Sam Ratner
@samratner.bsky.social
Policy director at Win Without War, working to enact a more just and progressive US foreign policy. Formerly @ACLEDINFO and @ZitamarNews. He/him. Views my own.
The Trump way of war: War crimes, timed to the market. www.cbsnews.com/news/us-isra...
U.S., Israel preparing to bombard energy-related targets in Iran, sources say
The U.S. and Israel plan to hit Iran's energy infrastructure as soon as this weekend, although no final decision has been made, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.
cbsnews.com
Today in, “hey, how’s it going over at the world’s leading conflict event database?” (From today’s edition of ACLED CEO Clionadh Raleigh’s email newsletter)
Great career opportunity with @winwithoutwar.bsky.social: They are recruiting for the Digital Associate position. Please check it out on Jobsthatareleft.org and GAINPower.org. #NowHiring. open.substack.com/pub/jobsthat...
Win Without War, Digital Associate
Dist. Columbia
open.substack.com
From latest Navigator poll, word cloud of responses from Trump voters who say they regret their vote
We're hiring! Are you passionate about building a more peaceful world where everyone can thrive? Are you interested in using online tools to build the grassroots power that gets us there? If so, apply to be Win Without War's next Digital Associate! win-without-war.breezy.hr/p/2fddac1610...
Digital Associate at Win Without War
Win Without War (501(c)(4)) and Win Without War Education Fund (501(c)(3)) work to push the U.S. government away from violence-first approaches and build a safer, more peaceful world. For more than tw...
win-without-war.breezy.hr
Today in "I am begging you people to actually read a book."
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w agoRep. Rich McCormick on Iran: "I'm a big Clausewitzian warfare guy. I believe in dominance. We are the dominant world superpower. These guys are not. I would've been unrelenting until the end."
Aside from ending the 287(g) program, we need to claw back the billions in federal funding that is being funneled into local police departments and county sheriffs' offices across the country. Turn the 287(g) cash cow for cops into the reparations fund for victims. bsky.app/profile/titu...
Andrew Thrasher@tituslegaldesign.com · 3w agoSpeaking of financial incentives, I've added a new section to my 287(g) program report to track state grants + confirmed ICE "reimbursements" invoiced by participating agencies. bsky.app/profile/titu...
Check out an exceptional new series tracking the stories of people who have been abducted by ICE in Los Angeles and their loved ones who are dealing with the consequences of ICE's reign of terror. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm3m...
Fractured: The Stories of Those Left Behind — Episode 1: Masuma Kahn
YouTube video by Fractured: The Stories of Those Left Behind
youtube.com
This keeps happening, the conflation of people disapproving of Dems being too weak and unprincipled with disapproving of Dems for being too leftwing. This is part of how a lot of Gen Z distrust for Dems gets recast into Gen Z being rightwing
Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they)@doctorvive.bsky.social · 4w agoInsofar as US swing voters think the Democrats are "out of step" with them on climate change, the vast majority say that is because Democrats are "not fighting hard enough/need to do more." Yes, really. 5/n
Insofar as US swing voters think the Democrats are "out of step" with them on climate change, the vast majority say that is because Democrats are "not fighting hard enough/need to do more." Yes, really. 5/n
No the history of US foreign policy began in January 2025 obviously
Zuri Linetsky@zurilinetsky.bsky.social · 3w agoI wonder, also, if Biden mimicking first Trump term policies vis-a-vis China has anything to do with how Asia reacts to the US?  But, discussing this, in an honest manner, would require US political & foreign policy “leaders” to self-reflect. And that’s not going to happen. Ever.
Really not a big fan of the fact that the entire global economy currently hinges on the answer to the question "just how big are Chinese oil reserves?"
To me, the more interesting version of this question is who is the US athlete who was most let down by the lack of soccer-maxing? Like, who would have been great at soccer if they had the chance but instead underperformed their potential in another sport? Reggie Bush could have been an all-timer.
Craig Harrington@craigipedia.bsky.social · 4w agoOkay, who would be the best American soccer players if we had been soccer-optimized all along? Let's say our 3rd-place finish in the 1930 World Cup made Americans fall in love with association football. Our silver age heroic god standing next to Pele is definitely Wilt Chamberlain, right?
My @inkstickmedia.com latest: Ohioans tried to vote on a weapons plant. Then the state changed the rules. We got bombshell emails from "arsenal of democracy" Anduril's lobbyist targeting the farmers behind the ballot initiatives inkstickmedia.com/in-ohio-who-... www.youtube.com/shorts/_xyNB...
Emails Show Defense Tech Lobbyist Targets Local Voters
YouTube video by Inkstick Media
youtube.com
Inkstick Media@inkstickmedia.com · last mo.Newly released emails show a lobbyist for autonomous weapons manufacturer Anduril drafted legislative language exempting the company's Ohio factory from local referendum challenges after residents repeatedly tried to force votes on real estate developments. By: @tkbarnes.bsky.social
If only there was some sort of way to issue costly signals of your commitment to taking the fight to Trump... perhaps by adopting some sort of... "hard left" structural reforms as central pillars of your electoral campaign? No, that can't be it.
Adam Keiper@adamkeiper.com · last mo.NEW: "Democratic voters aren’t necessarily pining for a hard left turn on policy. Instead, they’re responding to candidates who have the backbone to take the fight to Donald Trump." New focus group from our @sarahlongwell25.bsky.social. www.thebulwark.com/p/the-real-r...
Every indicator tells us traffic stops, particularly those made by local police + sheriffs' deputies under the Task Force 287(g) program, have grown to become a significant source of new ICE arrests, as I explained recently. maxwellcommons.substack.com/p/ices-first...
ICE's First Mile Contractors
A breakdown of 287(g)-related arrest data
maxwellcommons.substack.com
Andrew Thrasher@tituslegaldesign.com · last mo."Charlottesville Tomorrow previously reported that dozens of vehicles sat abandoned along local roads as ICE agents and Greene County sheriff's deputies stopped them and arrested the occupants."
Since @foreignpolicy.com has all of its content up for free this week, I’m re-upping my essay with @mattduss.bsky.social about how the Abraham Accords enabled the US-Israeli war on Iran. foreignpolicy.com/2026/05/07/t...
How the Abraham Accords Fueled a New Era of Conflict
Despite promising peace, Israeli-Gulf cooperation paved the path to war with Iran.
foreignpolicy.com
The call on that DRC goal should've been "Goal for the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Goal for aaalllll democratic republics!" Down with the monarchy, allez Les Léopards!
Lobbyist: "We need to make a choice! Climate or AI! We might lose to..." Me: *smacks climate button Lobbyist: "But we have to open the conversa..." Me: *punches climate button Lobbyist: "But our competitive..." Me: *JUMPS UP AND DOWN ON CLIMATE BUTTON www.politico.eu/article/euro...
Europe must choose between AI and climate goals, data center lobby says
Tech sector says only carbon-emitting gas plants are reliable enough today to power the EU’s AI goals.
politico.eu
BIG RESULT: New York state Senator Jessica Ramos, who gave Andrew Cuomo a surprise endorsement near the end of the mayoral primary last year, has lost her seat. She is ousted in today's Dem primary by Jessica González-Rojas, an assemblymember endorsed by many left figures like AOC.
tucker carlson is lying, he will vote gop up and down his ballot, he will use his platform to promote republicans and he will use this “break” with the gop to lend false credibility to his future endorsements
We hear a lot about how the Chinese government is a threat to the US government, but little about how the alliance of Big Tech and authoritarians in the Chinese and US governments is a threat to people in the US and China.
The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com · last mo.Breaking news: A group who says they were imprisoned and tortured by the Chinese Communist Party cannot proceed with a lawsuit against Cisco Systems, the Supreme Court ruled. The plaintiffs say Cisco built a surveillance system that led to their persecution.
Our Senior Associate Samhita Saquib dug into Trump's record on Gaza during the ceasefire, and it is bleak. If you're trying to catch up on the situation in Gaza, you can skip Secretary Clinton's piece. Read this instead: winwithoutwar.org/policy/who-p...
Who Put These People in Charge of Gaza? | Win Without War
The Board of Peace is not about peace. The ceasefire agreement gave the world an excuse to look away from Gaza. In its wake, a new cast of unelected politicians, billionaires, and political insiders s...
winwithoutwar.org
Trump's Board of Peace is failing on aid, failing on reconstruction, provides no path to Palestinian self-determination, and leaves Palestinians at the whims of Trump and his cronies. Maybe that's acceptable to @hillaryclinton.bsky.social, but it's not to us. Read our new report below.
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 2mo agoOpinion: 'If even I, an implacable opponent of the president, can accept this as the best option, then surely others can too?' writes former US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton. ft.trib.al/sjofp0v
"I'd prefer to continue a destructive, wasteful war rather than acknowledge reality" is not the dunk these people think it is. We should never let anyone forget the damage Trump has caused with this war, but pushing to extend it just to spite him? Grow up.
Matthew Downhour @matthewdownhour.bsky.social · 2mo agoIt is not hawkish to point out that Trump lost the war of choice that he started & it is not the duty of doves to defend a peace treaty that recognizes those losses
