Abu Aardvark’s Ghost

Judea Pearl has been a rare voice in academia cheering on the Trump administration’s crackdown on higher education, so this really is a leopards eating faces situation. And it’s telling that his response is not to stand in solidarity with other academics, but to say, “Investigate them, not me.”

The American Research Center in Egypt, which has played a key part in supporting countless research projects (including my first book), will not be offering fellowships this year. The future of their fellowships also remains uncertain. The impact of such a loss of support will be immense.

Russell Vought and Elon Musk, funded by bad Coors beer, have in 6 months destroyed everything I worked for in my half-century career, of promoting and institutionalizing international understanding

As Harvard faced Trump's antisemitism claims, a program on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict collapsed Former staff members in Harvard Divinity School's Religion and Public Life program say it encouraged a healthy dialogue, but critics accused it of antisemitism.

“They’re sacrificing the moral center of Harvard Divinity School,” #Gaza #Palestine #Harvard

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

the USA built a system of higher education so good that smart/rich people from across the world came here, spending billions to learn here, subsidizing education for Americans while spending money to live in our cities and towns. our government arbitrarily decided we should stop doing that

Massive and intentional destruction of one of the largest engines of the US economy and foundations for our vibrant culture. We prospered from attracting the best and brightest from around the world who all wanted to study and work here. Now we build walls and threaten those who do come

The Mothership Vortex: An Investigation Into the Firm at the Heart of the Democratic Spam Machine How a single consulting firm extracted $282 million from a network of spam PACs while delivering just $11 million to actual campaigns.

The annoying spam texts destroying the Democratic brand:

$678M raised through those spam tactics

$282M to one consulting firm: Mothership Strategies.

$11M to actual campaigns (1.6%)

The party isn’t just treating donors like marks—it’s being fleeced itself yet continues to back Mothership.

If we found anyone submitting a piece to POMEPS that used ChatGPT or other AI it would be rejected and the author would go on our do not publish redlist. It’s not something that any serious academic or intellectual should do. It shouldn’t be legitimated or normalized.

Trump And Miller Compel Colleges Not To Enroll International Students Trump officials are using rules, policies and agreements to compel and discourage U.S. universities from enrolling international students.

Wow. Had not realized that Columbia’s settlement with Trump admin included a commitment to decrease international student enrollment. In what way does this help “combat antisemitism,” which is supposedly the administration’s objective?
www.forbes.com/sites/stuart...

Wonder how much GW is paying Huron Consulting to tell them to lay off more staff and faculty and to shut down exactly the programs you expect?

gwhatchet.com/2025/08/01/g...

Fresh clashes break out in Syria as the interim government struggles to ease tensions New outbreaks of violence overnight into Sunday have rocked Syria at two distinct flashpoints, straining a fragile ceasefire and calling into question the ability of the transitional government to exe...

Fresh clashes break out in Syria as the interim government struggles to ease tensions

apnews.com/article/syri...

The US could see a 30-40% decline in new international student enrollment, resulting in nearly $7 billion in lost revenue and more than 60,000 fewer American jobs. https://www.nafsa.org/fall-2025-international-student-enrollment-outlook-and-economic-impact

I saw many atrocities as a senior aid official in Gaza. Now Israeli authorities are trying to silence us Devastated hospitals, mass graves, bodies eaten by dogs in the street. After speaking out, I discovered my visa will not be renewed, says Jonathan Whittall of UN OCHA

I saw many atrocities as a senior aid official in Gaza. Now Israeli authorities are trying to silence us

Timeline cleanse

Opinion | Netanyahu Is Choosing to Starve Gaza

"To end starvation in Gaza, Israel must allow humanitarian-aid professionals to do their job. It must facilitate the movement of U.N. aid convoys without onerous checks and delays."
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/o...

Poll: More than half of Israelis want Gaza resettlement Thousands march near the Strip's northern border calling for a return to the enclave, which was cleared of Israeli communities in 2005.

52% of Israelis now support Jewish settlements in Gaza, though only 29% of those who identify as secular Jews do.

www.jns.org/over-half-of...

In Gaza, more Palestinians are killed while waiting for food aid Dozens of Palestinians were killed, many while waiting for food aid, amid a deepening starvation crisis and despite Israeli assurances of a humanitarian pause in some areas of the territory.

Dozens of Palestinians were killed, many while waiting for food aid, amid a deepening starvation crisis and despite Israeli assurances of a humanitarian pause in some areas of the territory.

Now that U.S. officials have wrapped up their visit to Potemkin aid distribution sites in Gaza, the IDF can resume the regularly scheduled shooting of desperate people seeking food.

They made a desert and called it peace

An aerial view of what the Gaza City area looked like this week. Taken from a Jordanian military aircraft, by our colleague Heidi Levine.

I have no words to describe my revulsion at this obvious pr stunt conducted in the name of the U.S. government. Shameful.

I’m not giving up but watching genocide go unstopped, universities caving, the American political system so quickly and easily shredded, and the worst people inflicting their bile to ruin everyone’s life, I don’t think I’ve ever felt less hopeful about the direction of the country and the world.

And now UCLA -- the USG is marching through the top research universities one by one. And because of the overwhelming power of the USG, the best we can hope for is a not-bad deal. See my analysis here: contrarian.substack.com/p/trumps-reg...

If you’ll recall, the “antisemitism” at UCLA involved primarily campus police allowing Zionist counter protesters to attack the pro-Palestinian camps (incl. many Jewish participants) while they did nothing, and arresting the anti-genocide students & faculty afterwards.

The US is complicit in genocide. Let’s stop pretending otherwise | Mehdi Hasan The US government, enabled by the media, is an active participant in Israel’s atrocities in Gaza

"The US government, enabled by the media, is an active participant in Israel’s atrocities in Gaza," @mehdirhasan.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Cincinnati?
😂😂😂😂

Middle East studies faculty have long faced vile abuse, doxxing, violent threats, slander, online blacklists. Too often their institutions didn’t protect them. The extremists using those same methods now wield unrestrained state power. If institutions had stood up then maybe we wouldn’t be here now.

It’s a slaughter trap, in no way, whatsoever, is this a humanitarian mission. I’ve been involved in humanitarian work in Palestinian for well over three decades. This is a killing set-up. The antithesis of the very concept

People killed or injured while seeking aid in Gaza

June 1 - July 1, 2025

Everything about this story is horrific:

1. The student never mentions Jews
2. The university is going to expel a student for criticizing a country over genocide
3. A Republican congressman is taking credit and implying the student is a Muslim terrorist
4. The U.S. Justice Department is involved

Opinion | How Trump's ‘antisemitism’ deal with Brown University actually endangers Jewish students The agreement, the latest between the Trump White House and major universities, raises pertinent issues about who is protected and who is not.

Good piece by @emilyctamkin.bsky.social on the incoherence of the Trump administration's strategy of effectively requiring DEI for Jews and banning it for other minority groups. www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...