Highly precedented times we're livin in

Libya. Iraq. Iran. Afghanistan. Laos. Vietnam. Haiti. Hawaii. Puerto Rico. Panama. Cuba. Guatemala. The Philippines. El Salvador. Bolivia. Mexico. Ecuador. Honduras. Nicaragua. Chile. Venezuela. I could go on and on. What do these nations have in common?

This has been the default imperialist position for centuries, so really the oddity was that brief period of comfortable unipolar hegemony where it seemed gauche to say it out loud. No clearer sign of late imperial anxiety than the contemporary return of this old ass monocle and pith helmet blather

some identify publicly with the left because they hate oppression, others because they hate being oppressed. things will make more sense when you keep in mind that these are not the same - or even similar

For other countries it is unfortunately seriously worth thinking about how in two successive cases in a row the United States seemingly has used negotiations as a feint from the very beginning while preparing devastating and senseless bombing campaigns which they execute no matter what

by Trump's own admission, Maduro seemed to have attempted massive overtures in the last few days and he simply wasn't interested. Likewise Iran by almost all accounts approached the issue of deescalating and discussing a new nuclear deal in good faith and Trump was simply not interested.

kinda miss the times when people asked me why the study of colonialism / imperialism was relevant tbh

Libya. Iraq. Iran. Afghanistan. Laos. Vietnam. Haiti. Hawaii. Puerto Rico. Panama. Cuba. Guatemala. The Philippines. El Salvador. Bolivia. Mexico. Ecuador. Honduras. Nicaragua. Chile. Venezuela. I could go on and on. What do these nations have in common?

Also let's be clear, we are attacking Venezuela for the same reason we attack most countries and the same reason we overthrow most governments: they had the audacity to take over their own resources (notably, their oil fields) instead of letting US corporations own them. Anything else is propaganda.

Three million people live in Caracas, five million in the metro area. It's one of the densest cities in South America. Remember this in the morning when they try to spin this as anything other than a cold-blooded attack on a major civilian center.

يقول كارل ماركس: «التاريخ يعيد نفسه مرتين.. في المرة الأولى كمأساة وفي الثانية كمهزلة».

Okay but really it's very funny when people try to educate me about how bad the Iranian regime is. My dad cannot return to Iran, to his own house, to his 93-year-old mother, because he fears being arrested upon arrival. I pray for Iran's freedom. And I know it will never come from American bombs.

I find myself thinking "Iran is lucky." Yes they crushed our economy with sanctions but our children didn't starve to death like Iraq and Palestine; yes they bombed us but it only murdered around 1000 of us. And then I feel ill. How effectively traumatized we are, to see 1000 murders as "only."

The West has done everything it can to crush Iranian self-determination for over a century now, and yet they keep peddling the idea that they can somehow bomb us into freedom. It would be laughable if it weren't so terrifying.

I got "hopeful" ❤️

Relatedly, a fun way to get hype for the year: 1. List small, doable ways to spark joy (e.g. tea, dance break, walk with a friend) 2. Go through and list specifics (e.g. tea blends, songs, friends) 3. Schedule them throughout the year, evenly spaced. (Eg. “on Nov 6 I will drink lemongrass tea”)

Journaling prompts to release the year: What can I forgive myself for? What can I forgive someone else for? What problem am I ready to stop focusing on? What was one big fear that simply didn’t occur? (If your brain keeps going “BUT EVERYTHING SUCKS,” start with 1-3 pages of handwritten venting)

The best book I read in 2025 was The Hollow Half by Sarah Aziza. Gorgeous, visceral, shattering, a book that refuses to contort or conform, to dim the blaze of love and life and rage, a book that is love and loss and refusal and remembrance all at once. It made me miss my grandma.

Entire families in Gaza are being drowned and frozen, their tents washed away, their deaths utterly ignored. I have so many loved ones I can’t reach. I’m so scared and so exhausted of the unending brutality. How much cruelty can one body, one people, one planet bear?

The Gaza peace plan has divided the Strip into color-coded zones that determine where Palestinians can live and rebuild, and half of Gaza is off-limits indefinitely. I reported on the stalled ceasefire and why phase two might never materialize. @newyorker.com www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...

As I continue the agonizing process of verifying with GoFundMe so Hani’s family can finally receive the money you all generously poured forth, they continue to suffer. Last night their tent collapsed in the winds. Please donate if you can: chuffed.org/project/help...

As I continue the agonizing process of verifying with GoFundMe so Hani’s family can finally receive the money you all generously poured forth, they continue to suffer. Last night their tent collapsed in the winds. Please donate if you can: chuffed.org/project/help...

Entire families in Gaza are being drowned and frozen, their tents washed away, their deaths utterly ignored. I have so many loved ones I can’t reach. I’m so scared and so exhausted of the unending brutality. How much cruelty can one body, one people, one planet bear?

I was running to catch a bus in East Harlem after a rainstorm and I slipped. A group of strangers grabbed my scattered stuff, helped me to my feet, and held the bus for me. The kindness of New Yorkers, especially in communities where people have to take care of each other, never fails to amaze me.

I slept poorly and I wish to smile. Tell me something good about your 2025. No matter how small.

Just to be clear when I type 🥳 I’m going “woo!” and when I type 🙌🏽 I’m going “mashallah!”

I’m not going to give up on Palestinians. This platform can keep deleting their accounts but I’ll always boost their voices so long as I can.

I am either a momfluencer or a murderer so naturally I choose murder

I slept poorly and I wish to smile. Tell me something good about your 2025. No matter how small.

Has anyone used either Upscrolled or Threads? What was your experience? (Don’t worry, I’m not abandoning Bluesky anytime soon, just poking around)

President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu are meeting as phase two of the Gaza ceasefire fails to materialize. My new story in @newyorker.com examines what went wrong—and how the plan stalled without resolving who governs Gaza, or who consents. www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...

I have no idea what color I am or what my hair looks like because these were recorded one day apart and the only difference is the lighting and how clean my hair is 😂

This looks fun but I dunno about *plans* 1 like = 1 plan / goal / hope for 2026? 😃?

I have no idea what color I am or what my hair looks like because these were recorded one day apart and the only difference is the lighting and how clean my hair is 😂

Thank you, thank you, thank you ❤️💚🖤

Ok ten whole people expressed interest which is ten more than I expected so here are some rambles on editing chapter two! www.instagram.com/reel/DSxbPZz... www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8yHacLq/

Ok ten whole people expressed interest which is ten more than I expected so here are some rambles on editing chapter two! www.instagram.com/reel/DSxbPZz... www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8yHacLq/

I do believe it’s as simple as this — every white guy who has bemoaned to me that they “don’t tick the diversity boxes” has the firm belief that they and their (usually racist) book idea are entitled to immediate glorious fame. Since they aren‘t gloriously famous, surely it‘s discrimination!

The fact is that to this day, the top earners in genre fiction (and everything else) are straight white men. Sure, in most cases (Sanderson, Martin, King) they’re straight white men who established themselves a looooooooong time ago. It’s harder to break in. For everyone. You’re not special.

And that’s the problem: white supremacy relies on pretending not to exist. If white people are disproportionately successful, it must be inherent superiority and specialness. If they aren’t, it must be discrimination. The less marginalized they are on other axes, the more true this must be.

I’ve been talking about my editing process on Instagram (sophia.babai) and TikTok (stormystoryteller)! Is that remotely something y’all would be interested in me cross-posting here? A clip of the kind of scintillating content I’m providing

I do believe it’s as simple as this — every white guy who has bemoaned to me that they “don’t tick the diversity boxes” has the firm belief that they and their (usually racist) book idea are entitled to immediate glorious fame. Since they aren‘t gloriously famous, surely it‘s discrimination!

Genuinely impressive that Israel has murdered over 400 Palestinians in Gaza during the ”ceasefire” (to say nothing of the West Bank) but is now accusing Hamas of ceasefire violations because a soldier was, quote, “lightly wounded” by an old, unexploded bomb in Israel-controlled territory.

Happy holidays, I guess "We warned you"

Unironically in awe of everyone who has a full face of makeup in the airport at 6 AM. I was too tired to put my socks on.

Genuinely impressive that Israel has murdered over 400 Palestinians in Gaza during the ”ceasefire” (to say nothing of the West Bank) but is now accusing Hamas of ceasefire violations because a soldier was, quote, “lightly wounded” by an old, unexploded bomb in Israel-controlled territory.

The framing of Miss Rachel as controversial is technically accurate but also so funny. She thinks it's bad when little kids get their limbs blown off. That's it. That's the controversy.

The framing of Miss Rachel as controversial is technically accurate but also so funny. She thinks it's bad when little kids get their limbs blown off. That's it. That's the controversy.

FRIENDS, I'm so happy I'm weeping. Thanks to your generosity, we've raised $3,587 in just 24 hours. I love each and every one of you so very much.

The idea that Indonesia supports Palestinians because of antisemitism and not because Indonesia shares the experience of colonizers committing genocide on their land and building hotels over the bones of the dead really speaks to the level of delusion (or deliberate dishonesty) at work here.