No clue if the allegation against Platner is true. All I’ll say is that the second the Totenkopf story came out it was clear that a) his story was nonsense, and b) there would be more. And this is the fault of everyone who aggressively pushed him and tried to say his issues weren’t a big deal.

As an ostensibly religious Catholic (certainly when it comes to things like abortion) shouldn’t Vance also find things like speaking in tongues and snake handling to be outright heresy?

ICYMI, I spoke at length recently with @MichaelShurkin on the Sahel’s insurgency, what JNIM actually wants, and where things may go from here: m.youtube.com/watch?v=iRH90r…

My conversation with @andrewlebovich.bsky.social about Mali and #JNIM. youtu.be/iRH90rafuEk

It is almost unfathomable to me that not one dc politics reporter is well-sourced enough to get the story about what injections he’s getting.

RFI asked me to discuss (en français) the recent developments as the US tries to reset relations with the AES states: www.rfi.fr/fr/podcasts/...

It’s really unfortunate to see what appears to be a legit AI scandal on a publication in my field, and no one wants to talk publicly about it because the interest from the publisher seems to just be to bury it, with no real investigation.

I know nothing matters, but I still invite you all to think for a moment about the apoplectic rage that would have existed among Republicans if Hunter Biden did anything even remotely approaching this. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/b...

It's a small point, but don't miss this Senegalese truck driver noting that JNIM lets drivers pass if they are Senegalese: www.rfi.fr/fr/podcasts/...

Bah gawd they’re playing Glenn Greenwald’s music!

One of the points here that is actually the most noteworthy is that Guinea is hesitant to support Mali too much for fear of attracting JNIM's ire: www.jeuneafrique.com/1761976/poli...

What seems fairly certain: - attack by kamikaze drones on Niamey airbase with fighters on the ground, too. Some pics show dead bodies and a motorbikes w/ a jihadist flag - authorities had been warned a week before

It’s amusing that Hassan Piker went on a Chinese government junket but didn’t go to Minnesota.

You can’t watch the video of the ICE shooting in Minneapolis and see it as anything but murder.

Either it was a limited operation merely to arrest Maduro and move on, or, it is an ongoing major regime change committment that will open up a transition including international and private sector partners. It really can't be both

This makes me feel crazy. Everyone following this knows it’s true, and there’s been little to no evident effort to try to get the White House to answer even basic questions about it.

more confirmation that lurking clearly behind this idea of the “heritage american” is a straightforward contempt for the actual history and tradition of this country, such that vermeule has to hallucinate a framework to justify his desire to jettison the clear meaning of the 14th amendment

So Nigeria has significant strike capabilities themselves. Their Air Force is robust and they have a solid up to date drone fleet. There is nothing we can bring to bear *from the Gulf of Guinea* that would have more effect than what they’ve been doing for the last fifteen years.

Paul Saladino is the quackiest of quacks, and it’s terrifying that he has such access and influence at such high levels of government.

I know it's too easy to grow numb to the constant flood of bigotry that comes out of his mouth but it does seem morally important you don't allow yourself or anyone else to become desensitized to this vile racism as a normal part of our politics

Le blocus de Bamako a connu deux phases: la première a stupéfié un peu tout le monde par son efficacité redoutable, faisant craindre le pire pour Bamako; la seconde a permis aux autorités de redresser la barre et de faire face. Le débat est ouvert quant aux raisons de ce rééquilibrage...

If French reports are correct, a large convoy carrying 1,000 tons of uranium is traveling soon through areas deeply embedded with JNIM fighters. It’s wild this story hasn’t filtered more into the wider press.

28.11 #Niger For the past 10 days the Niger government has been preparing the departure of a convoy transporting a reported 1,000 tons of yellow cake Uranium (estimated value $170 million) from Arlit at the site previously owned by French company Orano to the port of Lomé in Togo.

It is beyond infuriating that Lizza sat on all of this for so long (and let’s not even talk about the Butler anecdote as a cliffhanger for his next installment.) he shouldn’t make another cent from journalism, ever.

I can’t stress enough that in addition to being horrible and grotesque, it seems like Yarvin is also very stupid.

There’s also been a huge amount of stuff about Trump and Epstein in the public record for decades, but it was still treated as a largely fringe story where people just sort of took Trump’s word on things.

On ne va pas se réjouir de cette nouvelle mais le reportage à l'origine de la suspension est un Everest de connerie inégalé. C'est tellement la honte, purée

So the emails/files are a hoax when they refer to Trump, but not for others? Got it, this will totally work.

I’m no expert, but it sure seems like the biggest detail so far in these emails (aside from how illiterate Epstein was) is that he stayed in Trump’s orbit for many years after Trump said he broke things off.

It certainly suggests that whatever is already in public (which is pretty bad) is not as bad as whatever Trump knows is in these documents.

I agree with some of the analysis here, but I'm not convinced JNIM wants to join some kind of tacit or explicit governing coalition for Mali: fr.news.yahoo.com/au-mali-jnim... At most I think they want freedom to move and govern in the areas they control.

What should be clear at this point is that JNIM isn’t prepping for a frontal assault on Bamako, but the blockade will continue in different forms as JNIM continues to more quietly but consistently build its presence especially in Sikasso and Koulikoro.

Some analysts and journalists are conflating “JNIM wants Mali’s government to fall” with “JNIM wants to take over Bamako and run Mali.” These are not the same thing, and it’s important we remember that and provide evidence and nuance, even as the situation degrades further.

JNIM's fuel blockades in southern Mali are having a number of ripple effects in neighboring countries, including causing an explosion in smuggling and informal prices in Guinea: www.jeuneafrique.com/1733871/poli...

It is striking to say the least that so many people who made huge efforts to decry and even organize around drone strikes under the Obama administration are basically silent about Trump deciding he has the right to drone any boat in the Caribbean without justification or proof.

This is being framed as the Polisario moving toward Morocco's position, which given the international shifts in recent years is possible: www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/2... But can also be read as Polisario looking for a backdoor way to still have a self-determination referendum.

CBS really shouldn’t be reporting that authorities tracked the phone of the American kidnapped in Niger. That’s the best chance to find him right now, at least until they can get resources overhead to track his movements.

I’ll go further than this and say there’s no conceivable universe where this guy spent time in the military and a PMC and not one single person recognized that symbol and commented on it.

Lots of reports now circulating about an American kidnapped in the heart of Niamey. Sends a clear message about the security failings of the government, and ISSP (who likely conducted the kidnapping) remaining focused on kidnapping westerners in a way JNIM has moved away from.

yeah it is not “liberal censoriousness” to think that you shouldn’t nominate the guy without the sense to not get a nazi tattoo and then not remove it

“My totenkopf tattoo was totally accidental” is a terrible look pretty much no matter how you look at it. Either he knowingly got an SS tat, or he accidentally did but then doesn’t care that he has an SS symbol tattooed on his body.

1. Washington DC #NoKings 👑

The impunity JNIM has established in the major road ways around Bamako is striking. Unless the government finds a way to break the blockade, the capital will grind to a halt sooner rather than later.

And of course Jake Tapper doesn’t point this out or push back at all.

Dems should run on an open court packing platform.

A good day at the office for IB Traoré's masked secret police. All these people were rounded up earlier today in different parts of Ouagadougou, Burkina

Conducting airstrikes against militants on the border with Côte d’Ivoire is a huge signal for what’s been true for more than a year, that JNIM has a strong presence and is looking for ways to operate more openly on both sides of the border.

#Mali According to reporting by @simnasr.bsky.social there has been 02 ongoing negotiations between JNIM & the Junta. 01 aimed at lifting the fuel blockade & a prisoner exchange which failed because the detainees demanded by JNIM have died in detention.