Kushner visited the Kremlin on 5th September. While Trump was signing the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 on 18th September,…

@maustermuhle.bsky.socialReposted by @godin.bsky.social

The D.C. Board of Elections says it’s asking the National Guard to avoid standing near D.C.’s ballot drop boxes, which opened today, in the wake of video footage showing them near a box in Foggy Bottom this week: www.washingtonsun.com/metro/nation...

washingtonsun.comD.C. Elections Board Asks National Guard to Stay Away From Ballot Drop BoxesGuard members were seen standing next to a drop box in Foggy Bottom this week.
@rgoodlaw.bsky.socialReposted by @godin.bsky.social

JOINT STATEMENT OF THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF CANADA, DENMARK, GERMANY, FRANCE, ITALY, JAPAN, THE NETHERLANDS, UNITED KINGDOM "As committed supporters of the ICC we regret and strongly disagree with the announcement of sanctions to be imposed upon the Court by the United States."

@drewharwell.comReposted by @godin.bsky.social

Hard to overstate how much Hegseth's execution stream mirrors the U.S. military's traditional description of ISIS propaganda: broadcast killings designed to send a message, strike fear and create a social media spectacle. Will almost certainly be repurposed by online terror cells

@godin.bsky.social

There are some bases where the IDF were active previously but have since apparently left. This includes one long-time occupied base along the "Philadelphi Corridor" and one a bit further north of Rafah in the Msabbeh area. The temporary structures have disappeared, though the comms pylons remain.

a planet labs satellite image from october 2025 showing an idf base along the gaza-egypt border where temporary structures and vehicles are visible around an occupied building. a planet labs satellite image from september 2026 showing a former idf base along the gaza-egypt border. temporary structures and vehicles are no longer visible around an occupied building, though comms pylons remain.a planet labs satellite image from october 2025 showing an idf base along north of rafah where temporary structures and vehicles are visible around an occupied building. a comms pylon is also visible.a planet labs satellite image from september 2026 showing a former idf base north of rafah. temporary structures and vehicles are no longer visible around an occupied set of buildings, though a comms pylon remains.
@godin.bsky.social

Important to note that these bases are built on the cleared ruins of a densely populated area where people lived. Same thing has happened in Swedish Village, Bani Suheila, Al-Qarara, Shujaiya and Jabaliya.

a satellite image from planet labs showing the ma'an neighborhood in Khan Yunis at the beginning of the war on october 15 2023. the area is full of residential buildings and includes mosques and schools.a satellite image from planet labs showing the ma'an neighborhood south of Khan Yunis on september 17 2026. there are few, if any, buildings left standing and two idf bases are visible amongst the cleared ruins.
@godin.bsky.social

The layout for the newer bases has been updated with wider berms and a larger footprint, something that can be clearly seen when looking at the old base that was built on top of the Ma'an Cemetery south of Khan Yunis. The new one is ~150m to the east. (Image: September 17 2026 SkySat, @planet.com)

A September 17 2026 SkySat image from Planet Labs showing two IDF bases in the Ma'an neighborhood south of Khan Yunis. Very few buildings are still standing. A large portion of the Ma'an Cemetery has been destroyed with a now-inactive IDF base at the corner. A larger, newer IDF base lies about 150m to the east with a more organized layout and paved surface.
@reichlinmelnick.bsky.socialReposted by @godin.bsky.social

ICE appears to be using the parking lot of the Roxbury warehouse for processing and brief detention, and at least once appears to have taken people inside. But also, read this inside look from a federal contractor about how everyone knew the warehouse plan was insane but Miller demanded inhumanity.

NPR spoke to an official at a government contractor whose company was approached to convert several of the warehouses into ICE facilities. He spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from the government. "No one that we spoke to at DHS was for this idea whatsoever. The deputy director told us point-blank that they had pushed back very hard on it. Everybody knew warehouses are horrible places to put people," he says. At a meeting with a deputy director at DHS, he says, his company proposed an alternative: FEMA-style camps in Texas that would be more humane. He says that idea was swiftly shot down. While White House adviser Stephen Miller was not at the meeting, they were told that this was not what Miller wanted. The contractor says his understanding from that meeting was that "Miller did not want the facilities that were comfortable. He did not want facilities that were humane. We were told point-blank that that was not what the administration wanted." "Steve Miller certainly seemed to make that point to everyone that he wanted it to be cruel. This was what Miller had stated to the DHS at that time, to the DHS director and deputy director. What surprised me was just how adamant the people were that it was going to happen. Damn the consequences. I would say in 25 years of working with the U.S. government, I've never been in that position before."
@mschenk.bsky.socialReposted by @godin.bsky.social

An example of FIMI (Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference) in action at the @disinfo.eu conference?

Apparently someone in the U.S. did not agree with the topic of a session named "USA as a FIMI threat: acknowledge, adapt, push back" and applied pressure on the sponsors...

4
@schwanksta.comReposted by @godin.bsky.social

A year ago, @propublica.org told you immigration agents had detained more than 170 U.S. citizens.

We’ve updated our count, and we’ve got all the receipts.

The tally: At least 506 citizens detained. Sometimes held at gunpoint, handcuffed, or even deported.

projects.propublica.org/american-cit...

projects.propublica.orgMore Than 500 U.S. Citizens Have Been Detained, Including Handcuffed or Held at Gunpoint, in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown — ProPublicaThe government doesn’t track how often immigration officers detain U.S. citizens. So ProPublica did. We’ve found more than 500 Americans who were held against their will during this Trump administrati...
@gillianbrockell.comReposted by @godin.bsky.social

I LOVE how @propublica.org dealt with official comment here, editorially and stylistically.

The Trump administration says none of this is happening. "DHS is NOT arresting U.S. citizens by mistake." "There are no 'indiscriminate' stops." Allegations of "racial profiling are disgusting, reckless and categorically FALSE." "The pattern is NOT of law enforcement using force." "ICE does not zip tie or restrain children." But that is precisely what is happening, and at a far larger scale than previously reported.
Ken Schwencke@schwanksta.com

A year ago, @propublica.org told you immigration agents had detained more than 170 U.S. citizens. We’ve updated our count, and we’ve got all the receipts. The tally: At least 506 citizens detained. Sometimes held at gunpoint, handcuffed, or even deported. projects.propublica.org/american-cit...

projects.propublica.orgMore Than 500 U.S. Citizens Have Been Detained, Including Handcuffed or Held at Gunpoint, in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown — ProPublicaThe government doesn’t track how often immigration officers detain U.S. citizens. So ProPublica did. We’ve found more than 500 Americans who were held against their will during this Trump administrati...
Older posts