Sam Ratner

Happening now!

TONIGHT, 7 PM ET: Can the midterm elections make a difference for US foreign policy? Join a discussion with GA State Rep. @ruwaromman.bsky.social and @moveon.org‘s @shaghdoosti.bsky.social, hosted by Win Without War Education Fund and RepGA. Register here: www.mobilize.us/mobilize/eve...

The international treaty banning cluster munitions is "proof positive that states can choose to abandon certain weapons simply because the harm done by those weapons is too great for people to bear." It's time for the U.S. to join the international community in banning these immoral weapons.

A Nathan Fielder, Lance Oppenheim, and James C. Scott production

Tired: Trump is doing another moronic racism, this time to the Land of Enchantment. Wired: Trump has accidentally turned a center-left DC think tank into a threshold nuclear state.

I’ll be doing an AMA tomorrow all about our reporting on the AI weapons manufacturer Anduril’s new Ohio factory. We’ll chat about tax breaks that impact a needy public school, its connection to a controversial data center, and how an Anduril lobbyist quashed a farmer-led ballot initiative

WWWEF @scovillepf.bsky.social Fellow Allie Hansen recently went to Laos to attend the review conference for the treaty that bans cluster munitions. Read her analysis of the conference, and of how US policy helps perpetuate these dangerous weapons. internationalpolicy.org/publications...

This is the result of 7+ years of Trump's attacks on @repilhan.bsky.social, Somali-Americans, & the Muslim community. Everyone, regardless of party, must speak out against this fascistic abuse of power. If they can do this to a sitting Congresswoman, they can & will do it to anyone.

Trump’s obsession with demonizing the Somali community is dangerous and reprehensible. Hate to break it to him: Somali Minnesotans are resilient. We will not let Trump intimidate us. Our neighbors have our back.

Our Co-Director @patrickmbigger on Israel’s ecocide in Gaza for @zeteouk 👇

In a new piece for @cipolicy.bsky.social, @samratner.bsky.social of grantee @winwithoutwar.bsky.social argues that addressing the broader risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East requires a vision for regional denuclearization. Read more ⬇️ internationalpolicy.org/publications...

Senator Merkley is right -- this corrupt deal and its likely regional consequences should be a scandal, as our policy director @samratner.bsky.social lays out: internationalpolicy.org/publications...

I wrote on Trump's delusional Saudi nuclear deal, the unfolding nuclear proliferation nightmare that everyone predicted, and how progressives can meet a moment that everyone else seems intent on ducking.

I am once again saying that white flight private schools are engines of fascism, not only because of what they teach, but more importantly you have zero chance of getting your ass beat for being racist.

This week, Win Without War Education Fund, A New Policy, and @cipolicy.bsky.social cohosted a panel for staff from 27 congressional offices on accountability for US officials implicated in the Gaza genocide. Hear what our panelists had to say ⬇️

1st event of its kind, I believe: Senators Van Hollen and Welch intro'd, and 30+ staffers (some who will have a role in appointee confirmations) came to hear testimony from fmr officials and @akbarshahidahmed.bsky.social on the malfeasance of the Biden officials now angling for 2028 gigs.

Today Refugees International and Global Strategic Litigation Council published a report based on months of research and interviews with third country nationals removed by U.S. to Costa Rica. Have a read! www.refugeesinternational.org/reports-brie...

The Saudi government? Pursuing nukes? After Trump has systematically destroyed incentives for the Iranian government not to? Whomst could have predicted this?

New from @imeupolicy.bsky.social authored by @jwrchappell.bsky.social @cipolicy.bsky.social analyzes the implications of implementing Section 502B with respect to Israel, drawing from recent policy proposals, legal analysis, and media reporting. static1.squarespace.com/static/667c2...

even conceding the distorting effects of colorblind discourse post Cold War / apartheid, it's wild how committed people will be to applying this skepticism to periods of history where the commitment to white supremacy was completely explicit

It’s literally a defining feature of international order from the 19th century onward.

It looks years for Dems to start using antiwar messages in their campaign ads after Iraq. It's taken months on Iran. Full story via @punchbowlnews.bsky.social here: punchbowl.news/article/defe...

trump to this day still emphasizes the HUSSEIN in obama's name and thats a direct outgrowth of the gop hatred vs muslims that was unleashed on 9/11. but as usual the mainstream media is playing clean up

no amnesty

Progressives ought to defend the sovereignty of countries in Trump’s neo-imperialist crosshairs. By: @abujamajem.com inkstickmedia.com/in-the-age-o...

Yesterday I was the peripheral target of a relatively minor pile-on by some far left accounts that were upset by criticism of the framing of this statement by the DSA International Committee celebrating 100 years of Fidel www.dsausa.org/statements/d...

Extremely intuitive findings for anyone who has actually thought about how college campuses work.

The police chief in Anniston, Alabama (pop. 21,127) on why he's withdrawing his city's Task Force 287(g) agreement, which he just signed in July: "I made the decision to pull out of it after realizing that we actually did not have a known problem with illegal immigration in our city"."

The Trump way of war: War crimes, timed to the market. www.cbsnews.com/news/us-isra...

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...

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...

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Today in "I am begging you people to actually read a book."

Completely unhinged statement on about 3 levels

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...

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...

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

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

JTF-Spiderman Meme

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.

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...

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.

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...