Erin Gallagher

Pete Hegseth’s Arabic tattoo stirs controversy: ‘clear symbol of Islamophobia’ Critics say US defense secretary’s tattoo of the word kafir, meaning ‘infidel’ or ‘non-believer’ could offend Muslims

I missed the news last year that Pete Hegseth got an infidel tattoo: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

That was in addition to his Deus Vult and Jerusalem Cross tattoos: www.yahoo.com/news/mapping...

Literally sitting in the City Council hearing about eviction prevention paying rents while I’m waiting to speak. If you want to help keep 11 immigrant families in public housing from being imminently evicted, I’m trying to raise $2500 for them 💛

V: @Ian-Coldwater
CA: $iancoldwater
PP: @coldwater

“U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan’s order cites “numerous unlawful” failures by the U.S. government to return belongings to immigrants ordered released from detention, including their cash, cellphones, jewelry, driver’s licenses, passports and more.”

Stealing proof of citizenship.

Just checking back on the WhatsApp channel and it looks like this graphic was shared there at 7:33 PM EST last night. There are also a bunch of red security alerts for individual countries (still none for Egypt and I’ve seen several people confused why Egypt is included)

I was trying to wrap my head around this earlier... there is no plan to evacuate US citizens living in any of those countries. bsky.app/profile/3r1n...

There are at least 10,000 Amcits in Qatar alone, and the US government is saying we are on our own

US orders embassy staff to leave Iraq, bars airport use <article data-history-node-id="434650" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/us-orders-embassy-staff-leave-iraq-bars-airport-use" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/us-orders-embassy-staff-leave-iraq-bars-airport-use" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">US orders embassy staff to leave Iraq, bars airport use</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>The US Embassy in Iraq on Tuesday ordered non-emergency staff to leave the country “due to security reasons,” updating its travel advisory as regional tensions escalate.</p> <p>The mission also said US personnel in Baghdad are prohibited from using the city’s international airport because of security risks.</p> <p>Earlier, State Department official Mora Namdar urged US citizens to “DEPART NOW” from more than a dozen countries in the region, citing serious safety concerns.</p> <p>The advisory covers Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.</p> </div> </div> </article>

US orders embassy staff to leave Iraq, bars airport use - https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/us-orders-embassy-staff-leave-iraq-bars-airport-use

Again, Americans are not “choosing” not to depart at the time. The airspace is closed.

Not good… bsky.app/profile/prof...

Daily Memo: ICE Detains U.S. Citizen With Infant As Kavanaugh Stops Continue

@eltragon.bsky.social

U.S. Troops Were Told Iran War Is for “Armageddon,” Return of Jesus Advocacy group reports commanders giving similar messages at more than 30 installations in every branch of the military

EXCLUSIVE: At more than 30 installations, U.S. commanders told troops the war on Iran is a Christian war.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has been “inundated” with more than 110 complaints.

One NCO said they were told the U.S. war is to bring about Armageddon and the return of Jesus…

Retired General Accuses State Department of Abandoning Stranded Americans in UAE Last updated 8 minutes ago Stranded amid U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that closed Gulf airspace, Manner criticized the State Department for leaving tens of thousands of Americans behind as the UK arranges evacuations for its citizens. He blamed Trump-era budget cuts that slashed the department's funding nearly in half, putting it in survival mode. The State Department urged commercial departures and set up a task force but announced no chartered flights, while the conflict has canceled over 11,000 flights and killed at least six U.S. service members. This story is a summary of posts on X and may evolve over time. Grok can make mistakes, verify its outputs.

Retired General Accuses State Department of Abandoning Stranded Americans in UAE trending topic on twitter

"Retired General Accuses State Department of Abandoning Stranded Americans in UAE" starting to trend over on the bird website bsky.app/profile/atru...

eww

***Inconsistent grrr same typo twice (i copy pasted, I do know how to spell inconsistent) lol

I did a whole thread about that... crazy bsky.app/profile/3r1n...

Chris Murphy: "There is 0 history of an air strike campaign alone toppling a dictatorship and transitioning a country to democracy. We know that air strikes do not knock out Iran's nuclear capability. Why? Because we did air strikes last year. President Trump lied to the American public."

a thinking emoji with the word indeed on it ALT: a thinking emoji with the word indeed on it

An Egyptian journalist I'm friends w/ on Facebook just shared the original graphic advising US citizens to DEPART NOW from Egypt. Someone replied to her (in Arabic) asking is it real because it's not posted on any other websites...

I've never seen anything like this before.

There are currently at least 14 (fourteen!) KC-135R Stratotankers on their way to the Middle East. Inbound from bases across the United States.

They're used to refuel other aircraft in the air.

SECURITY ALERT – U.S. Embassy Beirut, March 02, 2026  - U.S. Embassy in Lebanon

And the US Embassy in Beiruit has an update dated March 2 that DOES say "DEPART NOW" lb.usembassy.gov/security-ale...

And again... maybe people subscribed to STEP updates get customized messaging for each country IDK? Have US State Dept travel advisories always been this convoluted??

Lebanon Travel Advisory

Lebanon's country page on the State Dept website has a level 4 advisory dated Feb 23, 2026: travel.state.gov/content/trav... "Updated to reflect ordered departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and family members of government personnel on February 23."

continued in next post...

Security Alert: U.S. Embassy Jordan (March 1, 2026) - U.S. Embassy in Jordan Security Alert: U.S. Embassy Amman (February 28, 2026)

Jordan's page on the State Dept website has a level 2 travel advisory dated December 18, 2025: travel.state.gov/content/trav...

And the US embassy in Amman has a new update dated March 1, 2025: jo.usembassy.gov/security-ale...

Neither says "DEPART NOW" or was updated at 4PM EST/12AM GMT+03:00

Insonsistent & confusing messaging especially since the 4PM EST advisory to "DEPART NOW" was issued at 11PM Cairo time... IDK maybe people in Cairo got a late night emergency text or something? But what the hell are US citizens in Egypt supposed to do with that info?

Security Alert: Monitoring Conflict in the Region - U.S. Embassy in Egypt

Egypt's country page on the State Dept website has a level 2 advisory issued on July 15, 2025: travel.state.gov/en/internati...

The website for the US Embassy in Cairo has an advisory dated Feb 28, 2026: eg.usembassy.gov/step-message/ but does not say "DEPART NOW"

Insonsistent & confusing!

Whatsapp channel for "safety & security updates for US citizens traveling or residing abroad from the US Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs" URL: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Var8szHInlqREVL5jC0g

Here's the Whatsapp channel where I assume it would have been posted first? At least put it on the website?

No, it's only posted on Assistant Secretary Mora Namdar's Twitter at 4:49 PM EST and RT'd by the Travelgov Twitter account.

Not like I'm expecting Rubio's State Dept to do something competent but why would it only be posted to 1 State Dept Twitter account which was then only RTd on the TravelGov account but not posted online anywhere else?

a man in a suit is holding a jacket and a cigarette . ALT: a man in a suit is holding a jacket and a cigarette .

It's 6:40 EST, 2.5 hours after this new alert was issued advising US citizens to "DEPART NOW VIA COMMERCIAL MEANS DUE TO SERIOUS SAFETY RISKS" - I see a bunch of people on Twitter asking "why Egypt?" but it seems like a serious and very specific blanket advisory that was only posted on Twitter?

This graphic w/ list of individual countries was tweeted by Asst Sec Mora Namdar (@AsstSecStateCA) and retweeted by the @TravelGov but not posted anywhere else I can find on State Dept social media accounts, website or on the Whatsapp channel where latest travel advisories are (supposedly) posted.

BREAKING: Credible whistleblower discloses that FBI forensic experts were ordered to stand down from processing the scene where Renee Good was killed, because Kash Patel did not want Good referenced as a “victim” in the warrant.

‘There’s a name for this, alpine divorce’: Las Vegas woman goes on a hike with man for a date. Then he leaves her stranded on the mountain The term 'alpine divorce' has gained traction online after a woman’s video about being left alone on a hike went viral.

I used to hike a lot, this is terrifying shit www.themarysue.com/alpine-divor...