See also, Politics and IR...

British universities paid security firm to ‘spy’ on pro-Palestine students Investigation reveals how Horus, a company led by ex-military intelligence officials, was hired during protest movement.

British universities paid security firm to ‘spy’ on pro-Palestine students… Firm, has been paid at least 440,000 pounds ($594,000) by universities since 2022. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/...

I know this is me still mourning a long dead world but it does feel remarkable that, not that long ago, British papers on the right would have run editorials and columns arguing that Hungary showed that only a solid, reliable centre-right party could defeat dangerous populists, but now? [crickets]

I spent 16, SIXTEEN years fighting this crap.

I can’t believe it 😭

People will be closely studying how Hungary's opposition pulled off their win in such a pro-incumbent system. Important to note that the theme was corruption. Democrats need to get much better at calling out Trump's corruption.

A number of British academics and ex-academics just lost a potential pay cheque.

Mathias Corvinus Collegium -which Orban used to fund Christian Right across Europe - has endowment worth *1% of Hungary’s GDP*

This money has gone to Matt Goodwin, Frank Furedi, a Roger Scruton foundation run by Michael Gove + James Orr

Magyar needs 2/3rd of seats to unpick this. Be huge if he can

So you’re telling me that obsessing over a hysterical anti-Ukrainian narrative, covering Hungary with insulting posters about Zelensky, and staging daily social media dramas under the guidance of Kremlin political strategists wasn’t the best electoral strategy?

"History will judge-" let me stop you right fucking there, history doesn't do fucking shit, I'm a historian, let's be clear here: elected officials need to do their fucking jobs, right now, before it happens, or future historians will judge THEM. Everyone knows and knew who Trump was.

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

My latest:

kevinrkirk 2d @ Threads Why are we bothering with the Strait of Hormuz when we could simply do this? Explain it to me like l'm 5. (Drawing of chopping of part of land) suahuatica 2d MOUNTAIN HARD AND BIG, WATER NO UP. MANY MANY DIG DIG.

Happy Friday. Don’t skip school.

🦬 Don’t miss out! You have 5 days left to apply for the Prairie Conference. We’d love to see you there!

🎯 Deadline: March 10, 2026

Opinion | Trump’s Strikes on Iran Were Unlawful. Here’s Why That Matters.

The strikes on Iran are blatantly illegal. I explained in June why the strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities were unlawful under US and international law. Everything I wrote then is true today, but this is a far larger assault with far graver consequences.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/o...

Sam Altman picked a hell of a day to basically urge the world to trust the morality and legal restraint of the Department of Defense

Donate to Come Back Alive here: savelife.in.ua/en/ Other ways to support Ukraine here: uil.org.uk/russias-war-...

Proud to have supported this: "after posting the link to support CBA’s Dronefall project for a second time in last weekend’s update, the money raised more than doubled. That means that you have provided funds to buy well more than 20 anti-drone/UAVs of the type that Ukraine desperately needs now."

Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.

No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.

Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

A bird's-eye view of a former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp showing a wide dirt pathway flanked by parallel rows of barbed-wire fences. Groups of visitors walk along the path, surrounded by the remnants of brick structures and barracks, now reduced to foundations. Green grass contrasts with the somber history of the site, as the path leads toward a guard tower in the distance.

Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers.

This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.

Auschwitz took time.

How Much Gold Is Russia Bleeding from Africa to Fund Its War? Russian-backed forces are turning West Africa’s gold mines into killing grounds. They loot, murder, and smuggle gold to bankroll Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Wagner mercenaries are turning West Africa’s gold fields into killing grounds. From Sudan to the Central African Republic (CAR), Russian-backed forces loot, murder, and smuggle gold and other resources to bankroll Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
united24media.com/world/how-mu...

One thing most people don't understand is that we in the US enjoy greater wealth funded by other countries because they assume we are a stable and relatively friendly hegemon.

Reminder of the spectacularly poor judgement of these people

A much-liked post by Germany’s satirical newspaper @der-postillon.com with the titles “Vienna Academy of the Arts offers Trump admission as a student” and the caption “They don’t want to get blamed again“

A joke for the history buffs:

Germany’s satirical newspaper @der-postillon.com titles: “Vienna Academy of the Arts offers Trump admission as a student — They don’t want to get blamed again“

Deutsche Bank here with the good stuff.
Game on.

What Europe could do is threaten to boycott the World Cup. It won't. But that might actually work. Trump wants his big show.

Regulator raises alarm over rise in top grades at English universities Office for Students says almost two-thirds more first-class degrees were awarded than can be explained

Regulator raises alarm over rise in top grades at English universities ft.trib.al/Fp0veYf

The Demise of Conflict Studies - Dissent Magazine An entire industry specializing in mediation, peacekeeping, disarmament, and transitional justice has become largely obsolete.

In the new @dissentmag.bsky.social issue, out today, @yguichaoua.bsky.social and I diagnose the crisis of conflict studies in a piece that is part intellectual history, part personal experience.

What was conflict studies for? And what can its travails tell us about how wars have changed?

The average salary among Russell Group leaders increased above £350,000 last year, despite these universities losing almost 7,000 staff members due to cost-cutting. Patrick Jack crunches the numbers #highered #academicsky
https://ow.ly/gJK850XU77K

So when authorities say “she tried to run over an officer,” that is not a neutral description. It is a claim of intent that can be used to justify lethal force after the fact.

When the state kills first and invents the threat afterward, it is not policing, it is death squad behavior. /end

It's New Year, so time to look back and forward. These are 10 things I think we need to recognise in 2026. It’s a response to what I think are profoundly damaging mistaken assumptions I’ve heard and read from practitioners, journalists, and analysts in 2025. Warning: very long🧵

How Google Maps quietly allocates survival across London’s restaurants - and how I built a dashboard to see through it I wanted a dinner recommendation and got a research agenda instead. Using 13000+ restaurants, I rebuild its ratings with machine learning and map how algorithmic visibility actually distributes power.

I wanted dinner recommendations so I scraped 13,000+ London restaurants and accidentally discovered Google Maps is running a shadow economy. Anyway here's a dashboard and a political economy thesis: open.substack.com/pub/laurenle...