Nader Atassi

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

Palestinians in Gaza are human beings entitled not only to life and security, but also to self-determination and political rights. Anyone who advocates for the militarized technocratic despotism that the Trump-Blair plan would put in place is rejecting all those basic premises.

The size of the divide between the average American liberal and the average American liberal pundit on one of the defining questions of foreign policy today really can't be overstated.

Notice how in all int'l proposals for a "day after" in Gaza there is not even a pretense that Palestinians in Gaza should have a say in their own political future. No lip service even to self-determination or democratic rights.

This morning, Benjamin Netanyahu will address the United Nations — an institution which has concluded his government is committing a genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. He arrived in New York after a flight that added hours to its path to circumvent the airspace of countries which might enforce the International Criminal Court's warrant for his arrest. During the course of his speech, another Palestinian child will undoubtedly be killed by the Israeli military in Gaza, as they have been every single hour for nearly two years. Eric Adams will greet Netanyahu as a friend. Andrew Cuomo proudly served on his legal defense team. Both have jockeyed for the approval of Donald Trump, who has sent billions of our taxpayer dollars to support these war crimes. A Mayor cannot end these atrocities. But they can speak for the values of this city: a commitment to human rights for all people, including Palestinians, and a yearning for peace and justice. Even if those values are anathema to those in power now, they will endure.

As Netanyahu addresses the United Nations in New York City this morning, the world recoils in horror at the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

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

h/t: Mohamed Elbaqer

And the world remains silent, almost 2 years into this horror

We have visually confirmed to clients that a fourth load of crude oil has reached #Syria from #Russia. Comparing the YoY numbers, Russia is almost filling the void left by #Iran.

No deliveries so far from any of the Arab nations.

#OOTT

Energy's History | Stanford University Press Energy history is an approach to understanding the past that takes changes in the human exploitation of Earth's energies as its object of inquiry. This interdisciplinary field documents and analyzes h...

This new edited volume looks great. Chapters on energy history in colonial, anticolonial, and communist contexts. www.sup.org/books/politi...

If future of the Golan isn’t even up for negotiation then a Syrian govt wouldn’t be able to pull a Sadat even if they wanted to.

Lots of rumors going around about Syria-Israel normalization. Israel has said it has no intention of ending Golan Heights occupation. US won’t push them either—Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over Golan in 2019. But no Syrian leader can capitulate on this issue & remain politically viable.

What could go wrong?

Thanks, Faisal! Nathan, great fan of your work. Many years ago we had a brief exchange about chartalism and Ottoman monetary history in some MMT facebook group. Happy to chat about this project.

تركيا تنشد تكاملًا اقتصاديًا "قويًا" مع سوريا تركيا تنشد تكاملًا اقتصاديًا مع سوريا.. إليك التفاصيل.

Turkey's Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat in a visit to Damascus calls for Turkish-Syrian economic integration modeled on NAFTA and EU www.enabbaladi.net/749553/%d8%a...

This seems to have sent Lebanon into a spiral.

Lebanese Civil War began 50 years ago. Here’s how one photographer saw it Award-winning photojournalist Claude Salhani documented his country’s war for nine years, until he had to turn away.

I grew up with stories of the civil war. Many of those stories were connected to photos that hung on the walls of my dad's office or in his archives.

Here are a few
www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025...

Just returned from a trip to Syria. I visited the destroyed suburbs of Damascus - Jobar, Harasta, Arbeen, Douma, Yarmouk.

Nothing prepares you for the extent of the devastation - it goes on for miles.

If Syrians are to return home the sanctions must be lifted so that people can rebuild.

Exclusive: Saudi Arabia plans to pay off Syria's World Bank debts, sources say Saudi Arabia plans to pay off Syria's debts to the World Bank, three people familiar with the matter said, paving the way for the approval of millions of dollars in grants for reconstruction and to support the country's paralysed public sector.

Reuters reporting that Saudi Arabia plans to pay off Syria's $15m World Bank debt www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Grassroots Resistance Builds Against Israeli Occupation of Southern Syria Locals in southern Syria have begun taking up arms against an Israeli occupation of the region that began after the fall of the Assad regime.

Katz keeps saying 'we will not allow southern Syria to become southern Lebanon.' But what made southern Lebanon become southern Lebanon? www.dropsitenews.com/p/syria-occu...

woke and DEI get removed, economy instantly crashes.

The Spirit of 1950? Economic Aspects of Syria's New Constitutional Declaration

Syria's new constitutional declaration is said to be inspired by the 1950 Syrian Constitution. I wrote some belated thoughts on the different economic visions of these two documents and what that tells us. naderatassi.substack.com/p/the-spirit...

It was evident early on that the new Syrian gov’t was attempting a balancing act by reaching out to the Saudis so as not to appear too close to Turkey. Israel’s bellicosity seems to be changing that calculus.

Turkey moves to take control of Syria’s strategic T4 air base: Sources Ankara aims to use base to strike the Islamic State and deter Israeli aerial attacks in Syria, sources say

Funny thing is this is probably what Israel fears most but due to their persistent aerial bombardments and aggressive expansionism in the south, they have all but guaranteed this outcome. www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-...

Tariffs won't achieve any of their stated goals. Cheap imports didn't deindustrialize the US and they certainly won't reindustrialize it in two years. This is just Trump's personal dogma turned into disastrous policy, only consolation will be watching the rest of his party go down with the ship.

Welcome back protectionism starter pack

Keep The Meter Running: Ramadan Edition!

I hopped in a taxi with Kareem from Subway Takes and longtime cab driver Mouhamadou, who I went on hunger strike with in 2021 to win historic debt relief.

Here's an excerpt:

Just got these, excited to read

Does Columbia still merit the name of a university? | Rashid Khalidi Columbia has long been run more as a business empire than as an educational institution. Now it’s acting like Vichy on the Hudson

My colleague Rashid Khalidi: "We are approaching the status of Chilean universities under Pinochet, where on the orders of an authoritarian government, ideas and books were banned, students were expelled and arrested, departments were taken over & faculty fired."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...