Mamdani: For too long, those fluent in the good grammar of civility have deployed decorum to mask agendas of cruelty

Mamdani: I have been told that this is the occasion to reset expectations, that I should use this opportunity to encourage the people of New York to ask for little and expect even less. I will do no such thing. The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations.

Fascinating NYT investigation tracking down many of the top ranking government and military leaders from the Assad-era with details of their current circumstances & recent pursuits.

"The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday said it was pulling its remaining troops out of Yemen, hours after Saudi Arabia backed a Yemeni government ultimatum for the UAE to withdraw from the war-torn Arab state."

"Officials from both countries are talking daily about a possible STC withdrawal from parts of the south-east. That would head off further conflict. It would also reinforce a long-running trend: after a decade of war, Yemen’s future will be decided not by Yemenis but by their foreign backers."

Israel says it will suspend several humanitarian groups, including Doctors Without Borders, in 2026 for failing its new vetting rules for groups working in Gaza. Some international organizations have said that Israel’s rules are arbitrary and could endanger staff.

This, combined with the case before SCOTUS on whether mail-in ballots have to arrive by Election Day (or as in 18 states only have to be ‘postmarked’) can change the results of the midterms.

Iran's Central Bank head has resigned as the biggest protests since 2022 hit several cities over the currency plunge.

“The 10-year development plan, drafted by first son-in-law Jared Kushner…”

Post-doc positions: "Academic freedom is under pressure today. This requires rescue havens of free research. ... [we] invite early career researchers, whose work is restricted due to political pressure in the USA..." uni-freiburg.de/frias/call-f...

"A Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said Saturday that it would intervene to defend the internationally recognized government there unless a group of separatists peacefully withdraws from parts of the country it has seized in recent weeks."

I'm sure the 22 million people whose healthcare premiums will triple in six days are delighted by this news, you inhuman fuck.

This is what every institution he threatens with frivolous defamation suits should be doing

Our king of Festivus with his new reindeer, post airing of his many grievances.

Utterly shameful, cowardly decision along with OU’s decision to dismiss their instructor in a similar case.

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I highly recommend watching this segment, not just because the CBS News execs and the White House didn’t want you to, but because these men were tortured and they deserved to have their voices heard.

bari weiss saw this and decided that she had to hide it from the american public

The New York Times investigated 346 people who donated at least $250,000 to Trump and found that more than half of them (197) have received pardons, jobs, government contracts, special treatment, or favors.

"The episodes of intimidation rarely let up. The number of attacks by extremist settlers in the West Bank has skyrocketed in the last two years. In October, there were an average of eight incidents per day, the highest since the United Nations began keeping records two decades ago."

Doctors Without Borders urges Israel to let critical aid into Gaza as children freeze to death. "At least 13 people, including two-week-old and one-month-old babies, have died from winter weather and a lack of adequate shelter and aid – blocked by Israel" www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12...

We need to eliminate woke in universities and also math is subjective

It’s absurd that Chris Anderson, a serious photojournalist who is probably best known for his conflict photography in war zones, has to explain that actual ethical photojournalism does not allow retouched photos but his response to Stephen Miller here is 🔥 www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Wednesday said that he had approved the “largest gas deal” in the country’s history, granting an export permit for a $37 billion agreement allowing Chevron and other energy companies to significantly expand gas deliveries to neighboring Egypt." menasky

Hundreds of underage girls married off and hundreds more children kidnapped as U.S. foreign aid cuts contribute to surge in violations against persecuted Rohingya children.

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in her interview with Vanity Fair says Trump “has an alcoholic’s personality,” and calls JD Vance a “conspiracy theorist” and says this on USAID and Elon Musk:

If you read one thing from this thread make it this @propublica.org piece and never forget the human toll of this administration’s actions.

"In the aftermath of the mass shooting, which left the country and its Jewish community reeling, Mr. el Ahmed’s bravery provided much-needed solace. Mr. el Ahmed, a Syrian-born fruit seller, risked his life and likely prevented the massacre from being even worse, officials said."

“At Texas A&M, internal emails show staff are using AI software to search syllabi and course descriptions for words that could raise concerns under new system policies restricting how faculty teach about race and gender.” www.texastribune.org/2025/12/15/t...

In a normal administration, this would be a career-ending, weeks-long scandal

The fact that we already have Health Savings Accounts and the most marketized health care system in the world, and it is also the most expensive system does not seem to put a dent in these guy's theories of health economics

“I considered transferring out of U.T., because if my professors are unable to teach me, and I’m not able to have candid conversations to get a proper education, what am I here for?” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/u...

Trump affinity with the Middle East rulers is not just about friendships or personalities. It’s about building legitimacy for an alternative world order (ie neo-royalism) www.dw.com/en/what-dona...

One theme here is the speed of American institutional collapse. “It took Erdoğan 15 years to do what Trump did in 100 days. If [Americans] do not accept the fact that this is a long game, and it will be brutal, I think you won’t have the patience and stamina to bear it.”

"Tunisians took to the streets on Saturday for a third straight week to protest against President Kais Saied's expanding crackdown on the opposition, critics and NGOs, urging the release of political prisoners." www.reuters.com/world/africa...

The Nobel Prize committee should announce the World Cup winner tomorrow

Excellent reporting from M. Gessen, who spoke with activists documenting human rights violations committed in Gaza and the West Bank.

"The new fighting underscores simmering tensions between the United Arab Emirates — a tiny but influential country in the Persian Gulf — and Saudi Arabia, which borders Hadramout and has cultivated deep influence there."

Imagine for five seconds what the reaction would be if a woman CEO behaved this way

this encapsulates the essential relationship between the people running universities, the people doing academic work in universities, and the people looking to smash and grab as much as possible from universities while we're on the way down

Mind boggling for anyone who has ever worked in this space.

On the day he inaugurates the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. Utterly vile.

Really appreciate the clarity of the president saying black people are ruining the country and this entire room of groveling empty suits saying nothing bsky.app/profile/just...

SCOOP: Sources tell me Donald Trump's name was added to the exterior of the US Institute of Peace building ahead of Thursday's peace agreement signing between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which will be held inside the building. Confirming if it's been officially renamed.

Note that these lines quite deliberately divide Black majority precincts among the districts. This map would never have passed scrutiny under the pre-Roberts Voting Rights Act.

3. This would create just a unending flow of zero-value paperwork, amidst a culture of fear. Just all the best aspects of the USSR in one neat package.

If you're going to read one thing about unlawful orders and the boat strikes, this is it: