Netanyahu & Israel Katz say they will strike #Beirut’s southern suburbs, following major escalation over weekend in south & forced displacement orders for towns around Sidon, ~40 minutes from Beirut. Yet some media continue to call these acts of war a ‘fragile’ ceasefire #lebanon

Those sad Trump “superstores” off of the highways are still around, though, empty and decaying.

A march for Kahanism

Another case of an IDF infantry veteran confirming that during the opening phase of the Gaza war, formal Rules of Engagement were not issued at all, creating a vacuum where some tactical commanders told their units to kill all “military-aged males” on sight. www.economist.com/interactive/...

My new essay at @phenomenalworld.bsky.social: “Mosaic of Deterrence” The war on Iran is the culmination of a long strategy: first strangulation, then destruction. From weaponized finance to asymmetric deterrence, and the limits of imperial coercion. phenomenalworld.org/analysis/mos...

At Progressive Field in Cleveland and very disturbed to see Ohio trying to claim my hometown’s Miller Lite.

🧵 The idea that other rich democratic countries are going to wholesale poach 🇺🇸 academia because of Trump is laughable, because other countries are also in the process of dismantling their universities & research funding infrastructure.

I switched over on my phone and it was seamless, and so nice to not have to wade through Google AI bullshit.

Barrack was kind of a one man show out there. Wonder if US support for Ahmed Sharaa’s Syria continues and what US policy on Lebanon will become

“There was a general feeling that human lives are not valuable” apnews.com/article/gaza...

King Abdullah is not going to war with Israel over Al Aqsa

"The scale of the U.A.E.’s hawkish response exacerbated divisions within the Gulf. In early April, Saudi Arabia complained to the U.S. that U.A.E. attacks were raising the risk that regional energy facilities could come under fire from Iran" www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Halfway through the final season of The Boys and I don’t really get why everyone hates it. It’s really good and fun and kind of what you want it to be.

Just wait until all the unqualified right wing diversity hires start answering surveys, problem solved.

"Violations consisted of rape, including with objects, gang rape, attempted rape, physical violence to genitals, instances of targeted shooting of genitals, touching of breasts and genitals, strip and cavity searches without apparent security justification, forced nudity and threats of rape"

“The UAE carried out dozens of airstrikes against Iran beginning in the early days of the war and continuing through the day after the April cease-fire…a deeper involvement than was previously known in the air campaign.” Define “previously known” and “known by whom” www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Call for Nominations for APSA MENA Section Officers! Deadline June 12. Seeking nominations - including self-nominations! - for the positions of Vice Chair and Member at Large. For details and submission instructions see: apsamena.org/2026/05/29/u....

Missed this part of the absurd new proposed government funding rules. I’m sure Middle East Studies and Title VI will be just fine.

@financialtimes.com team confirms Saudi control of Iran International: www.ft.com/content/9d8d...

“ “Why Did So Many People Think This War Was a Good Idea?” The story of how millions of Iranians fell for the regime-change fantasy.” Interesting by Alex Shams especially on the impact of changed Iranian media and social media environment www.thenation.com/article/worl...

Wemby v SGA feels like Curry v Harden. Both score and win. But do we want to watch pure joy and unique talent inventing new ways to dominate the court or grim playing to the refs for free throws into eternity?

“Ceasefire” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Trump’s ceasefire handed Israel 53% of Gaza, but it has since expanded to 64% and Netanyahu now orders the army to seize 70%. Andrea Popescu & Rami Ayyub, @reuters.com www.reuters.com/world/middle...

One of my favorite think tank genres is “my plan will work if actors do a whole bunch of things they are 100% not going to do”

Going to do Sonny right tonight

BREAKING: New proposed OMB regulation, applying to all federal grants, requiring grant reviews by senior political appointees and re-emphasizes that "peer review remains advisory and does not replace agency discretion". #standupforscience public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-10817.pdf

Seems sort of illegal to have job searches where people who have widely shared political views have no chance of getting a job www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...

Article does not even consider the most likely explanation, that maybe these were just the crazy ramblings of a president who is lost. Yet another example of @nytimes trying to make incoherent, inconsistent, ill-informed posts seem rational. As for the headline, seems like the prez is baffled, too.

Progressives need strong organizations to help build and mobilize our movement. But they cannot do that if those organizations facilitate impunity rather than accountability. Democrats Can’t Avoid a Reckoning With Gaza. My piece in @thenation.com www.thenation.com/article/poli...

It's good that universities are making six-figure payouts to people who got fired for their comments about Charlie Kirk, but now the universities need to do some new firing, of administrators who carried out those illegal actions. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/u...

This is 14% of Lebanon's territory. Functionally indistinguishable from what Russia has done in Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea.

Madness! Israel orders the evacuation of entire Lebanese city of Tyre - over 200,000 people - while in the middle of a 'ceasefire' arranged by the Trump administration! www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

Give me a good podcast for a 10 hour drive tomorrow or else I’ll just have to listen to one Coltrane solo the whole time again. You’ve been warned. youtu.be/ehYM_cg2DHI?...

Gulf states collectively take notes

Scoop: NSF has been quietly blocking new funds and grants to four top universities: Duke, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. Dozens of proposals from PIs at these universities—and their collaborators—have been stuck at the Office of Award Management awaiting finalization for months.

The fragile logistics corridor via Gulf states that connects African patients with critical Indian pharmaceuticals has been thrown into disarray with the Strait of Hormuz closed. www.dw.com/en/indias-dr...

New paper finds "After the first year of war...82% of each square kilometer of the Gaza Strip had been damaged at least once and that 67.9% of its built-up area has been destroyed." "Our results show that more than 3/4s of Gaza’s economy has been destroyed since the start of the conflict"

Israel's Defense Minister declares Gaza 'voluntary emigration plan', a euphemism for ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, to be implemented. www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

“.. four months after its establishment, the board’s financial fund set up by the World Bank has received no money from donors, according to four people familiar with the matter. ‘Zero dollars have been deposited,’ one said.” @financialtimes.com www.ft.com/content/5ba3...

Israeli defence minister insists there are 'voluntary emigration' plans for Gaza - https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-defence-minister-voluntary-emigration-plans-gaza

Trump's Board of Peace is going about how you would expect it to go.... giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

This is kinda thing that makes people wonder about the point of democracy. We voted to stop one very specific thing - gerrymandering - and they just ignored it and the courts said that’s fine. I moved to Florida from Ohio where something similar happened but this is worse because it’s so specific.

Hahahahahahaha

I love that Van Hollen is laying down the marker for AOC, he’s going to be a great VP candidate.

We literally voted in a referendum against gerrymandering and these people just pretend it didn’t happen and nobody stops them.

Chris Van Hollen says that Biden & other Democrats have enabled Israeli apartheid while pretending to support two states, so he calls for •Recognizing State of Palestine •End all taxpayer funded assistance to Israel •Impose sanctions •Blacklist complicit US officials •Endorse Arab Peace Initiative

"Out of 177 faculty respondents, close to half reported significant concern about being disciplined by the university for their public engagement. One-fifth indicated that they had been asked by an administrator to change language related to their courses, research, or website."

Democrats have provided reflexive & unconditional support to Netanyahu & Israeli governments, even as they undermined the values we claimed to stand for.   It's time to end taxpayer-funded support & condition arms sales to end the occupation & salvage a 2-state solution.

Sonny Rollins was one of the three greatest jazz musicians I ever saw play live (McCoy Tyner and Dave Brubeck are the other two) and possibly my all time favorite saxophonist. RIP colossus. youtu.be/SPlRHwhlvDQ?...

Israel escalating attacks in Lebanon trying to prevent US-Iran deal or at least ensure that it’s an Israeli-style ceasefire where Israel gets to keep bombing Lebanon, while struggling against minimal US restraints www.newarab.com/news/israel-...