“Nearly all of Israel’s military equipment comes from domestic production, the United States or Germany, so the deteriorating defense ties with European countries will not have a major impact on Israel’s military procurement,” David May, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said. “If anything, the European countries will be harmed by losing access to Israel’s battle-tested and innovative defense technology.”

"Nearly all of Israel’s military equipment comes from domestic production, the United States or Germany,"

Uh yeah it's like 85% from the US, 14% from the Germans and 1% from domestic production lol.

What went wrong in Israel? A genocide scholar examines ‘what Zionism became’ In his new book, Omer Bartov tracks how a liberatory strand of Zionism transformed into an extremist ideology that he sees as responsible for genocide in Gaza

Israel's "preference for military confrontation over diplomacy depends entirely on American support, he pointed out, and that patronage is now being tested as never before."

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

What went wrong in Israel? A genocide scholar examines ‘what Zionism became’ In his new book, Omer Bartov tracks how a liberatory strand of Zionism transformed into an extremist ideology that he sees as responsible for genocide in Gaza

Israeli genocide scholar Omer Bartov will have his book on Zionism and genocide translated into 9-10 languages, but not Hebrew. He even offered to translate it himself, but not a single Israeli publisher would go near it. Not even the ‘leftwing’ ones.

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Despite its branding, the flu pandemic of 1918 was partially centered at FT Riley in Kansas, not Spain! Us Army Soldiers were primary vectors for spreading the disease.

I Know the SPLC’s Flaws Better Than Most. This Investigation Still Looks Like a Witch Hunt. MAGA has wanted to take down the SPLC for years. Now it has the DOJ to try.

MAGA has fantasized about criminalizing the SPLC for a decade—regardless of the org’s many flaws, the MAGA DOJ is corrupt and weaponized.

Me:

open.substack.com/pub/michaele...

A painting of a dancing Sufi on fire.

A painting in The Phoenix Library, the first library to be rebuilt in Gaza is by Aseel. Stunning.

Here’s the link too the library’s fund raiser. chuffed.org/project/firs...

PANEL 1: A demented robot holds laser gun at a guy (me): TURN OVER ALL YOUR CREATIVE OUTPUT FROM THE LAST 15 YEARS OR I VAPORIZE YOU!! DJO: Whoa! Ok! PANEL 2: The robot to a doufy guy: FOR $7.99 A MONTH YOU CAN USE THIS NYT BESTSELLING AUTHOR’S WORK TO CREATE YOUR OWN WATERED DOWN VERSIONS! Doufy Guy: got yourself a deal, buddy! PANEL 3: DJO: That robot guy just stole my shit and you’re paying him for it! Doufy Guy: Sorry, pal! $7.99 is a great deal, and like it or not, that robot guy… PANEL 4: doufy guy continued: …is the future! The Robot holding a laser gun at a little girl: TURN OVER ALL YOUR CREATIVE OUTPUT FROM THE LAST 15 YEARS OR I VAPORIZE YOU!! Girl: Dude, I’m seven

GenAI is plunder, pass it on (a comic)

(Bluesky scolding voice) Actually, you mean Malyali, as in person from Kerala. (Sorry).

Still works as an insult, for sadly similar reasons. You have to master the pronunciation of pound as Kashmiris say it for most effect.

In Punjabi, "tankhaiya" (from tankha = salary) used to be an insult. Basically that you had sold your freedom and conscience for a fee.

In Kashmir, "Pond police" was similar, an insult for those taking the Maharaja's Kashmiri pounds to repress the people. (Maharaja was from Jammu.)

This is important because of two reasons:

i. Any deal with Iran that doesn't mean subjugation is hard to swallow.

ii. This doesn't end at Iran.

If you look at the Trump administration, and its misadventures in the Carribbean, Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, you see a dumber version of an already dumb idea.

Any country not supine before the US is a threat, and subjugating them is the only path to security.

(Though Russia seems an exception.)

One of the reasons that the US got involved in Vietnam was because of the Domino Theory.

Deeply influential in the Cold War, it stated that if one state fell to Communism others would as well.

Thus a Communist led anti-colonial movement in the French colony of Indochina was a threat to the US.

It's the same impulse with Qaddafi worship. People want to think that there was an inspirational leader just One Project Away from building the utopia. But meaningful, democratic, and equitable development is really fucking hard and takes a long time under the best of circumstances.

Of course Olly Robbins is diligent, super smart, professional and competent. Some people seem surprised but shouldn't be. Recall he managed to negotiate a de facto Customs Union & Single Market for goods deal for the UK/NI - which the EU hated. He's the best the Civil Service had

FWIW, the Grand Unified Theory of Alan Dershowitz remains what it has always been: The man will do absolutely anything to get on the tee-vee.

STOP USING AI TO MAKE FLIERS.

It changes Black people's faces. This has now happened to TWO colleagues.

#18c !

Reminder that analysts thought there was a deal to be struck with North Korea in 2017-2018, not to denuclearize (they won't), but to count/verify nukes, stabilize situation. Trump didn't order any diplomatic work for that and instead did a photo op with Kim.

His diplomacy and his deals are fake.

Pablo is on an all-timer heater and @bencollins.bsky.social is an amazing guest. I am absolutely in love with this pairing.

"in some quarters the West itself was imagined as a source of oppression rather than liberation"

LOL YES. IT'S CALLED COLONIALISM.

He also uses "genocide" to describe the words of protestors NOT you, know, the actual GENOCIDE.

I can't.

From behind the paywall:

archive.ph/3YwW5#select...

How to Sell a Genocide - Pluto Press A gripping exposé of how the corporate media fuelled genocide in Gaza

Hey all, it’s publishing day for my book “How to Sell a Genocide,” which is a data-driven account of centrist and liberal media’s role in creating the conditions of mass death in Gaza. 100% of royalties go to @mecaforpeace.bsky.social.

> www.plutobooks.com/product/how-...

> a.co/d/00CQcElr

Studies

This is the funny thing about our changing understanding of Andrewsarchus, generally cited as the largest known fossil mammalian predator. Used to be restored as more wolflike, now thought to be closer to hippos. That does not make it any less scary! Arguably the reverse!

There is still no real bargain to strike -- the bargain was struck in 2015 w/ JCPOA and now we have raised the value of nukes, added Hormuz as a problem, and can't credibly commit to a serious deal. There is a "deal" Trump will sell as victory, but is in reality a humiliation.

This was from my thread 2 weeks ago during the horrifying "civilization will die" waiting game. I'm maybe a smidge less terrified because Trump so desperately wants a deal (and Iran does too though they still have the leverage). But the choices are still humiliation or escalation.

Let me rephrase, yes, the immiseration, enslavement, and elimination of many millions is part of their agenda, but it isn't the driving force.

I'm reminded that Musk cheats at video games, and not even well. This is the level of their desire.

If your ostensibly critical paper talks about "recent advances in AI" I have a hard time taking it seriously. Advances towards what? Measured how?

Let's sum up Trump's tariffs.

1) They were illegal and also corrupt and arbitrary.
2) They did real damage to economy, esp farmers, small business.
3) Lutnick cheerled them while his spawn prepared to $$.
4) Corps (& some small businesses) finally getting refunds.
5) Consumers will get squat.