Mostly Orlando Figes.

a close up of a man wearing sunglasses looking out a window ALT: a close up of a man wearing sunglasses looking out a window

I've read more books (mostly Russian history and the Korean War) in the past two months than the entirety of last year! Also, detoxing has been nice since imma be off bsky until, like, may or so.

People struggle with this because then you would have to admit that the Imperial German army, with all its Prussian officers and stuff, was worse at war than the British and French.

Remember back on 21 January 2025 when the Trump administration froze Air Traffic Controller hiring? Then on 28 January 2025 when sent a demand to all the other ATCs that they accept retirement buyouts, even though ATCs were already critically understaffed for years?

Fun times

Anyone else remember that cutscene from Wolfenstein the New Colossus where Hitler has gone completely senile and constantly empties bodily fluids to the costernation of others in the room? For some reason that cutscene feels extra relevant now and I cannot begin to fathom why.

Well we knew Trump was a moron in this regard, my question is how did the military fuck up so hard in the same regard?

Sanctioned

That first entry is hilarious given who is currently in the White House.

Well there goes my plans for flying to washington.

Basically, Trump sees the ayatollah as an unruly pro wrestler who is off script doing a shoot and the ayatollah sees Trump as the guy who killed his family.

RIP Laika. Your name beautifully encapsulated the wonderful simplicity of slavic names

It took four years of hate-filled propaganda for Slobodon Milosevic to convince people of committing atrocities. It took less time in Rwanda.

Steady messaging that designates internal enemies should never be taken lightly.

Hi, political scientist here. Did you know we have an extensive body of research and theory that says if people believe you will violently betray them, they are less likely to enter into an agreement with you?

I swear to God I have a real, non-bullshit job.

Napoleon said this right before diving into Russia and losing his army to a scorched earth campaign to an enemy who opted to avoid giving him the showcase battle he wanted. There's a lesson to be learned from this.

I like how ICE being deployed to airports is being portrayed as "gotcha" for Democrats and not a disaster waiting to happen.

People will often say that Israel is America's worst ally, but ngl that's stolen valor from all the work Pakistan has done

Sanity-washing Trump admin policy—no matter how things progress, it’s always some grand 12-D chess strategy—is popular for the same reason conspiracy theories are popular:

It’s more reassuring to believe that it’s all some grand convoluted plan than thoughtless ad-hoc chaos.

Now maga supporters cant say shit when it happens

Tips from a Jew who wants to see Israel abolished and replaced by an egalitarian state with full political and civil rights for all residents of its territories:

-"Zio" is a slur, in any context

-"Zionist" is a vague term that you should really try to define before you go throwing it at people

The criminality of Nixon!
The moral void of Ford!
The senility of Reagan!
The dubious post-conspiracy pardons of Bush I!
The Middle Eastern quagmire and economic crisis of Bush II!
The Trump of Trump I!

Through our powers combined we become POTUS-47, the ultimate Republican administration!

Meanwhile, elsewhere, no matter how bad the US is, a quick reminder that the Iranian regime can all rot in hell.

Все хорошо! (1991) YouTube video by Sahakyants Animation Studio

The vibe of the 2020s
youtu.be/xCjGbWR59jg

On one hand, Alot of Korea people I know say its only good as an introduction and is sloppy, but on the other, it's the newest book about the Korean War in my library (everything else in it was written before Obama) and I still see it brought up enough that I think it's important to give it a read.

Taking a short break from my Russian/eastern Europe history binge to read some revisionism

Fuck, forgot about his Crimean War book.

And with this done, I have now finished every Orlando Figes book in my library, of which there are four

my reaction to the class of conservative traders/strategists who think the Iran War was about China:

if you think donald trump is doing Grand Strategy instead of just being the rolling katamari damacy ball of desires and grievances he always is you are a fucking moron

Does anyone else just get sad about how many people are just ok with just being flat out ignorant and uninformed?