Can’t believe it, but I’m en route to Antarctica. Seeing this continent—whose fast-shifting geopolitical significance & massive climate change vulnerabilities must concern us all—feels like the journey of a lifetime.

Buenos Aires’ idea of Kentucky food bears absolutely ZERO relationship to the fast food & dry Bible Belt country counties of my childhood… And I love it! 😂 Merry Xmas from Argentina, where this Kentucky woman tango danced her heart out today! 💃🏻🇦🇷🎄😍

Worth reading this ….

Peter Beinart declared he wanted to 'challenge Jewish supremacy' by speaking at Tel Aviv University. Twelve hours later, he executed a whiplash-inducing apology, conceding to the BDS movement's purity tests, @monicamarks.bsky.social writes. Gift Link: www.haaretz.com/opinion/2025...

Very sad to hear of this terrorism (bombing attacks) plot by a far left group in Southern California, but glad it was foiled. Respect to Palestinians like @hamzahowidy.bsky.social who publicly reiterate “not in our name.” AP, PBS & local media have reported on this: abc7.com/post/souther...

Two Palestinian men have told the BBC they personally experienced the kind of beatings and sexual abuse highlighted in recent reports into the treatment of prisoners in Israeli detention. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Ahmed el Ahmed, a 43 yr-old Muslim father of two, risked his life to tackle the terrorist who killed 12 at a Sydney Hanukkah celebration, disarming him in that incredible video. He is in hospital with two gunshot wounds to the arm & hand. Thank you, dear Ahmed. You are a hero!

Incredible footage out of Bondi Beach, Sydney. Attacks on Jewish communities keep happening globally. Ten people were killed in Sydney tonight. Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah, a celebration of light, love & Jewish survival. No one’s Hanukkah should be spent this way.

Amine Mahfoudh & Sadok Belaid were the only Tunisian legal scholars to support President Kais Saied’s replacement of Tunisia’s sole democratic constitution (the 2014 one) w/ his own error-laden pro-autocracy draft in 2022. Now Mahfoudh is talking about a post-Saied transition.

People need to be keeping eyes on Tunisia. A range of frail & elderly political prisoners—including famous politicians like Rached Ghannouchi—are hunger striking & could die any day now, god forbid. Meanwhile, Saied is undertaking yet another crackdown & discontent is growing.

Excellent piece. True to his typical form, Joel does not shy away from the contradictions & knotty bits, but looks them head-on.

“In American cinema, as in American life, the siren song of anti-politics is sounding.” @MonicaMarks.bsky.social reflects on recent films depicting a future U.S. defined by vigilantism, insurgencies and violence, for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

Several recent movies depict an American future defined by vigilantism, insurgencies and violence. @MonicaMarks.bsky.social reflects on what these films — and the polarized responses to them — reveal about the current crossroads of U.S. politics.

At night, to stop replaying torture sessions in her mind, Elizabeth Tsurkov recited whole chapters of her PhD that she wrote in her head in captivity. Like Deborah Amos, I was elated that Tsurkov not only survived, but that she remains herself—as fiercely intelligent as ever. A must-read:

In DC for a conference. Walked up to the White House for the first time in a few years. The accompanying soundtrack here was about as American as it gets 😂 You can’t make my country up sometimes.

In DC for a conference. Walked up to the White House for the first time in a few years. The accompanying soundtrack here was about as American as it gets 😂 You can’t make my country up sometimes.

What makes this review-essay by @monicamarks.bsky.social so illuminating — beyond her rich insights on Civil War, The Order, Eddington and One Battle After Another — is her reading of various left-wing and right-wing responses to these films, and what they reveal about our ideological condition ⤵️

“In American cinema, as in American life, the siren song of anti-politics is sounding.” @MonicaMarks.bsky.social reflects on recent films depicting a future U.S. defined by vigilantism, insurgencies and violence, for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

Trump is now engaging on Sudan. He likewise has the power to mitigate enormous carnage there, as he did in Gaza, by pressuring external elites—something Biden never did.

A good question to ponder--why are we imagining a future of fragmentation and violence as our only possibility?

My latest piece. Films are increasingly depicting an American future defined by vigilantism, insurgencies & violence. For @newlinesmag.bsky.social, I explored what these films & polarized responses to them reveal about current U.S. politics. Feedback is appreciated! newlinesmag.com/review/ameri...

NEW: Several recent movies depict an American future defined by vigilantism, insurgencies and violence. @monicamarks.bsky.social reflects on what these films and the polarized responses to them reveal about the current crossroads of U.S. politics newlinesmag.com/review/ameri...

This was the most gilded White House visit I’ve ever seen. Replete w/ horses & flyover welcome. I just watched Trump & MBS’ presser in the Oval. Trump accused ABC’s Mary Bruce, who asked this Q, of trying to “embarrass our guest.” MBS himself fielded her Q more calmly. But it got worse: 🧵

The films Civil War, The Order, Eddington & One Battle After Another both register and reflect back at us the miasma of our moment and force us to think about anti-politics versus politics, purism versus pluralism, and violence versus coalition building. A tour de force by @monicamarks.bsky.social ⬇️

So much corruption exists. “The latest project adds to a string of developments undertaken by the [Trump Organization & Saudi developer Dar Global] & bearing the Trump name. Most have been in the Gulf & span Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Oman & Qatar. Dar Global is building Trump Towers in Jeddah & Dubai.”

If Biden had enforced the Leahy Law on Netanyahu, it would’ve saved both American political parties—& Israel itself—a world of drama. Now both Democrats & Republicans are facing civil wars within their parties that pivot on one litmus test in particular: US support for Israel.

Democracy’s death in Tunisia—home of the Arab Spring—is one of the greatest tragedies of my life. Just spoke w/ London’s Times Radio on Saied’s worsening abuses. Jailed democracy leaders are getting their ribs broken by prison guards. They’re barred from court at their own “trials.” 🧵

Essential college/university teaching thread. 👇

AI is killing the college essay as more professors ditch robot-written papers for in-class exams. So now even fewer students are being taught to write well (an energy intensive task!). Students lose out, bc good writing = good thinking: a training of the brain towards structure, style & substance.

“Practice any art… not to get money or fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.” Brilliant from Vonnegut.

No amount of hotness or patrician lineage can convince me that JFK’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, is fit to replace Nadler in Congress. Hollow bravado & self-contradictions make for poor policy. Limiting buybacks is closer to “communism” than Trump’s energy policies & could distort the market. 1/4

At least 89 Gazans, including children & elderly, are receiving medical treatment in Israel. Most have been in Jerusalem for this purpose since before the war. But Israel abruptly decided to send all Gazan patients back to Gaza next week. Unless third countries take them ASAP, many will die 🧵 1/

Terrible update on hunger striking political prisoner, Jawhar Ben Mbarek. His sister & lawyers say prison guards ordered inmates to beat him brutally. His condition is awful. Jawhar is a good man I’ve known personally since 2011. He’s fighting for all Tunisians’ freedoms. Autocracy is worsening 🧵

“Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in areas of Gaza that have remained under its control since the ceasefire with Hamas started on 10 October, satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify show.” Many of the buildings did not appear damaged before being destroyed.

Endlessly inspired by my friend Elizabeth Tsurkov’s determination to discuss the torture she endured in Iraq. Iraq’s election is Tuesday. Some candidates are linked to her torturers. On behalf of the Iraqis whom Kataib Hezbollah still tortures in its dungeons, she is speaking out. 1/2

Toronto friends 🇨🇦: If you’re interested in Sudan 🇸🇩, where the world’s largest humanitarian crisis is unfolding, journalist Yousra Elbagir is a must-listen. She’s dynamic, knowledgeable & deeply connected to events on the ground. Her talk is Friday at UT. Register: www.eventbrite.ca/e/in-convers...

In #Tunesien befinden sich drei inhaftierte, führende Oppositionelle in Hungerstreik: Jawhar Ben Mbarek (56), Issam Chebbi (67)u Rached Ghannouchi (84) in parteiübergreifender Solidarität. @monicamarks.bsky.social ordnet ein

Trump campaigned all over the country last year with a foldout table of groceries, featuring their prices before & after Biden. It was brilliant visual politics. But he seems to have forgotten why it worked, & is now throwing lavish Gatsby-themed parties while egg prices rise. 🧵

I’m deeply concerned for the welfare of 3 Tunisian political prisoners—Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Issam Chebbi & Rached Ghannouchi—who are hunger striking now. This is a cross-ideological & pro-democracy group of leaders who oppose Saied’s authoritarianism. They are 56, 67 & 84 yrs old. 1/4 🧵🇹🇳

Saied is tightening the belt of authoritarian repression in Tunisia even more. Today, the Geneva-based World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) was forced to suspend assistance to torture victims in 🇹🇳 & cease its work. I’ve known its director many years. They did great work 💔

The splits within 🔻🪂 on Mamdani’s win are fascinating. His calling 10-7 a “horrific war crime,” “discouraging” globalize & working w “liberal Zionist” Brad Lander seem to be seen as either: 1. shameful but necessary tactical feints 2. bad omen compromises 3. disqualifying sins

What a metaphor for potential change that Cheney died on the same day Mamdani will be elected NYC mayor. Cheney was chief architect of the War on Terrorism. He created a less accountable presidency in 🇺🇸 & empowered Trump’s rise by reducing establishment credibility. 1/

There’s no bigger supporter of Ben Ali, or critic of the center-right Ennahda Party, in Tunisia’s post-2011 politics than Abir Moussi. Yet the elections board, ISIE—which Saied made into his creature—keeps inventing reasons to jail her along w/ Ennahda members she loathes 🧵

Trump’s approval numbers have tanked, even on his winningest issues (the economy & immigration). Most presidents face sinking approval in their 2nd term. But Trump fell farther, faster. Today, he’s only above water in a handful of states on the right (eg: WY, WV, ID, KY).

Egypt’s most famous jester is back on Egyptian airwaves, but in a tamed way that doesn’t require the powers that be to take a joke. “No barbs at the mukhabarat, no digs at the country’s rulers. Instead, he laments that his American taxes helped fund Israel’s war in Gaza.”

In Sudan, @anneapplebaum reports, the post-American world has already arrived. A brutal civil war has left a vacuum—and no international organizations, no diplomats, and certainly no Americans are coming to fill it. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

“[Arab states] are now less concerned about confronting Iran—and less convinced that the road to Washington leads through Tel Aviv… nobody in the Middle East wants Israeli leadership, and all states now increasingly fear its unchecked might.” abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/israel-cant-...

There’s a genuinely funny side of Vance, like when he laughs at himself as we wish more politicians could do. But the side of him that cheers on cruelties—that socks a petty punch when his victim is immobilised—is stronger. His sense of humour makes him more dangerous for Dems.

Samia Suluhu Hassan’s tenure as Tanzania’s president is a case study in the shallowness of symbolic representation. Her substantive record brought more authoritarianism. She’s banned the opposition, disappeared critics & prohibited pregnant girls from school—all while naming women ministers. 1/4 🧵