Mr Kellie Strom
@kelliestrom.bsky.social
Artist, writer, editor.
https://www.kelliestrom.com
https://www.kelliestrom.com
Pinned
My cover painting for the latest Syria Notes shows Marjeh Square in Damascus, where many families have posted pictures of their missing relatives, hoping to learn something of their fate.
Full issue: www.syrianotes.org/2025/05/free...
Via @syrianotes.bsky.social.
Full issue: www.syrianotes.org/2025/05/free...
Via @syrianotes.bsky.social.
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
Bellingcat has geolocated the site of a mass killing in north-east Syria. The Ayn Al Arab (Kobani) area is affected by recent fighting between Damascus-aligned forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
January 26, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Bellingcat has geolocated the site of a mass killing in north-east Syria. The Ayn Al Arab (Kobani) area is affected by recent fighting between Damascus-aligned forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
Also amongst those released from Aqtan Prison today: Abdullah Omar Darbouk, who worked with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and whose arbitrary arrest by the SDF in Raqqa City on August 30th 2025 was reported by the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
news.snhr.org/2025/09/03/s...
news.snhr.org/2025/09/03/s...
Syrian Democratic Forces Arrest Activist Abdullah Omar Darbouk in Raqqa City on August 30, 2025 | News - Syrian Network for Human Rights
On Saturday, August 30, 2025, activist Abdullah Omar Darbouk, who works with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Displacement Tracking (DTM) team, was arbitrarily arrested by members of...
news.snhr.org
January 26, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Also amongst those released from Aqtan Prison today: Abdullah Omar Darbouk, who worked with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and whose arbitrary arrest by the SDF in Raqqa City on August 30th 2025 was reported by the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
news.snhr.org/2025/09/03/s...
news.snhr.org/2025/09/03/s...
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
Firas Barjas, a reporter working for the Khabur channel, freed from Aqtan prison. He was arrested by SDF last Dec. on charge of communicating with “hostile entities” (supporting the Govt).
He was freed today with seven other political detainees.
@qalaatalmudiq.bsky.social
x.com/i/status/201...
He was freed today with seven other political detainees.
@qalaatalmudiq.bsky.social
x.com/i/status/201...
January 26, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Firas Barjas, a reporter working for the Khabur channel, freed from Aqtan prison. He was arrested by SDF last Dec. on charge of communicating with “hostile entities” (supporting the Govt).
He was freed today with seven other political detainees.
@qalaatalmudiq.bsky.social
x.com/i/status/201...
He was freed today with seven other political detainees.
@qalaatalmudiq.bsky.social
x.com/i/status/201...
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
Russian forces are withdrawing tanks, military equipment, and aircraft from Qamishli Airport, northeast Syria.
— Kurdistan24
x.com/i/status/201...
— Kurdistan24
x.com/i/status/201...
January 26, 2026 at 11:31 AM
Russian forces are withdrawing tanks, military equipment, and aircraft from Qamishli Airport, northeast Syria.
— Kurdistan24
x.com/i/status/201...
— Kurdistan24
x.com/i/status/201...
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
Pro government forces massacred a family at a checkpoint near Abu Khashab village, Deir Ez-Zor, on January 18th, @rudawmedia.bsky.social reports. Six of the family were killed and six injured.
www.rudaw.net/english/midd...
www.rudaw.net/english/midd...
Massacre of Kurdish family on ceasefire day draws scrutiny to US’s new ally in Damascus
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Gruesome video and audio evidence has emerged documenting the massacre of a Kurdish family by forces reportedly loyal to Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on January 1...
www.rudaw.net
January 25, 2026 at 10:31 PM
Pro government forces massacred a family at a checkpoint near Abu Khashab village, Deir Ez-Zor, on January 18th, @rudawmedia.bsky.social reports. Six of the family were killed and six injured.
www.rudaw.net/english/midd...
www.rudaw.net/english/midd...
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
It’s a little confusing because on the ground everyone uses “ICE” as an umbrella term for feds of any stripe, but there are many agencies that have been thrown into this paramilitary invading force - ICE, ERO, Border Patrol, HSI, FBI, US Marshals.
Border Patrol is easily the most militarized
Border Patrol is easily the most militarized
I just want to make it clear that it was *Border Patrol* agents who murdered Alex Pretti, and those fuckers murder people regularly here along the border.
Renee Good´s murderer is also a former Border Patrol agent (currently ICE).
Disband ALL the paramilitary groups and prosecute every member.
Renee Good´s murderer is also a former Border Patrol agent (currently ICE).
Disband ALL the paramilitary groups and prosecute every member.
January 25, 2026 at 2:01 PM
It’s a little confusing because on the ground everyone uses “ICE” as an umbrella term for feds of any stripe, but there are many agencies that have been thrown into this paramilitary invading force - ICE, ERO, Border Patrol, HSI, FBI, US Marshals.
Border Patrol is easily the most militarized
Border Patrol is easily the most militarized
Really would like to know why @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social and @carladenyer.bsky.social of the @greenparty.org.uk are supporting an armed group that tortures children.
bsky.app/profile/syri...
bsky.app/profile/syri...
Freed children recount torture as Syrian forces assume control of SDF-run detention facility
All were under 18. Some appeared to be primary school age. Several described abuse and torture by SDF. One child said he was electrocuted and whipped.
— Middle East Eye
www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-f...
All were under 18. Some appeared to be primary school age. Several described abuse and torture by SDF. One child said he was electrocuted and whipped.
— Middle East Eye
www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-f...
Syria frees 126 minors from Raqqa prison as SDF ceasefire extended
Freed children recount torture as Syrian forces assume control of SDF-run detention facility
www.middleeasteye.net
January 25, 2026 at 2:10 PM
Really would like to know why @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social and @carladenyer.bsky.social of the @greenparty.org.uk are supporting an armed group that tortures children.
bsky.app/profile/syri...
bsky.app/profile/syri...
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
Freed children recount torture as Syrian forces assume control of SDF-run detention facility
All were under 18. Some appeared to be primary school age. Several described abuse and torture by SDF. One child said he was electrocuted and whipped.
— Middle East Eye
www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-f...
All were under 18. Some appeared to be primary school age. Several described abuse and torture by SDF. One child said he was electrocuted and whipped.
— Middle East Eye
www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-f...
Syria frees 126 minors from Raqqa prison as SDF ceasefire extended
Freed children recount torture as Syrian forces assume control of SDF-run detention facility
www.middleeasteye.net
January 25, 2026 at 1:58 PM
Freed children recount torture as Syrian forces assume control of SDF-run detention facility
All were under 18. Some appeared to be primary school age. Several described abuse and torture by SDF. One child said he was electrocuted and whipped.
— Middle East Eye
www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-f...
All were under 18. Some appeared to be primary school age. Several described abuse and torture by SDF. One child said he was electrocuted and whipped.
— Middle East Eye
www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-f...
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
Not even 'both sides' here - the crucial bit is removed out from the parents' statement (giving the false impression that they did not rebut the administration's lies), while the administration's lie is presented without rebuttal. Truly appalling stuff.
January 25, 2026 at 12:40 PM
Not even 'both sides' here - the crucial bit is removed out from the parents' statement (giving the false impression that they did not rebut the administration's lies), while the administration's lie is presented without rebuttal. Truly appalling stuff.
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
7yo gave me an unpleasant shock y’day by chiming in on Greenland saying “Donald Trump didn’t actually use violence and he only wants to protect it from Russia & China” - after I’d calmed down I tried to work out where he’s been hearing this bullshit. Turns out it’s bloody BBC Newsround!
January 25, 2026 at 12:05 PM
7yo gave me an unpleasant shock y’day by chiming in on Greenland saying “Donald Trump didn’t actually use violence and he only wants to protect it from Russia & China” - after I’d calmed down I tried to work out where he’s been hearing this bullshit. Turns out it’s bloody BBC Newsround!
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
So important. What they say is not the story. That is never the story. What happened is the story. Write what happened.
Media: do not lead with the false government framing of what happened
January 25, 2026 at 12:05 AM
So important. What they say is not the story. That is never the story. What happened is the story. Write what happened.
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
More evidence that the US government are lying liars who will lie about anything, this footage of ICE killing Alex Pretti supports the claim he was protecting a woman from violent ICE agents. The only thing he was brandishing was a phone.
January 25, 2026 at 8:58 AM
More evidence that the US government are lying liars who will lie about anything, this footage of ICE killing Alex Pretti supports the claim he was protecting a woman from violent ICE agents. The only thing he was brandishing was a phone.
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
Raqqa and eastern Deir Ezzor are experiencing their own December 8th moment. Despite what most Western media and many Western politicians claim.
I choose to side with the victims. Many are still held in (secret) SDF prisons. I am in contact with several of their relatives, both Kurds and Arabs.
I choose to side with the victims. Many are still held in (secret) SDF prisons. I am in contact with several of their relatives, both Kurds and Arabs.
January 24, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Raqqa and eastern Deir Ezzor are experiencing their own December 8th moment. Despite what most Western media and many Western politicians claim.
I choose to side with the victims. Many are still held in (secret) SDF prisons. I am in contact with several of their relatives, both Kurds and Arabs.
I choose to side with the victims. Many are still held in (secret) SDF prisons. I am in contact with several of their relatives, both Kurds and Arabs.
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
As more pieces keep coming out, the government’s shooting of a man in Minneapolis becomes even more disturbing.
A new video appears to show the moments leading up to a fatal shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis, with the individual appearing to simply record on his phone as agents escalated the situation.
🎥 dangjessie / Threads
🎥 dangjessie / Threads
January 24, 2026 at 6:09 PM
As more pieces keep coming out, the government’s shooting of a man in Minneapolis becomes even more disturbing.
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
We’ve placed the available videos of the shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis today into the same synchronised timeline and are continuing to analyse further.
January 24, 2026 at 8:39 PM
We’ve placed the available videos of the shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis today into the same synchronised timeline and are continuing to analyse further.
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
Another child describes being tortured in Aqtan Prison by the SDF.
Why is the @greenparty.org.uk promoting an armed group that tortures children?
CC @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social @zackpolanski.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/qusa...
Why is the @greenparty.org.uk promoting an armed group that tortures children?
CC @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social @zackpolanski.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/qusa...
January 24, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Another child describes being tortured in Aqtan Prison by the SDF.
Why is the @greenparty.org.uk promoting an armed group that tortures children?
CC @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social @zackpolanski.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/qusa...
Why is the @greenparty.org.uk promoting an armed group that tortures children?
CC @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social @zackpolanski.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/qusa...
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
Our initial analysis is up.
The video footage appears to show that the gun was taken away from the man before he was shot.
He was UNARMED before any of the shots were fired.
The video footage appears to show that the gun was taken away from the man before he was shot.
He was UNARMED before any of the shots were fired.
Federal law enforcement agents shot and killed a man in Minneapolis on Jan. 24 according to local police officials. DHS told Fox News that the man was “armed with a gun”. A video of the shooting appears to show that a gun was taken from the man before the first shot was fired. x.com/BillMelugin_...
January 24, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Our initial analysis is up.
The video footage appears to show that the gun was taken away from the man before he was shot.
He was UNARMED before any of the shots were fired.
The video footage appears to show that the gun was taken away from the man before he was shot.
He was UNARMED before any of the shots were fired.
@zoejardiniere.bsky.social
Zoe, can you have a word with Carla?
The Greens should be focused on civilian protection and accountability in Syria.
Boosting an armed group that snipers civilians, kidnaps girls, massacres people, that isn’t it.
bsky.app/profile/kell...
Zoe, can you have a word with Carla?
The Greens should be focused on civilian protection and accountability in Syria.
Boosting an armed group that snipers civilians, kidnaps girls, massacres people, that isn’t it.
bsky.app/profile/kell...
More details coming out of SDF deliberately killing civilians.
The @greenparty.org.uk should not be picking favourites like this, boosting a militia with a history of targeting civilians that just massacred 21 unarmed people on a roadside.
CC @zackpolanski.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/syri...
The @greenparty.org.uk should not be picking favourites like this, boosting a militia with a history of targeting civilians that just massacred 21 unarmed people on a roadside.
CC @zackpolanski.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/syri...
More on the 21 people killed by SDF fighters in Kobani:
Activists from the region confirmed all the victims were civilians. Most were detainees released by the SDF from its prisons last Wednesday, before being killed on the road between Kobani/Ain al-Arab and Aleppo.
www.syria.tv/%D8%B1%D8%A7...
Activists from the region confirmed all the victims were civilians. Most were detainees released by the SDF from its prisons last Wednesday, before being killed on the road between Kobani/Ain al-Arab and Aleppo.
www.syria.tv/%D8%B1%D8%A7...
January 24, 2026 at 12:40 PM
@zoejardiniere.bsky.social
Zoe, can you have a word with Carla?
The Greens should be focused on civilian protection and accountability in Syria.
Boosting an armed group that snipers civilians, kidnaps girls, massacres people, that isn’t it.
bsky.app/profile/kell...
Zoe, can you have a word with Carla?
The Greens should be focused on civilian protection and accountability in Syria.
Boosting an armed group that snipers civilians, kidnaps girls, massacres people, that isn’t it.
bsky.app/profile/kell...
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
More details coming out of SDF deliberately killing civilians.
The @greenparty.org.uk should not be picking favourites like this, boosting a militia with a history of targeting civilians that just massacred 21 unarmed people on a roadside.
CC @zackpolanski.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/syri...
The @greenparty.org.uk should not be picking favourites like this, boosting a militia with a history of targeting civilians that just massacred 21 unarmed people on a roadside.
CC @zackpolanski.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/syri...
More on the 21 people killed by SDF fighters in Kobani:
Activists from the region confirmed all the victims were civilians. Most were detainees released by the SDF from its prisons last Wednesday, before being killed on the road between Kobani/Ain al-Arab and Aleppo.
www.syria.tv/%D8%B1%D8%A7...
Activists from the region confirmed all the victims were civilians. Most were detainees released by the SDF from its prisons last Wednesday, before being killed on the road between Kobani/Ain al-Arab and Aleppo.
www.syria.tv/%D8%B1%D8%A7...
راح ضحيتها 21 شخصاً.. "قسد" تعترف بارتكاب عناصرها مجزرة في ريف حلب
اعترفت "قوات سوريا الديمقراطية" (قسد) بارتكاب عناصرها مجزرة راح ضحيتها 21 شخصاً في منطقة عين العرب (كوباني) بريف حلب الشرقي.
www.syria.tv
January 24, 2026 at 12:03 PM
More details coming out of SDF deliberately killing civilians.
The @greenparty.org.uk should not be picking favourites like this, boosting a militia with a history of targeting civilians that just massacred 21 unarmed people on a roadside.
CC @zackpolanski.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/syri...
The @greenparty.org.uk should not be picking favourites like this, boosting a militia with a history of targeting civilians that just massacred 21 unarmed people on a roadside.
CC @zackpolanski.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/syri...
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
Engagement with government accounts on X latest
January 23, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Engagement with government accounts on X latest
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
Last term I tried an experiment: I walked into my Tech and Design Ethics class, admitted that I had *no idea* what to do about ChatGPT - so I would let them figure it out.
As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class.
Here's what happened:
As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class.
Here's what happened:
January 22, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Last term I tried an experiment: I walked into my Tech and Design Ethics class, admitted that I had *no idea* what to do about ChatGPT - so I would let them figure it out.
As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class.
Here's what happened:
As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class.
Here's what happened:
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
“The repressive nature of the SDF is not widely known outside Syria… Even a native like me, who stays in touch with family and friends at home, only learned about the true extent of this repression when I visited.”
Faris Zwirahn for @newlinesmag.bsky.social.
newlinesmag.com/reportage/ho...
Faris Zwirahn for @newlinesmag.bsky.social.
newlinesmag.com/reportage/ho...
How the Kurds Lost Eastern Syria
The autonomous administration in the country’s northeast replicated the authoritarian tactics of the regimes it fought, driving the Arab majority to revolt
newlinesmag.com
January 22, 2026 at 6:38 PM
“The repressive nature of the SDF is not widely known outside Syria… Even a native like me, who stays in touch with family and friends at home, only learned about the true extent of this repression when I visited.”
Faris Zwirahn for @newlinesmag.bsky.social.
newlinesmag.com/reportage/ho...
Faris Zwirahn for @newlinesmag.bsky.social.
newlinesmag.com/reportage/ho...
Hidtil ukendte dokumenter viser at Forsvarsministeriet og den øverste danske militære ledelse var bekymret over at USA—uformelt og uden at involvere København—forsøgte at få danske kolleger i Grønland til at udlevere information om militære installationer.
www.berlingske.dk/internationa...
www.berlingske.dk/internationa...
USA søgte i fortrolighed viden om militære installationer i Grønland
Hidtil ukendte dokumenter fra dansk forsvar viser, at Forsvarsministeriet og den øverste danske militære ledelse var bekymret over, at USA – uformelt og uden at involvere København – forsøgte at få da...
www.berlingske.dk
January 18, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Hidtil ukendte dokumenter viser at Forsvarsministeriet og den øverste danske militære ledelse var bekymret over at USA—uformelt og uden at involvere København—forsøgte at få danske kolleger i Grønland til at udlevere information om militære installationer.
www.berlingske.dk/internationa...
www.berlingske.dk/internationa...
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
Today in 1958, Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” cartoon strip addressed a subject on the minds of many Americans.
Ten months later, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union entered into a mutual moratorium on nuclear testing as they endeavored to negotiate an end to all such tests.
Ten months later, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union entered into a mutual moratorium on nuclear testing as they endeavored to negotiate an end to all such tests.
January 5, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Today in 1958, Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” cartoon strip addressed a subject on the minds of many Americans.
Ten months later, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union entered into a mutual moratorium on nuclear testing as they endeavored to negotiate an end to all such tests.
Ten months later, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union entered into a mutual moratorium on nuclear testing as they endeavored to negotiate an end to all such tests.
Reposted by Mr Kellie Strom
I wrote this blog post after stumbling into a Reddit thread that wondered if reading AI synthetic text was bad for you mentally. I introduce this term “firm reading” as a way to question if a text has meaning in the first place. I appreciate you reading.
meresophistry.substack.com/p/firm-readi...
meresophistry.substack.com/p/firm-readi...
Firm reading in an era of AI delirium
Could reading synthetic text be like eating ultra processed foods?
meresophistry.substack.com
December 25, 2025 at 10:17 PM
I wrote this blog post after stumbling into a Reddit thread that wondered if reading AI synthetic text was bad for you mentally. I introduce this term “firm reading” as a way to question if a text has meaning in the first place. I appreciate you reading.
meresophistry.substack.com/p/firm-readi...
meresophistry.substack.com/p/firm-readi...