"The people who will get Taiwan right may not be China hands but people asking what happens to aging autocrats with long-standing grievances and pliant elites."

Is the U.S. at 'War'? Politicians Disagree - FactCheck.org Americans are getting conflicting messages from the Trump administration and congressional leaders about whether the U.S. is at "war" with Iran.

www.factcheck.org/2026/03/is-t...

New — I wrote about the terror and loss of the last few days, mostly so we don’t forget.

www.thehandbasket.co/p/trump-iran...

Yet another awful legacy of nuclear deterrence, any threat is legitimate as long as it is to "insure the peace"

The president of the United States is vowing mass genocide as a negotiating tactic:

I think we might now need to be cognisant of the fact that there is absolutely nothing, morally or intellectually, stopping him from wanting to use a nuke, and increasingly nothing stopping him, structurally or procedurally, from achieving this any time he wants.

A College Is Split Over Its President and His Epstein Ties

This article vastly mischaracterizes what’s going on here, and ignores the power politics of who can and cannot speak. It’s insulting and bad reporting
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/02/s...

Epstein revelations revive decades of sexual assault controversies at Bard Student protests over Leon Botstein’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein are reigniting scrutiny of how Bard College has handled sexual assault allegations for decades.

The newly disclosed chummy communications between registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Bard College president Leon Botstein has revived past criticism of Botstein’s handling of sexual misconduct on campus. Sarah Trafton reports. www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

US Presidential Party switches are mirrored in global maternal mortality In this observational study, we provide estimates of the impact on the maternal mortality ratio of swings in US aid for family planning and reproductive health driven by changes in the implementation ...

"Countries heavily reliant on US aid see a 10.5% increase in maternal mortality following a switch from a Democratic to a Republican administration—about 44.7 additional deaths per 100 000 live births."

gh.bmj.com/content/11/3...

AI got the blame for the Iran school bombing. The truth is far more worrying LLMs-gone-rogue dominated coverage, but had nothing to do with the targeting. Instead, it was choices made by human beings, over many years, that gave us this atrocity

A phenomenal article that is frightening to its core.

“The constitutional question of who authorised this war and the legal question of whether this strike constitutes a war crime were displaced by a technical question that is easier to ask and impossible to answer in the terms it set.”

Epstein victim says Bard president helped legitimize sex offender Leon Botstein’s communications and relationship with Epstein under review by WilmerHale law firm, while Bard president says he never witnessed anything inappropriate

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Students Want to “Take Back Bard” From President Botstein As its president is investigated for his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, Bard College students are drawing attention to what they call a culture of sexual harassment on campus.

www.insidehighered.com/news/student...

The New Evangelists | Defector In close-up for much of The Testament of Ann Lee, her eyes brimming with light, Ann Lee seems to be in a persistent state of shuddering. The founder of the Shaker religious sect, played by Amanda Seyf...

It sounds strange to say this given the subject, but holy hell is this good. AI, fascism, performativity, and what makes life, well, life and the all important remainder that cannot be captured and must be fought for
defector.com/the-new-evan...

Epstein files give glimpse into dark side of Bard College As Bard College awaits the outcome of an independent investigation into links between convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and its longstanding coll...

www.universityworldnews.com/post-mobile....

The Secret Police Playbook How DHS reflects historical lessons from dictatorships

New, at Can We Still Govern?: Christian Gläßel and
@ascharpf.bsky.social have studied the formation of secret police in other countries. They explain the parallels with Trump's immigration enforcement.
The key factor is career incentives not ideology. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-secret...

Over a week now…

3 days and no response from the Board of Trustees…

Bard faculty urge trustees to use Epstein-linked funds for sexual violence initiatives Faculty want trustees to create a fund for sexual violence initiatives with Epstein-linked money and plan for a “transition in leadership” from Leon Botstein.

Faculty want trustees to create a fund for sexual violence initiatives with Epstein-linked money and plan for a “transition in leadership” from Leon Botstein.

Bard faculty call for ‘transition’ plan for college president linked to Epstein Faculty members stop short of calling for Leon Botstein to resign in wake of revelations about ties with sex offender

My latest on Bard and Botstein and the Epstein files www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

An Open Letter to the College President Who Maintained Close Ties with Epstein If you agree with my general sentiments here, please comment below—just “signed” or “seconded” is sufficient.

Please share and sign if you agree with my open letter calling for Botstein’s immediate resignation katemanne.substack.com/p/an-open-le...

Lawrence Summers Will Resign From Harvard After Epstein Revelations

So why are academics with even *deeper* ties still holding their position(s)? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/25/u...

Leon Botstein Must Go The Bard College President's Extensive Relationship with the Sexual Predator Jeffrey Epstein - And More - Makes His Position Untenable

Leon Botstein Must Go: The Bard College President's Extensive Relationship with the Sexual Predator Jeffrey Epstein - And More - Makes His Position Untenable michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/leon-botst...

Bard’s President Should Resign Today Leon Botstein has been revealed to have deep ties to Epstein. It’s time for accountability.

Botstein palled around with Epstein for years and helped launder his reputation. The Epsteins cannot exist without the Botsteins. It's time for accountability katemanne.substack.com/p/bards-pres...

Editorial: Bard College needs a new president The Epstein files have diminished Leon Botstein, and the college needs to move on.

www.timesunion.com/opinion/arti...

‘S___show’: Bard students protest Botstein’s ties to Epstein as trustees meet Anger on campus is mounting amid Bard College’s silence about President Leon Botstein’s relationship with the convicted sex predator.

‘S___show’: Bard students protest Botstein’s ties to Epstein as trustees meet www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

Bard trustees hold emergency meeting, expect to discuss Botstein-Epstein connection ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON – As Epstein documents released by the federal government point to connections between the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and Bard College

midhudsonnews.com/2026/02/16/b...

I think the greatest gift college professors in the humanities can give to students right now is a seminar room where, for 80 minutes twice a week, nothing that happens to them is a sales pitch for an AI product.

‘Gross’: Amid silence from college, Bard students react to Botstein revelations Amid silence from the college, many students disapproved of Leon Botstein courting a convicted sex offender for donations. But they don’t expect he will resign.

www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

New Email Shows Bard’s President Thanked Epstein for Caribbean Trip

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/u...

A $50,000 Watch and Friendly Notes: One College Leader’s Ties to Epstein

1/Universities need to systematically address the findings in the Epstein files. In my opinion, every university in which current or past faculty, administrators, trustees appear in the files, should establish formal bodies to review and assess.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/u...