Join us for this conversation on the pitfalls of campism in global dialogues

The Iron Curtain Cambridge Core - Russian and East European History - The Iron Curtain

New publication in Elements in Soviet and Post-Soviet History @universitypress.cambridge.org : Lorenz Lüthi, The Iron Curtain. A Short History of Socialist Borders. Open access for first two weeks. Get your free ebook now before the paywall goes up. www.cambridge.org/core/element...

The Pope is “weak on crime”? Oh my! Bring back the Inquisition then?

Famine as Genocide: The Holodomor in Ukraine - HREC Famine as Genocide: The Holodomor in Ukraine - The Holodomor Research and Education Consortium (HREC), an initiative of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian

The Holodomor Research and Education Consortium (HREC), at the University of Alberta has launched a new free online course: Famine as Genocide: The Holodomor in Ukraine. More here: holodomor.ca/resource/fam...

Publicly threatening the destruction of “a whole civilisation” is the textbook definition of genocide.

“Academically, “bullshit” is broadly defined as “a type of semantically, logically or epistemically dubious information that is misleadingly impressive, important, informative or otherwise engaging”, according to the study.”

Workers who fall for ‘corporate bullshit’ may be worse at their jobs, study finds New study finds that employees impressed by corporate speak may be least equipped to make effective decisions

“workers most excited and impressed by corporate speak may be the least equipped to make effective, practical business decisions, and it can leave companies with dysfunctional leaders.”
www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Is it too obvious to state that renewables do not need to pass through the Straight of Hormuz and that Australia has an unlimited supply of wind, sun, and waves?

Russia wanted a new world order. This wasn’t the one it had in mind A greater fail is hard to imagine.

Be careful what you wish for. Russia in the new world order Putin dreamt of.
theconversation.com/russia-wante...

Iran’s regime is vile, but what Trump and Netanyahu have done is a war crime The US and Israel have used the same perverse justification for the attack on Iran that Putin used to invade Ukraine.

“it is time to work towards a new rules-based order that excludes a UN Security Council veto, currently abused by Russia, the US and China (which may shortly invade Taiwan)” www.theage.com.au/world/middle...

A reminder of the definition:

US “foreign policy”: all the gear, but no idea.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference - United States Department of State SECRETARY RUBIO:  Thank you very much.  We gather here today as members of a historic alliance, an alliance that saved and changed the world.  When this conference began in 1963, it was in a nation – ...

Absolutely astonishing speech on so many levels. The Western Civ stuff, the blatant celebration of imperialism, the might makes right sentiment, the call to economically exploit the global south. And this is the “reasonable” side of Trump’s foreign policy establishment. www.state.gov/releases/off...

Dreams and Nightmares: Imagining the Aftermath of War, 1815–1945* Abstract. Thinking about and planning for the end of war generally begins as soon as fighting breaks out, if not long before. Yet few studies analyse how p

New article, by Frances M Clarke, Joy Damousi, Philip Dwyer, Mark Edele @edelemark.bsky.social, Reto Hofmann and Hans-Lukas Kieser: 'Dreams and Nightmares: Imagining the Aftermath of War, 1815–1945'

academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-...

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Davos 2026: Special address by Mark Carney, PM of Canada Canadian PM Mark Carney stressed the end of the rules-based international order and urged middle powers to act together to counter the great power rivalry.

“the question for middle powers … is not whether to adapt to the new reality – we must. The question is whether we adapt by simply building higher walls, or whether we can do something more ambitious.”

www.weforum.org/stories/2026...

Is this what Russian “great power projection” looks like?

Being prepared might well avert that future. Being unprepared strikes me as foolish.

Is there any legal justification for the US attack on Venezuela? International law experts expect Washington to claim self-defence and face little serious pushback

“It has committed the crime of aggression, which the court at Nuremberg described as the supreme crime, it’s the worst crime of all.” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

“You’re saying maybe the attack didn’t take place – that’s possible too, I guess,” he said at Mar-a-Lago. “But President Putin told me this morning it did.“ 😳😳😳

Russia's Economy in the Late 2020s Will Look a Lot Like the Late Soviet Economy - The Moscow Times Opinion | Because of my work, I am obliged to read closely, watch attentively and listen carefully whenever Russian politicians and officials talk about the economy.

"Time to tighten our belts." On the prospects of Russia's economy. www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/12/25/r...

My traditional values Christmas day
Morning: Mass missile attack on civilian power stations.
Lunch: Bomb food ships
Afternoon: Pretend oil price rose
Evening: Unwrap presents

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A visual reminder of what Russia has “accomplished” in 2025. Those who keep asserting that “Russia is winning” should contemplate the scale of this map.

NATO Did Not Cause Putin’s Imperial War Published in The Washington Quarterly (Vol. 48, No. 4, 2025)

Could not have said it better (although I tried): www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

On Collateral Damage, Selective Anti-Imperialism and the Path to Liberation Our paper explores the legacy of Angela Davis and its intersections with the liberation movements in Europe’s East, Baltic, Caucasus, Central and North Asia. via the re-visiting of Jiří Pelikán’s o...

Important essay by T. Hendl and S. Durdiyeva on the left's "emotionally charged and invested connection to the USSR and Soviet Utopia" and the continuing harm these phantasies cause progressive politics worldwide. @terezahendl.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

“I’m supposed to be a very smart person, I can … I have eyes. I have ears. I have knowledge. I have vast knowledge.” 😳

‘This should ring alarm bells’: Twiggy Forrest demands an end to Russian oil loopholes in Australia One of the country’s top business leaders says no Australian motorist should have to wonder whether their money is helping bankroll Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine.

“Accelerating the shift to green energy would help cut off support for autocrats like Putin, he said.” Indeed!

www.theage.com.au/politics/fed...

Due to numerous requests, we are pleased to announce that the abstract submission deadline has been extended by two weeks. We encourage all interested contributors to take advantage of this extra time to finalize their submissions. We look forward to receiving your contributions by Nov 30

A reminder about tomorrow’s RUTA webinar, that will explore our approaches to understanding family history, its personal and collective significance, and how we can translate these stories into our contemporary lives and practices in the context of multiple crises.

See the registration link below