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Zuri Linetsky

@zurilinetsky.bsky.social

340 followers 210 following 1.1K posts

Writing 500 words a day about foreign aid, military affairs, and war fighting. Mostly based on where I’ve been and work I’ve done. https://powdereight.substack.com

powdereight.substack.com

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Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · May 29

Since Trump, Musk, and Rubio demolished foreign aid, I have been looking for work. As my search continues, I write. Everyday. About my experiences in foreign aid, the places I’ve lived and worked, and US foreign policy.

Just 500 words. Everyday.

open.substack.com/pub/powderei...

Writings at the End of Time | Zuri Linetsky | Substack

This is a Substack about my life in foreign aid, writing, and how it all fits together in my thinking about the world. Click to read Writings at the End of Time, by Zuri Linetsky, a Substack publicati...

open.substack.com

Reposted by Zuri Linetsky

Soumaya Keynes @soumayakeynes.ft.com · 1d

Hooo boy this is going to mean a lot of bureaucracy (if - *IF* - it is fully enforced)

China unveils sweeping rare-earth export controls to protect ‘national security’
www.ft.com/content/c4b2...

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Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 1d

Mostly is good enough—title of my memoir.

And thanks!

Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 1d

The first thing I read on my birthday, & I dig it.

I quibble with the notion that there is no one or govern Palestine. It would require Abbas stepping down, elections, etc. things Israel & the US don’t want/care about (Hamas managed to govern).

But @alonpinkas.bsky.social mostly nails it.

Alon Pinkas @alonpinkas.bsky.social · 1d

newrepublic.com/maz/article/...
@newrepublic.com
@mjtoma.bsky.social

“For years, Netanyahu manipulated American Presidents. He tricked Bill Clinton; he swindled Obama; he took Biden for a ride. Now he is trying to con you on Gaza, President Trump.”

newrepublic.com

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Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 1d

As the US fails as an international leader and a functioning state, middle powers like the UAE (and Israel) and expanding their footprint, especially in the Gulf, east Africa, and the Horn of Africa. The US lets them lead US policy in these regions as well.

www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-yem...

Satellite images reveal new UAE bases circling Gulf of Aden

Newly built runways and ports offer snapshot of Abu Dhabi's regional ambitions and deepening strategic ties with Israel

www.middleeasteye.net

Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 1d

Among other important points, she highlights that the plan "does nothing to definitively address the right of Palestinians to self-determination and sovereignty – a right enshrined in international law."

it's part of a trend of “illiberal peace” plans in conflict resolution.

Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 1d

@danaelkurd.bsky.social writes the peace deal is "asymmetric, providing the Israeli government many of its political objectives while imposing multiple layers of international control on and vague assurances to the Palestinian people – and only if they comply."

theconversation.com/gaza-peace-p...

Gaza peace plan risks borrowing more from Tony Blair’s failures in the Middle East than his success in Northern Ireland

The former British leader was tapped to lead redevelopment efforts in Gaza if a deal is agreed upon.

theconversation.com

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Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 2d

Netanyahu, who is wanted for war crimes, and leads a state where a majority of people support expelling Palestinian, came to the US several times. So why shouldn’t Trump go there? This is what American leadership is.

When Netanyahu will violate this ceasefire. Whenever “stage 2” starts?

Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 2d

Trump plans to speak in the Knesset.

He’s also signed on as the guarantor of the agreement.

President Trump told me he is "likely going to Israel in the coming days" to address the country's parliament, the Knesset, in the wake of the Gaza peace deal

www.axios.com/2025/10/09/t...

Trump tells Axios he's "likely" going to Israel for speech after Gaza deal

"It is a great day for Israel and for the world," he said in a call with Axios.

www.axios.com

Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 3d

The arrival of these two giants of international arbitrage will make everyone trust Israel and the US. Obviously.

Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 3d

They’re coming because “Arab states were concerned that Netanyahu had amended parts of Trump’s plan…This included details of the timeline and locations of the Israeli troop redeployment, and diluting references to the Palestinian Authority.”

And Israel violated the ceasefire agreement last year.

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Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 3d

“Hannah Arendt reminds us that ideological hegemony is never good for any collective; hegemony yields laziness and overconfidence and is ultimately self-destructive.”

www.theguardian.com/world/commen...

The Zionist consensus among US Jews has collapsed. Something new is emerging | Shaul Magid

Two years after the 7 October massacre and the onset of Israel’s slaughter in Gaza, American Jewry has been profoundly transformed

www.theguardian.com

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Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 4d

If only we had operational institutions and systems to prevent this. Or maybe enforceable anti-trust laws.

I don’t think the US a descending into fascism or a Vichey France-like state. At this point we are a failing state.

Reposted by Zuri Linetsky

Spencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 4d

"The project—[Weiss'] and that of her backers—is to establish herself and her cohort not as new-right media, but as the new *liberal*media, staking out the leftmost acceptable position within the new right-wing paradigm." The dream of Marty Peretz on far grander scale.

Bari Weiss Signs Huge Deal To Usher CBS News Into Its Vichy Era | Defector

On Monday, newly appointed Paramount CEO David Ellison announced that his company had acquired the Free Press, the smirking blood-and-soil blog founded and run by former New York Times hall monitor Ba...

defector.com

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Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 8d

CBS is now a bastion for free speech.
And Jewish Supremacy.

www.mediaite.com/media/news/p...

Paramount Officially Acquiring The Free Press and Making Bari Weiss CBS News Editor in Chief: Report

Paramount Skydance will be officially acquiring The Free Press and hiring its founder Bari Weiss as editor in chief of its CBS News division, with the deal to be announced this coming Monday, accordin...

www.mediaite.com

Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 10d

Except the Army has lowered standards for a key recruiting course to get more people in.

Cool.

media.defense.gov/2025/Feb/20/...

Reposted by Zuri Linetsky

Josie Glausiusz @josiegz.bsky.social · 11d

Gaza was mostly self-sufficient in vegetables and poultry, and met much of the population’s demand for olives, fruit & milk. Last month the UN reported that just 1.5% of its agricultural land now remains both accessible and undamaged. @georgemonbiot.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Israel’s ecocide in Gaza sends this message: even if we stopped dropping bombs, you couldn’t live here | George Monbiot

Consider the annihilation of agricultural land alongside the genocide – and grasp the chilling totality of this attempt to eliminate all life, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Zuri Linetsky

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 11d

Breaking news: Far-right political allies of Benjamin Netanyahu have attacked the Israeli premier for accepting a US-backed Gaza peace plan, with finance minister Bezalel Smotrich describing the deal as a 'resounding diplomatic failure' that would 'end in tears'. on.ft.com/4gK7CCK

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Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 11d

Leaving aside the basic issue of what Palestinians are technically allows to be part of whatever governing body comes into power. Who picks the rest of the Vichy government?

Reposted by Zuri Linetsky

Yair Wallach @yairwallach.bsky.social · 11d

The key issues that are still unclear:

-Timeline for Israeli withdrawal
-Extent and mechanism of Hamas "demilitarisation"

Theoretically, these are workable issues. However, this map is an absolute non-starter.
Hamas will not agree for Israel to stay in the "perimeter", and certainly not in Rafah

Map describing different stages of Israeli withdrawal from Gaza

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Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 11d

To be clear this sounds like a version of the League of Nations Mandate system. Just as indeterminate.

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Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 11d

There are no timelines. And what does it mean for Hamas not to participate in politics? What if someone who wasn’t Hamas but isn’t popular with the new occupation forces. Is that person then Hamas and not allowed to participate?

Is this just 21st century colonialismo?

What am I missing?

Eugene Finkel @efinkel.bsky.social · 11d

The plan that Netanyahu just agreed to is Exhibit 19765 for how squeezable Bibi is when push really comes to shove. Which is something folks with knowledge of Israeli politics all know but it somehow took almost two years for the US to discover that they just need to demand, not beg

Donald Trump's Gaza plan revealed: Read the Full Text

Trump's proposal calls for Gaza demilitarization, aid, hostage release, and transitional governance toward eventual Palestinian control.

www.newsweek.com

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Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 11d

This is a dumb plan. It won’t do anything for Gazans. And will be bad for any hope of Palestinian self-determination and self-rule.

Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 11d

Trump’s 21-point plan is said to have Netanyahu on board, but Hamas says it’s not received any proposal yet.

What is the Trump plan for Gaza and will it work?

Trump’s 21-point plan is said to have Netanyahu on board, but Hamas says it’s not received any proposal yet.

bit.ly

Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 11d

ungated version:

archive.ph/3YYFx#select...

archive.ph

Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 11d

I don't know if there is a Bluesky #backcountry #skiing group. But, if there is, check this out. Backcountry lodges and self-propelled skiing from Golden is among the best skiing experiences of my life. I have toured throughout BC, Alberta, France, and Washington state.

www.ft.com/content/47d1...

Canada’s lonely temple to the joy of skiing

Deep in the British Columbian wilderness, Battle Abbey is pioneering a new, more comfortable version of ski touring

www.ft.com

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Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 13d

Gosh… leftists are always labeling their political opponents in negative ways. Which causes violence.

Zuri Linetsky @zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 14d

I’m old enough to remember the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq in 2003. That was run by Bush admin stooge Paul Bremer. Calling it fucking catastrophic is an understatement. It actively drove the Iraqi insurgency. Blair was UK PM then.

Time & age have kept him stupid & ignorant of history.

Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 14d

Blair Pitch Project nearing fruition www.bbc.com/news/article...

Tony Blair in discussions to run transitional Gaza authority

The former prime minister has been in high-level planning talks over the territory's future, the BBC understands.