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Reposted by Sam Ratner

Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 12h

58% of Americans - including half of Republicans - think the president should send armed troops only to face external threats, a sign of unease as President Donald Trump increasingly deploys National Guard troops to police American cities, a @reuters.com poll found.

www.reuters.com/world/us/mos...

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Sam Ratner @samratner.bsky.social · 1d

Is this why Bibi keeps recycling “Axis of Evil”?

Emissary Of Night | ليلى @diplomatofnight.com · 1d

Fascinating report just released by DropSite which reveals that David Frum, while working on a profile of an Israeli ambassador to the United Nations for the Atlantic, was also shadow-writing speeches for that same ambassador.

David Frum, Douglas Murray Secretly Drafted Speeches for Israeli Ambassador

Leaked emails from former Israeli UN Ambassador Ron Prosor show David Frum, Douglas Murray offering to write his speeches and a CNN producer fundraising for Israel’s Iron Dome during Israel’s 2014 war

www.dropsitenews.com

Sam Ratner @samratner.bsky.social · 1d

(Yes, I did just watch Andor S2E5)

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Sam Ratner @samratner.bsky.social · 1d

Wookiepedia entry for “Frantz Fanon”

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Reposted by Sam Ratner

eat me @benconneran.bsky.social · 1d

I don't think you can impose a thousand year reich if even the Chicago cops hate your regime but you never know

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · Feb 5

just saying: it's possible that "I'm gonna dramatically constrict my state capacity while plotting dramatic imperial expansion, and expanding my set of internal enemies while alienating most of my foreign allies" is the beginning of a world-historical masterstroke. but also possible that it isn't

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Sam Ratner @samratner.bsky.social · 2d

Christmas Adventurers Club-ass judiciary

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2d

i had no idea this is how canada's supreme court dresses

Nine members of the Canadian Supreme Court sitting for a photo. They are dressed in red robes trimmed in white.

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Sam Ratner @samratner.bsky.social · 2d

a) Kudos to the NYCBA for putting this strong statement out.

b) If only there was some way for bar associations to discipline lawyers who use their social position to sanction illegal executions...

Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 2d

It's a pretty big deal that the NYC Bar Association--one of the most prominent and respected bar associations in the country--is accusing the President of ordering the "unlawful summary execution," i.e. murder--of civilians in violation of US and international law. www.nycbar.org/press-releas...

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Sam Ratner @samratner.bsky.social · 2d

To the ABA officials who rolled their eyes when wiser heads urged the disbarment of John Yoo et al -- hope you're happy!

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Sam Ratner @samratner.bsky.social · 2d

"Peace president" Trump living George W Bush's wildest dream: OLC saying he can effectively execute anyone anywhere without even the patina of due process or congressional approval.

Natasha Bertrand @natashabertrand.bsky.social · 2d

New: DOJ has produced a classified legal opinion that justifies lethal strikes against a secret and expansive list of cartels and suspected drug traffickers—justifying an open-ended war against suspected smugglers, now considered by the US to be enemy combatants. www.cnn.com/2025/10/06/p...

Exclusive: Classified Justice Department opinion authorizes strikes on secret list of cartels, sources say | CNN Politics

The Trump administration has produced a classified legal opinion that justifies lethal strikes against a secret and expansive list of cartels and suspected drug traffickers, according to multiple peop...

www.cnn.com

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Reposted by Sam Ratner

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 2d

The number of international students arriving in the U.S. in August fell by 19% this year compared with last year — the largest decline on record outside of the pandemic.

Nearly 20 Percent Fewer International Students Traveled to the U.S. in August

The data shows the steepest decline in August international student arrivals since the pandemic.

nyti.ms

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Reposted by Sam Ratner

aaron from queens from twitter @aaronnarraph.bsky.social · 5d

43% of Democrats (52% of 18-29 voters) say foreign policy and Israel will play a role in their vote in the 2026 primaries. (81% say the economy and healthcare, of course.)

80% want to reduce support for Israel
74% want an arms embargo
72% say it's a genocide
65% want sanctions

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Reposted by Sam Ratner

Elizabeth Beavers @elizabethrb.bsky.social · 6d

This is an EXTRAORDINARILY dangerous development. Immediately, we need all forces of government and civil society to shut this down.

From there, it is IMPERATIVE to fully excavate the precedent and infrastructure of the War on Terror that will keep haunting us until it's gone.

President Trump has decided that the United States is engaged in a formal “armed conflict” with drug cartels his team has labeled terrorist organizations and that suspected smugglers for such groups are “unlawful combatants,” the administration said in a confidential notice to Congress this week.

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Reposted by Sam Ratner

Dylan Williams @dylanwilliams.bsky.social · 6d

“AIPAC is becoming an increasingly toxic brand for some Democrats”

“Three Democratic members of Congress who had previously relied on AIPAC as a top campaign contributor have said over the past few weeks that they would no longer accept donations from the group”

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

Democrats Pull Away From AIPAC, Reflecting a Broader Shift

www.nytimes.com

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Sam Ratner @samratner.bsky.social · 6d

Awaiting any sort of public introspection from the various faux experts who pronounced this conflict over in the last couple years.

Item from Zitamar News:

Violence in Cabo Delgado could reach record levels this year.

Violence in Cabo Delgado province could reach a record high in 2025, with 519 attacks reported by the end of August, compared to 448 in 2022, according to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The report says that most incidents, which include the use of improvised explosive devices, are attacks against civilians. The escalation of conflict and violence affects the districts of Ancuabe, Balama, Chiure, Macomia, Mocimboa da Praia, Montepuez and Muidumbe, Nangade in Cabo Delgado, Memba in Nampula province and some regions of Niassa province, according to OCHA.

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Sam Ratner @samratner.bsky.social · 7d

"The method of struggle dictates the shape of success" part one million.

Good and important article!

Journal of Democracy @jodemocracy.bsky.social · 7d

Conventional wisdom says that, once in power, opposition parties will return backsliding countries to the democratic path. In reality, not only is this not true, but it is not uncommon for the opposition to adopt the autocratic habits of the regime they replaced.

muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
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Sam Ratner @samratner.bsky.social · 8d

Anyone on here have a working PACER account and an inclination to do me a quick favor?

Reposted by Sam Ratner

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 8d

yeah, this is hegseth straightforwardly announcing that it is free play time for bigots in the ranks. and together with his comments on standards, he clearly wants to purge as many women, black and brown people as he can from the armed services. a white man's military.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8d

Hegseth: "We are overhauling an inspector general process that has been weaponized, putting complainers and poor performers in the driver seat. We are doing the same with the equal opportunity policies. No more frivolous complaints, no more anonymous complains ... no more walking on eggshells."

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Sam Ratner @samratner.bsky.social · 9d

This is a good point broadly, but I want to shout out the phrase "ridley scott's mogadishu" in particular -- what a good way of evoking the white US imaginary of a terrifying and barbaric Africa without engaging in those stereotypes.

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 9d

really need to emphasize the small cities part. i have mentioned this before, but you'll see people on facebook talk about charlottesville like its ridley scott's mogadishu

Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 10d

the amount of raw, unadulterated fear that many Americans have of even small cities is never going to stop being darkly hilarious to me

Sam Ratner @samratner.bsky.social · 15d

And it's also a community so free from accountability or critical thought that its members will brag about Kissinger liking their Star Wars books in a public forum.

Sam Ratner @samratner.bsky.social · 15d

There's been a lot of discourse over the years about how to define what "the Blob" actually is.

Today, the debate is over. "The Blob" is the process of discovering Henry Kissinger's essential humanity when he's nice about your Star Wars book.

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Sam Ratner @samratner.bsky.social · 15d

There's been a lot of discourse over the years about how to define what "the Blob" actually is.

Today, the debate is over. "The Blob" is the process of discovering Henry Kissinger's essential humanity when he's nice about your Star Wars book.

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Reposted by Sam Ratner

Anthony Michael Kreis @anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 16d

We’re gonna need a bigger reconstruction.

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Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 20d

Military lawyers have warned that President Trump's strikes on two drug boats might not have been legal, possibly raising risks for the service members involved, "but believe they are being ignored or deliberately sidelined."

www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

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Reposted by Sam Ratner

Tom Scocca @tomscocca.bsky.social · 21d

Seems like “you can’t buy homeowner’s insurance on your house anymore because there are too many floods and fires” would be a kitchen-table issue

ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 21d

climate change??

Oliver Willis @owillis.bsky.social · 21d

lol new clown car just rolled up

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Reposted by Sam Ratner

Sexy CHOAM Nomsky costume @samthielman.com · 22d

I want the hot doggest suit you’ve got

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 22d

“.. There has to be a line between crime and war,” said John Yoo, a former deputy assistant attorney general under President George W. Bush.

@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

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Win Without War @winwithoutwar.bsky.social · 22d

Today, we’re expanding our NotWhatYouSignedUpFor.org campaign — which connects service members to resources for responding to unlawful and immoral orders — to two major active duty military installations: Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune.

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