Oregon’s district judge the Honorable Karin J. Immergut torpedoes the SS Little Dictator.
Here’s a link to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals Order on the stay. It looks like they denied the administrative stay and are still looking at stay pending appeal. I also added the SCOTUS minute order and will look at it and comment.
The Minute Order.
The applicants are seeking a stay of two orders of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, case No. 1:25-cv-569. See D. Ct. Minute Entry (Oct. 31, 2025) and Docket Number 34 (Nov. 6, 2025). These orders require the applicants to fully fund benefits for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (“SNAP”) for the month of November, and to distribute that funding by the end of the day on November 7, 2025 (today). Earlier today, the applicants asked the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to stay the District Court’s orders pending appeal, and to issue an administrative stay to facilitate its consideration of that stay motion. At 6:08 p.m., the First Circuit denied the applicants’ request for an administrative stay, but stated that it “intend[s] to issue a decision on [the stay pending appeal] motion as quickly as possible.” Rhode Island State Council of Churches v. Rollins,Ibid. Given the First Circuit’s representations, an administrative stay is required to facilitate the First Circuit’s expeditious resolution of the pending stay motion. IT IS ORDERED that the District Court’s orders are hereby administratively stayed pending disposition of the motion for a stay pending appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in case No. 25-2089 or further order of Justice Jackson or of the Court. This administrative stay will terminate forty-eight hours after the First Circuit’s resolution of the pending motion, which the First Circuit is expected to issue with dispatch.
Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture, et al., Applicants v. Rhode Island State Council of Churches, et al. No. 25A539
Reclaiming Syria’s Moderate Legacy: Jamal Maarouf, the SRF, and the Rise of the 70th Division
🌐 This post is published in English, Arabic, Chinese, and Turkish to support cross-regional understanding of Syria’s transitional dynamics and the strategic relevance of moderate opposition actors.
🇺🇸 English
In the aftermath of Bashar al-Assad’s fall, Syria’s battlefield has quieted—but its ideological war is far from over. While jihadist factions consolidate power in Idlib and northern corridors, the country’s moderate opposition remains fractured, forgotten, and dangerously underreported.
Jamal Maarouf, former commander of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front (SRF), has resurfaced in SDF-controlled northeastern Syria. His journey—from construction worker in Deir Sunbul to CIA-vetted rebel leader and now quiet exile—mirrors the rise and abandonment of Syria’s secular resistance.
Meanwhile, the 70th Division (Al-Tanf Forces)—formerly the Syrian Free Army—has evolved into a stabilizing force within Syria’s transitional government. Operating from the Al-Tanf Garrison, they assist in infrastructure repair, agricultural support, and civil coordination.
To counter jihadist entrenchment and stabilize Syria’s future, the secular opposition must be reactivated, documented, and elevated. Jamal Maarouf and the 70th Division represent the spine of that effort.
🇸🇾 العربية
استعادة الإرث المعتدل لسوريا: جمال معروف، جبهة ثوار سوريا، وصعود الفرقة 70
في أعقاب سقوط نظام بشار الأسد، هدأت المعارك في سوريا، لكن الحرب الأيديولوجية لا تزال مشتعلة. وبينما تواصل الفصائل الجهادية ترسيخ سيطرتها في إدلب وشمال البلاد، تبقى المعارضة المعتدلة ممزقة، منسية، وخارج التغطية الإعلامية.
جمال معروف، القائد السابق لجبهة ثوار سوريا، عاد للظهور في شمال شرق سوريا تحت سيطرة قوات سوريا الديمقراطية. أما الفرقة 70 (سابقًا جيش سوريا الحر)، فقد تحولت إلى قوة مؤسسية تعمل ضمن الحكومة الانتقالية الجديدة، وتشارك في إصلاح البنية التحتية، تأمين الآبار، والتنسيق مع وزارات الزراعة والدفاع.
إن إعادة تفعيل الشبكات المعتدلة، وتوثيق الأعمال الرمزية للعدالة، وبناء تحالفات عابرة للطوائف، كلها خطوات ضرورية لمواجهة هيمنة السرد الجهادي. سوريا تحتاج إلى معارضة علمانية موحدة، لا كحنين إلى الماضي، بل كضرورة استراتيجية.
🇨🇳 简体中文
重塑叙利亚温和派的遗产：贾迈勒·马鲁夫、叙利亚革命者阵线与第70师的崛起
在巴沙尔·阿萨德政权垮台之后，叙利亚的战场虽然趋于平静，但意识形态的斗争仍在继续。圣战组织在伊德利卜和北部地区巩固势力，而温和反对派却四分五裂，被边缘化，鲜有报道。
贾迈勒·马鲁夫，叙利亚革命者阵线（SRF）前指挥官，现已悄然出现在叙利亚东北部的叙利亚民主力量（SDF）控制区。而第70师（前叙利亚自由军）则已转型为新政府的支柱力量，参与农业、水利和安全事务，成为跨国治理的关键节点。
重建世俗反对派、激活温和网络、记录象征性正义行动，是对抗极端主义叙事、稳定叙利亚未来的战略必需。
🇹🇷 Türkçe
Suriye’nin Ilımlı Mirasını Geri Kazanmak: Cemal Maruf, SRF ve 70. Tümenin Yükselişi
Beşar Esad’ın düşüşünün ardından Suriye’deki çatışmalar azaldı, ancak ideolojik savaş hâlâ sürüyor. Cihatçı gruplar İdlib ve kuzeydeki bölgelerde hâkimiyet kurarken, ılımlı muhalefet dağılmış, unutulmuş ve medya radarının dışında kalmış durumda.
Cemal Maruf, Suriye Devrimciler Cephesi’nin (SRF) eski lideri, şu anda Suriye Demokratik Güçleri’nin kontrolündeki kuzeydoğu Suriye’de sessizce varlık gösteriyor. Öte yandan, 70. Tümen (eski adıyla Özgür Suriye Ordusu), yeni geçiş hükümetiyle koordinasyon içinde altyapı onarımları, güvenlik ve tarım desteği gibi görevler üstlenerek kurumsal bir aktöre dönüşmüş durumda.
Ilımlı ağların yeniden canlandırılması, sembolik adalet eylemlerinin belgelenmesi ve mezhepler arası ittifakların kurulması, cihatçı anlatıya karşı koymak ve Suriye’nin geleceğini istikrara kavuşturmak için stratejik bir zorunluluktur.
After blowing off the Government’s proposed protective order the judge in the Comey case enters his own protective order that gives Comey access. Link.
Action to enjoin Trump’s 2nd attempt to deploy the guard, this time California in Portland. Here’s the second TRO motion. The hearing is ongoing.
Why would Putin direct war planes to enter NATO airspace? My best guess is that it’s more a sign of Russian weakness than strength. Small dogs always bare their teeth.
Ukraine finally moved into a strategic bombing strategy and has caught Russia unprepared and in a very short period the Russian oil production industrial complex has lost a large part of its capacity. Unless Ukraine stops and Russia has time and access to material to repair the damage, the winter is likely to be particularly cold and dark for the Russian population that will finally feel personally the impact of the war that until now has impacted only Russians and their families who have fed Putin’s Ukrainian meat grinder with fresh corpses. Putin knows that Trump is his best bet. A fully enrolled part of the Russian military force, a US president traitor needs to give Putin a break from the relentless Ukrainian strikes. Europe now knows that Trump is a Russian mole and that he and his intelligence and defense heads are simply props in Trump’s pathetic surrender to Putin. But Europe knows that Russia is weak and Ukraine is a better bet than a US defense department run by traitors. But Putin knows how to push Trump’s buttons and Trump lives in total terror of a nuclear war. Putin knew Merkel was afraid of dogs so he always had a big mean one greet her. Putin’s incursion in the Baltics are Trump’s big dog that he knows may result in the need to determine whether to authorize the use of Nuclear weapons. The war will unfold at a pace he can’t control, and he simply can’t cope.
Trump has surrendered the US defense industrial dominance to the Europeans that now can move to make Ukraine into the largest manufacturer of cheap relevant arms to defeat Russia. Long range missiles that can be built with scale and at less cost are being prepared for an assault on Russia that unless Putin turns it into a nuclear war will result in Moscow and St. Petersburg being locked in frozen darkness for the long Russian winter.
Putin will continue to probe until Europe shoots down the Russian planes. And Trump and his alcoholic clown in Pentagon will simply cower in their bunkers unable to shake off their cowardice driven treason.
Link to the Federal Circuit’s opinion striking down the illegal Trump Taxes aka illegal Trump Tariffs.
🧵 Post Title: When the System Cracks — A Personal Reflection on the Federal Court Breach. Image credit Washington Post.
As someone who was tasked with writing the local rules for ECF filings in the federal court where I practiced — and whose late brother oversaw DOJ FISA court proceedings — I’ve seen firsthand both the strength and fragility of our judicial infrastructure.
The recent breach of the federal court filing system, now suspected to be the work of Russian intelligence, is more than a technical failure. It’s a strategic exploitation of procedural asymmetry.
🔍 What Happened:
Sealed records were compromised across multiple jurisdictions, including South Dakota, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, and Arkansas — courts with fewer resources and less hardened protocols.
The attackers targeted midlevel criminal cases with overseas ties, some involving individuals with Russian and Eastern European surnames.
Sensitive filings were removed from PACER and stored on separate drives. Judges were issued burner phones and barred from accessing systems while abroad.
🧠 Why It Matters: Each federal court operates under its own local rules. That compartmentalization can be a strength — insulating sophisticated courts like SDNY and D.C. — but it also leaves rural courts exposed. The breach exploited those seams.
🔐 What We Must Learn:
Digital convenience must never outpace security.
Procedural fragmentation is a vulnerability adversaries will continue to exploit.
Legacy systems — like physical safes and hand-delivered filings — may be our last line of defense.
This isn’t just a breach. It’s a warning. And for those of us who’ve helped build the system from the inside, it’s personal.
Russia is threatening #Azerbaijan after Azerbaijan sent demining technology to Ukraine to use in civilian demining operations.
There’s growing evidence that Russia is reacting aggressively to Azerbaijan’s support for Ukraine—particularly its delivery of civilian demining equipment like the Vozrohdeni-P machine, used to clear mines in liberated Ukrainian regions2. While the aid is humanitarian in nature, Moscow appears to interpret any assistance to Ukraine as a hostile act.
Here’s what’s unfolding:
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan’s Support: Azerbaijan has provided Ukraine with demining machines and spare parts, framing it as a civilian protection initiative. Both governments emphasize the humanitarian purpose.
🇷🇺 Russian Reaction:
Russian state media has begun questioning Azerbaijan’s legitimacy, echoing rhetoric used before the invasion of Ukraine.
Kremlin-linked analysts are reviving ethnic tensions, especially around the Lezgins, to destabilize Azerbaijan internally.
Russia is reinforcing its military presence in Armenia, potentially positioning troops for a two-pronged strike against Azerbaijan.
🧭 Strategic Implications:
Azerbaijan’s alignment with Ukraine places it in a category with Georgia and Moldova—former Soviet states now seen as adversaries by Moscow.
The Kremlin is signaling that any move toward Western alliances or support for Ukraine could provoke military consequences.
This isn’t just saber-rattling. It’s a geopolitical shift where humanitarian aid is being weaponized in the narrative, and Russia is laying groundwork—militarily and ideologically—for potential escalation.
TimInHonolulu 