For those of you wondering how things are going over at X:

This is the most petty and self-centered letter I could ever imagine somebody writing in this situation. Even in this most, Assad can't think of anything other than himself; not Syria, not Palestine, and not even his supporters. It's all about him and his image.

Shot in the Malki neighborhood of Damascus today.

How out of touch are US officials? This out of touch:

In my next article, I show how rank ordering the value of human lives can help resolve cognitive dissonance in such pesky situations, easing the associated discomfort among American respondents.

I've been rereading Edward Said these days for obvious reasons, focusing on his public-facing work. This passage in The Morning After caught my attention. When I first read this piece (maybe a decade after publication), I think I was so focused on the issue of right of return that I missed a lot.

Elsewhere in the Likud 1999 platform

It should be noted that "from the river to the sea" is not just present in Palestinian discourse. Here's Likud's founding charter (left) and 1999 platform (right).

This facebook post from the municipality of Bani Suheilah indicates water has been restored there. Telegram post, probably based on the same info, indicates the same. This is the only evidence I've found of water being restored anywhere, and even there I'm not entirely sure it's reaching anybody.