natasha iilov
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natasha-iilov.bsky.social
natasha iilov
@natasha-iilov.bsky.social
Libya Analyst. Loser. I mostly make salad bowls and stock shelves for a living
i think I am terminally stupid

just learned the term “Butlerian Jihad” has no connection to Judith Butler
January 5, 2026 at 3:22 AM
half of these are a weird “neo-1940s” style, in some sort of modernist rejection. But then the other half are very modern.

a small note is that the Nazi’s specifically created a neo-gothic design to directly contest the modernist bauhaus movement that was taking over german design at the time
New: We got an internal ICE document revealing its $100 million ad plan to bring in 14,000 new hires: deals with "tactical" influencers; ads to gun & military buffs; and geo-targeting phones around NASCAR races and gun shows.

A "wartime recruitment" mode with paramilitary branding: wapo.st/44QrP5j
ICE plans $100 million ‘wartime recruitment’ push targeting gun shows, military fans for hires
An internal ICE document shared among immigration officials details plans to use influencers and geo-targeted ads to rapidly hire thousands of deportation officers.
wapo.st
December 31, 2025 at 6:35 PM
An interesting factor in all of this is the UAE, one of the main backers of multiple non-state governments and militaries

the UAE has developed their relations not only with Somaliland, but the Libyan National Army, Sudanese Rapid Support Forces, and now the Yemeni Southern Transnational Counil
as sovereignty becomes increasingly detached from international law we'll see more cases where state recognition becomes transactional (Israel is looking for a military base). Ryan and I wrote about this in Foreign Affairs back in May. open access link: foreignaffairs.com/guest-pass/r...
December 26, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Reposted by natasha iilov
"Turkey is seeking parliamentary approval to keep its military forces in Libya for another two years, arguing that continued involvement is critical to preventing renewed conflict and protecting regional stability": maghrebi.org?sdm_process_...
December 22, 2025 at 5:07 PM
football experts are calling this: the most boring game of all time
December 21, 2025 at 3:03 AM
More and more college educated Americans are going to end up funneled into the service sector

which, has long term impacts, mostly in that more Americans will get paid less for work they will be treated like shit doing.

Not great for cost of living crisis and political dissatisfaction
December 19, 2025 at 3:01 PM
i jokingly say they will rename DC but at this point it’s only a half joke
lol. lmao even
December 18, 2025 at 6:28 PM
The recent consolidation of south yemen by Southern Separatist groups is made more confusing by their desire to resume the war against the Houthis

their goal of southern independence conflicts with capturing Sana’a, and I think in some way shows the UAE’s influence
December 16, 2025 at 4:09 PM
The touchdown call in favor of the rams is just so absurd.

I guess I am biased, but it’s hard to rule someone has control when they hit the ground and lose control

i don’t know how that can be a complete and then fumbled?
December 14, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Reposted by natasha iilov
WORKER WIN: We secured $1.5 million in restitution and penalties for a wage theft scheme in DC construction.

Brothers Mechanical and its subcontractors misclassified hundreds of workers at developments in NoMa and Navy Yard.

This denied workers overtime, paid sick leave, and critical protections.
December 9, 2025 at 1:48 PM
taking a leap, and leaving the service sector for the first time in my life

going full time at a research, analysis, and risk firm

going to be financially wobbly for a bit, but going to try and push through
December 5, 2025 at 10:32 PM
York mentioned
"The Barnes and Noble in York—where Fetterman was born and raised—had sold zero copies. The Barnes and Noble in Philadelphia had sold two copies. An independent store in Pittsburgh and an independent store in Philadelphia each told me they weren’t stocking Unfettered" defector.com/john-fetterm...
John Fetterman's Memoir Is As Low-Effort As His Senate Tenure | Defector
John Fetterman’s just-released memoir, Unfettered, argues that he’s turned a corner and has everything under control. Fetterman was a “stubborn asshole” (his words), he was clinically depressed, he wa...
defector.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Reposted by natasha iilov
Stories about the death of Eden Knight have dropped to the second page of search results for "Michael Pocalyko," behind all sorts of generic fluff about his business and some novel he wrote. I do no know whether some concerted SEO effort was involved, but here's a link.
Rest in Peace, Eden Knight
Editor’s Note: Eden Knight (2000–2023) was a Saudi Arabian trans woman studying computer science in the United States. After her visa expired, she began the process of seeking asylum. During this time...
www.liberalcurrents.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:17 AM
At the lions-commanders game a young couple sat to my right and never cheered or showed any emotion

except for when trump was onscreen, but it was positive cheering. They even stood for him and clapped

they didn’t wear any sports merch, and left immediately after trump was done talking at halftime
November 10, 2025 at 4:16 AM
Trump spoke during the lions-commanders half time but it was near impossible to hear via the boos, jeers, and cheers
November 9, 2025 at 11:09 PM
great world series and holy shit we need a salary cap
November 2, 2025 at 5:46 AM
U.S. naval action in the Caribbean should just be called Hegseth’s War, as it’s just a hyper personalized affair in which Hegseth kills random people to assert some idea of masculinity

It seems the general public doesnt care it’s going on, both for and against.
October 28, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Grok? ChatGPT?

Sorry, I only use LIBIGPT, the Libyan government’s AI model
October 28, 2025 at 4:00 PM
both teams loading the bases in extra innings only to do nothing with it just for the love of the game
October 28, 2025 at 5:32 AM
as a orioles fan this is unsurprising
How on earth do you put this pitch here
October 28, 2025 at 3:05 AM
It’s funny he set up an political identity of being a tough macho man from being being a kicker, arguably the least macho position in football

its even funnier that he has been growing increasingly shit at his one job
don’t want that hilarious game-winning drive to overshadow that harrison butker booting the ball out of bounds set the whole thing up
October 7, 2025 at 5:55 AM
fucking boston can’t do shit right
October 3, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Only time i’m rooting for the Sox
October 1, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Reposted by natasha iilov
“Are you Alawi?” Identity-Based Killings During Syria’s Transition
www.hrw.org/report/2025/...
“Are you Alawi?”
The 51-page report, “‘Are you Alawi?’ Identity-Based Killings During Syria’s Transition,” documents widespread abuses by government forces, government-aligned armed groups, and armed volunteers, inclu...
www.hrw.org
September 23, 2025 at 7:15 PM