Fatima Ayub
@thecynicist.bsky.social
Political analyst focused on global conflict and security, Afghanistan, the Middle East and US politics. Purveyor of quality nonsense. Rare Afghan with two names. Previously HRW, ICTJ, Amnesty, OSF and ECFR. Always clean on OPSEC.
"All the pieces matter."
"All the pieces matter."
Pinned
Fatima Ayub
@thecynicist.bsky.social
· Jul 23
I wrote this two months ago, and was not online for the last few weeks, hoping and praying for absolution.
Meanwhile, Gaza has descended into mass, chronic starvation. conversationalist.org/2025/05/29/g...
Meanwhile, Gaza has descended into mass, chronic starvation. conversationalist.org/2025/05/29/g...
To Live and Die in Gaza
Stories from my friends still trying to survive.
conversationalist.org
🧵 Friends in my phone, I want to make a thread of the Palestinians in Gaza who I write about in this essay (mute the thread if it bothers you). Pick anyone at random and just read their stories in their campaign pages. Ask if you would tolerate any of this for yourself, your children, your family.
so summary of events is: a cabal of rapist pedophiles and their enablers run america and deliberately destroyed the constitutional order to preserve their impunity
do i have this right
do i have this right
February 4, 2026 at 9:49 AM
so summary of events is: a cabal of rapist pedophiles and their enablers run america and deliberately destroyed the constitutional order to preserve their impunity
do i have this right
do i have this right
Cautiously reactivating to examine the state of things. Probably a mistake. Hello again to the friends in my phone!
February 4, 2026 at 9:27 AM
Cautiously reactivating to examine the state of things. Probably a mistake. Hello again to the friends in my phone!
Reposted by Fatima Ayub
I think it's a waste of time to spend your time on social media yelling at people who have the exact same level of power that you do to change the world which is to say very little.
It IS a good use of your time to enlist other people into actions and projects you would like them to join with you.
It IS a good use of your time to enlist other people into actions and projects you would like them to join with you.
August 8, 2025 at 9:21 PM
I think it's a waste of time to spend your time on social media yelling at people who have the exact same level of power that you do to change the world which is to say very little.
It IS a good use of your time to enlist other people into actions and projects you would like them to join with you.
It IS a good use of your time to enlist other people into actions and projects you would like them to join with you.
I have met dozens and dozens of Palestinians in Gaza in desperate need.
Maimed, displaced, starving. Men, women and children.
I wrote about them two months ago. Ask yourself if you think things are better or worse for them now. conversationalist.org/2025/05/29/g...
Maimed, displaced, starving. Men, women and children.
I wrote about them two months ago. Ask yourself if you think things are better or worse for them now. conversationalist.org/2025/05/29/g...
August 8, 2025 at 9:30 PM
I have met dozens and dozens of Palestinians in Gaza in desperate need.
Maimed, displaced, starving. Men, women and children.
I wrote about them two months ago. Ask yourself if you think things are better or worse for them now. conversationalist.org/2025/05/29/g...
Maimed, displaced, starving. Men, women and children.
I wrote about them two months ago. Ask yourself if you think things are better or worse for them now. conversationalist.org/2025/05/29/g...
hi it's not a "hunger crisis" it's a process of deliberate siege against a civilian population
Netanyahu recently claimed that there is "no starvation in Gaza." This is contradicted by data and other evidence. Caroline Willemen, an MSF project coordinator in Gaza City, told me what she's been seeing is "apocalyptic" and "completely dystopian." foreignpolicy.com/2025/08/08/g...
Gaza’s Hunger Crisis, Explained
Everything we know—and don’t know—about what’s really happening on the ground.
foreignpolicy.com
August 8, 2025 at 9:25 PM
hi it's not a "hunger crisis" it's a process of deliberate siege against a civilian population
I do not share the images I see with you, because I do not wish to hurt or scar you, but I want you all to know that for the past two years I have been seeing a stream of death, maiming and now starvation. Are you all pleased, now that Palestinians pull up their shirts so you can count their ribs?
August 8, 2025 at 9:16 PM
I do not share the images I see with you, because I do not wish to hurt or scar you, but I want you all to know that for the past two years I have been seeing a stream of death, maiming and now starvation. Are you all pleased, now that Palestinians pull up their shirts so you can count their ribs?
hey remember how i told you all for the last year palestinians in Gaza are here with us on bluesky and the vast majority dismissed people being ground to dust by bombs and starvation as scammers and bots? i hope they are ashamed of themselves but they aren’t.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Social media accounts of Palestinians desperate for funds are being flagged as spam
People in Gaza use Bluesky to crowdfund for milk and diapers – repeated deletion of their profiles has spawned a guerrilla verification squad
www.theguardian.com
August 8, 2025 at 7:27 PM
hey remember how i told you all for the last year palestinians in Gaza are here with us on bluesky and the vast majority dismissed people being ground to dust by bombs and starvation as scammers and bots? i hope they are ashamed of themselves but they aren’t.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
“why israel must hold itself to account” imagine printing this in a serious publication
Today on “The Intelligence”: why Israel must hold itself to account, the case against “job-hopping” for higher pay, and remembering Patrick Ryan, the “Devil’s Disciple”. Listen now
Not all’s fair: Israel and accountability
Also on the daily podcast: the case against “job-hopping” for higher pay and remembering Patrick Ryan, the “Devil’s Disciple”
econ.st
August 8, 2025 at 7:12 PM
“why israel must hold itself to account” imagine printing this in a serious publication
So many stories in Gaza. So much suffering, told and untold. My namesake baby Fatima is so malnourished she is in the hospital. The trials of her short life, born into a genocide, rent with hunger and displacement, is not forgivable. Please help if you can. www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-hel...
Donate to Help Hayat's Family Evacuate from Gaza and Build a Future., organized by Aaron Micheau
Dear friends and followers, my name is Hayat Abu Asi, I am 25… Aaron Micheau needs your support for Help Hayat's Family Evacuate from Gaza and Build a Future.
www.gofundme.com
August 4, 2025 at 9:40 PM
So many stories in Gaza. So much suffering, told and untold. My namesake baby Fatima is so malnourished she is in the hospital. The trials of her short life, born into a genocide, rent with hunger and displacement, is not forgivable. Please help if you can. www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-hel...
Ahmad is one my many friends who I told you is trying to survive against the odds in Gaza. Read his story and help if you can.
🚨665 days of war…🚨
and hunger doesn’t wait.
Today, we’re not asking for much…
We’re battling hunger and urgently need $300 to buy food that could last at least two days.
Maybe your support could be our lifeline.
If you can help, please be our support in this hard time.🙏🏻
✅| @mommunism.bsky.social
and hunger doesn’t wait.
Today, we’re not asking for much…
We’re battling hunger and urgently need $300 to buy food that could last at least two days.
Maybe your support could be our lifeline.
If you can help, please be our support in this hard time.🙏🏻
✅| @mommunism.bsky.social
Donate to Ahmad & Samar: A Future Beyond Gaza's War, organized by Fatima Ayub
My name is Ahmad Johar, a 25-year-old, Palestinian from Gaza. I have lived throu… Fatima Ayub needs your support for Ahmad & Samar: A Future Beyond Gaza's War
gofund.me
August 4, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Ahmad is one my many friends who I told you is trying to survive against the odds in Gaza. Read his story and help if you can.
i think we should just ban men entirely if they insist on saying things this stupid
The left is completely silent on the subject of men getting laid - which, generally speaking, they are v.interested in doing and will continue to be interested in regardless of whether progressives want to talk about it. So the stage has been left entirely clear for the far-right.
August 2, 2025 at 12:00 AM
i think we should just ban men entirely if they insist on saying things this stupid
maybe he should cry more that zohran mamdani didn't want a meet-cute with him
“Wacking statisticians makes no sense. You don’t shoot the messenger.”
Trump-Supporting billionaire Kevin O’Leary on Trump firing the Commissioner over his bad jobs numbers.
Trump-Supporting billionaire Kevin O’Leary on Trump firing the Commissioner over his bad jobs numbers.
August 1, 2025 at 11:58 PM
maybe he should cry more that zohran mamdani didn't want a meet-cute with him
August 1, 2025 at 3:03 PM
why do the starving children in gaza not simply eat the robotics and ai, i ask
August 1, 2025 at 12:26 PM
why do the starving children in gaza not simply eat the robotics and ai, i ask
vaccines, a miracle
August 1, 2025 at 12:24 PM
vaccines, a miracle
I wrote about Malak and Maali, and their struggle to survive, almost two months ago. Amid all the devastation in Gaza, Malak is trying to help her disabled sister Maali live with some dignity. Their struggle continues. Help if you can.
chuffed.org/project/help...
chuffed.org/project/help...
Help me to save my family and my sister
I am Malak Jamil, a Smart Systems and Computer Engineering student. I completed my high school education with an excellent grade, and it has always been my dream to study engineering and contribute to...
chuffed.org
August 1, 2025 at 11:33 AM
I wrote about Malak and Maali, and their struggle to survive, almost two months ago. Amid all the devastation in Gaza, Malak is trying to help her disabled sister Maali live with some dignity. Their struggle continues. Help if you can.
chuffed.org/project/help...
chuffed.org/project/help...
rashid khalidi, preeminent scholar of palestine: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I spent decades at Columbia. I’m withdrawing my fall course due to its deal with Trump | Rashid Khalidi
The university’s draconian policies and new definition of antisemitism make much teaching impossible
www.theguardian.com
August 1, 2025 at 11:27 AM
rashid khalidi, preeminent scholar of palestine: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Gaza is not starving. It is being starved.
Say it with your full chest.
Say it with your full chest.
Gaza is starving.
We want to believe sustained international pressure will allow us to save as many lives as possible in Gaza. But so far we’re not seeing the scale of change we need.
My interview on @cnn.com with @camanpour.bsky.social : www.cnn.com/2025/07/31/T...
We want to believe sustained international pressure will allow us to save as many lives as possible in Gaza. But so far we’re not seeing the scale of change we need.
My interview on @cnn.com with @camanpour.bsky.social : www.cnn.com/2025/07/31/T...
U.N. Relief Chief: Gaza is a man-made famine, the politics is a sideshow | CNN
Christiane Amanpour speaks with Tom Fletcher, U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator, about the “desperate… impossible conditions” inside Gaza and what he says are the “bureaucratic impediments” preventing...
www.cnn.com
August 1, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Gaza is not starving. It is being starved.
Say it with your full chest.
Say it with your full chest.
at an afghan restaurant and all the rumi quotes on the walls are fake send help
July 31, 2025 at 11:14 PM
at an afghan restaurant and all the rumi quotes on the walls are fake send help
posting this here every time she crosses my feed no i will not elaborate
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sha...
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sha...
July 31, 2025 at 9:09 PM
posting this here every time she crosses my feed no i will not elaborate
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sha...
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sha...
this is not a list of jobs that can be replaced by AI. it is a list of what the techbros value (or more correctly, what they find dangerous and unhelpful to their fascist project)
Yo, historians, what the actual ****?
I've seen how LLMs handle "history." This is... not good.
🗃️
I've seen how LLMs handle "history." This is... not good.
🗃️
July 31, 2025 at 9:07 PM
this is not a list of jobs that can be replaced by AI. it is a list of what the techbros value (or more correctly, what they find dangerous and unhelpful to their fascist project)
the american consensus on israel has permanently shifted and it's not going to reverse course in favor of more apartheid.
This clip...I have no words.
Gaza Humanitarian Fund whistleblower Anthony Aguilar describes ordering pizzas for their site while Palestinians starve.
Gaza Humanitarian Fund whistleblower Anthony Aguilar describes ordering pizzas for their site while Palestinians starve.
July 31, 2025 at 8:01 PM
the american consensus on israel has permanently shifted and it's not going to reverse course in favor of more apartheid.
i say this as someone who specialized in international law for my graduate degree: please do not quote international law at me anymore, after gaza the entire edifice of global norms should be burnt down and rebuilt
July 31, 2025 at 3:50 PM
i say this as someone who specialized in international law for my graduate degree: please do not quote international law at me anymore, after gaza the entire edifice of global norms should be burnt down and rebuilt
i'm not sure who missed it but substack literally pushed a swastika onto people's phones and i think maybe you should stop using it.
July 31, 2025 at 3:41 PM
i'm not sure who missed it but substack literally pushed a swastika onto people's phones and i think maybe you should stop using it.