Scout Tufankjian 🧿

“An ICE agent claimed someone was trying to force their way into a door, but it was just a CBS News Chicago photographer filming the exterior of the building.”

Today, Oct.2nd, is the anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder by Saudi agents.

I can’t believe I’m watching interviews of city mayors talking about how they are coordinating with other mayors to discuss how to protect their residents FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

I know we are “used to it” but it is absolutely insane

Cowardice isn't funny.

"Haters said I couldn't do it" meme

Eric Adams

So far today, Chuck Schumer has said his strategy for preventing Trump sending troops into blue cities is to win over Republican senators (!) while Hakeem Jeffries praised Eric Adams's courage and authenticity (!!) while refusing to endorse Mamdani. Again.

These two gotta go.

Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka posts contract after turning down Riyadh Comedy Festival Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka posts contract after turning down Riyadh Comedy Festival

Okatsuka posted the censorship rules for the controversial comedy festival, noting how many "You can’t say anything anymore!" comedians have signed on.
www.avclub.com/riyadh-comed...

This is simultaneously enraging and wildly unsurprising.

A lot of crocodile tears from former Biden officials but they deserve absolute zero sympathy because they weren’t as powerless as they claim.

McGurk, in particular, should be held accountable with his shenanigans that go even beyond the genocide in Gaza. Yet, he’s still regularly invited by CNN.

Justice Dept. Official Pushes Prosecutors to Investigate George Soros’s Foundation

This is, without any exaggeration, exactly how Putin and Orbán proceeded — using antisemitism to discredit the idea of civil society and political opposition, and as an excuse to undo the rule of law.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/u...

Enav Tsangauker, mother of the hostage Matan Tsangauker, following Netanyahu's speech:

"Netanyahu,
This is the last time you utter Matan Tsengauker's name from your mouth!
You pathetic, cowardly, deceitful, manipulative, and unfit piece of trash."

1/2

A mass walkout of the UN General Assembly as Netanyahu prepares to speak.

I was back at 26 Federal Plaza today, where an ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids. She had not touched him. She did not pose any threat. She had to be taken to the hospital. (🎥: Elias Eliahu)

Odysseus had his crew lash him to the mast to keep him from doing an interview with Chotiner.

New Chotiner interview just dropped.

Screenshot from New Yorker interview by Isaac Chotiner with Cass Sunstein

when the interview goes well: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...

the secondhand embarrassment reading the new Chotiner is overwhelming

Give Issac Chotiner subpoena power

Alaa Abdel Fattah: Egypt's president pardons prominent activist The British-Egyptian activist is one of six people whose sentences President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi commuted, according to state media.

Alaa Abdel Fattah: Egypt's president pardons prominent activist

Amazing news!!

The picture we've all been waiting for: #AlaaIsFree

h/t: Mohamed Elbaqer

We should be alarmed that the VPOTUS is lying so blatantly about this. He knows he's lying, and he knows the media and informed public know he's lying. And he's lying anyway. Scary stuff.

My optimism here is limited, but I really hope centrist institutions like universities and major news organizations understand that the plan is for the govt to dismantle them. They do not care if you fire your columnists or discipline staff for accurately quoting Kirk. They just want us all gone.

I was listening to a story on NPR this morning about the precautions transit riders are taking in the wake of this murder, and yet millions of people engage in the highly risky activity of driving multiple times a day without a second thought.

I hope people understand that the anomaly here aren’t the conditions—the conditions are very typical—the anomaly is that they put a number of documented workers from a high-income country in those conditions. This is how people are treated in custody routinely

This is so good.

As someone who worked in Gaza for six years, I have to ask- when were the gloves actually on?

Because it seems to me like the answer is “never.”

The Guardian has done some of the only coverage I've seen that consistently keeps a sharp eye on exactly who Charlie Kirk was.

‘Radicalized’ Evergreen High School shooter appeared to hold antisemitic, violent views in online accounts Social media accounts that appear to be connected to the 16-year-old shooter are littered with references to mass shootings and antisemitic views, The Denver Post found.

An antisemite shot two kids in Colorado, at least one of whom is Jewish.

The White House “fighting antisemitism” doesn’t care, because the shooter was a student radicalized online into far right beliefs, which the regime is cool with, rather than a student verbally criticizing Israeli govt policy.

I have language. That's true too.
But what good is language. My mouth is full of a scream.

Although I think the Spanish broadcaster has not yet commented (the govt has made their position clear), so right now the only broadcasters that have confirmed that they will not participate are RTVSLO and RTE.

It really sounds like more are probably going to follow Slovenia's lead though.