Barry Freed
@barryfreed.bsky.social
Archivist/Librarian, erstwhile Arabist, cinephile, certified Voight-Kampff test administrator, Antipope of Antifa.
https://boxd.it/5QN63
Doha/NYC
https://boxd.it/5QN63
Doha/NYC
Pinned
Barry Freed
@barryfreed.bsky.social
· Nov 6
Death Note reboot where Light Yagami works his way down from the top of the Forbes 400 list.
Reposted by Barry Freed
A brilliant analysis of how sanctions have transformed the Iranian government into a Chicago School regime of austerity that benefits those attached to the regime, creates precarious labour, and rolls back all the redistributive and social measures of the past:
www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...
www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...
January 19, 2026 at 11:21 AM
A brilliant analysis of how sanctions have transformed the Iranian government into a Chicago School regime of austerity that benefits those attached to the regime, creates precarious labour, and rolls back all the redistributive and social measures of the past:
www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...
www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...
Reposted by Barry Freed
A remarkable new low for Kuwait: the revocation of citizenship from its serving ambassador to London marks a rare and alarming departure that has reverberated through diplomatic circles. www.newarab.com/news/kuwait-...
Kuwait revokes citizenship of its serving ambassador to London
Kuwait has revoked the citizenship of its serving ambassador to London in a rare move that has sent shockwaves through diplomatic circles.
www.newarab.com
January 19, 2026 at 8:47 PM
A remarkable new low for Kuwait: the revocation of citizenship from its serving ambassador to London marks a rare and alarming departure that has reverberated through diplomatic circles. www.newarab.com/news/kuwait-...
Reposted by Barry Freed
Archbishop Broglio is, to put it extremely mildly, not generally viewed as one of the more liberal of the American bishops.
It’s come to this: “Catholic members of the US armed forces could in good conscience consider disobeying orders to attack Greenland if such orders were issued, according to Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the bishop responsible for the pastoral care of US military personnel.”
Military archbishop: Troops could refuse orders on Greenland
Speaking to Britain's Sunday program on BBC, Archbishop Timothy Broglio reiterated that conscience could permit refusal of an unjust military order.
aleteia.org
January 20, 2026 at 1:32 AM
Archbishop Broglio is, to put it extremely mildly, not generally viewed as one of the more liberal of the American bishops.
Reposted by Barry Freed
"World War II proves that fascism can only defeated without any alliance with liberals" um about that
January 19, 2026 at 11:16 PM
"World War II proves that fascism can only defeated without any alliance with liberals" um about that
Reposted by Barry Freed
Saw someone elsewhere remark that the Trump Norway letter is his Biden debate moment and I can’t really get it out of my mind
January 19, 2026 at 11:28 PM
Saw someone elsewhere remark that the Trump Norway letter is his Biden debate moment and I can’t really get it out of my mind
Reposted by Barry Freed
Reposted by Barry Freed
I maintain that the dril tweet that best encapsulates Trump, and in fact the entire modern right, is this one
January 19, 2026 at 3:58 PM
I maintain that the dril tweet that best encapsulates Trump, and in fact the entire modern right, is this one
Reposted by Barry Freed
explaining to the median voter that trump sent a late night text to the PM of norway telling him that trump is no considering peace as an option because the nobel prize was not awarded to him and that’s why we must have greenland and imagining their eyes widening as they slowly back away
Also half of my normie friends and colleagues have no idea about Greenland other than that whacky old president is up to his usual shenanigans
January 20, 2026 at 1:42 AM
explaining to the median voter that trump sent a late night text to the PM of norway telling him that trump is no considering peace as an option because the nobel prize was not awarded to him and that’s why we must have greenland and imagining their eyes widening as they slowly back away
Reposted by Barry Freed
as it always is, part of the trump problem is that describing his behavior in plain language makes you sound like you should be on a 72 hour hold
January 20, 2026 at 1:42 AM
as it always is, part of the trump problem is that describing his behavior in plain language makes you sound like you should be on a 72 hour hold
Reposted by Barry Freed
Kinda funny that Trump thinks "asylum" means other countries send people from insane asylums, and a) this is real life, not a ham-handed Idiocracy-type satire, b) he has surely been corrected several times but is incapable of updating his priors, & c) most media politely agree not to mention it.
January 19, 2026 at 9:03 PM
Kinda funny that Trump thinks "asylum" means other countries send people from insane asylums, and a) this is real life, not a ham-handed Idiocracy-type satire, b) he has surely been corrected several times but is incapable of updating his priors, & c) most media politely agree not to mention it.
Reposted by Barry Freed
this is legitimately an insane thing to think when looking at your child
January 20, 2026 at 12:32 AM
this is legitimately an insane thing to think when looking at your child
Reposted by Barry Freed
I feel like this official letter is an inflection point, convincing European elites that not only is Trump genuinely insane, but the people serving him in the U.S. government are either insane or too cowardly to object.
NORWAY PM: I HAVE REPEATEDLY CLEARLY EXPLAINED TO TRUMP THAT IT IS AN INDEPENDENT COMMITTEE THAT AWARDS THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
January 19, 2026 at 7:53 PM
I feel like this official letter is an inflection point, convincing European elites that not only is Trump genuinely insane, but the people serving him in the U.S. government are either insane or too cowardly to object.
Reposted by Barry Freed
“The truth always lies somewhere in the middle” has to be one of my least favorite phrases. Sometimes, one side is actually truthful and one side is actually malicious and lying!
January 19, 2026 at 8:34 PM
“The truth always lies somewhere in the middle” has to be one of my least favorite phrases. Sometimes, one side is actually truthful and one side is actually malicious and lying!
Reposted by Barry Freed
this is what it has come to for Mexican restaurants in the Twin Cities
January 19, 2026 at 2:12 AM
this is what it has come to for Mexican restaurants in the Twin Cities
Reposted by Barry Freed
COW TOOLS COW TOOLS COW TOOLS
Back-scratching bovine leads scientists to reassess intelligence of cows
Brown Swiss in Austria has been discovered using tools in multiple ways – something only ever seen in humans and chimpanzees
www.theguardian.com
January 19, 2026 at 4:06 PM
COW TOOLS COW TOOLS COW TOOLS
Reposted by Barry Freed
They got suburban realtors talking like Patrick Henry, it's over
January 19, 2026 at 7:09 PM
They got suburban realtors talking like Patrick Henry, it's over
Reposted by Barry Freed
Says a lot about how on the back foot these people are though that they feel the need to erroneously compare themselves to Ukraine to defend totally insane behavior. Nobody buys this anymore.
January 19, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Says a lot about how on the back foot these people are though that they feel the need to erroneously compare themselves to Ukraine to defend totally insane behavior. Nobody buys this anymore.
Reposted by Barry Freed
When Shapiro wrote that he volunteered for the IDF, the Israeli military was in year five of suppressing the First Intifada, a nearly totally peaceful mass rebellion of Palestinians in the occupied territories.
Over 1,200 Palestinian civilians were killed by the IDF between 1988 and 1994.
Over 1,200 Palestinian civilians were killed by the IDF between 1988 and 1994.
January 19, 2026 at 6:13 PM
When Shapiro wrote that he volunteered for the IDF, the Israeli military was in year five of suppressing the First Intifada, a nearly totally peaceful mass rebellion of Palestinians in the occupied territories.
Over 1,200 Palestinian civilians were killed by the IDF between 1988 and 1994.
Over 1,200 Palestinian civilians were killed by the IDF between 1988 and 1994.
Reposted by Barry Freed
Danish Parliament Deputy Speaker Lars-Christian Brask:
"If I could come with some advice, it would be for the Senate & House to start to take control of political power in America because with this erratic & mad behaviour, you have to ask the question, is the President capable of running the US?"
"If I could come with some advice, it would be for the Senate & House to start to take control of political power in America because with this erratic & mad behaviour, you have to ask the question, is the President capable of running the US?"
January 19, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Danish Parliament Deputy Speaker Lars-Christian Brask:
"If I could come with some advice, it would be for the Senate & House to start to take control of political power in America because with this erratic & mad behaviour, you have to ask the question, is the President capable of running the US?"
"If I could come with some advice, it would be for the Senate & House to start to take control of political power in America because with this erratic & mad behaviour, you have to ask the question, is the President capable of running the US?"
Reposted by Barry Freed
Wonder what would the reaction would have been if Mamdani claimed to have volunteered for a Palestinian militant group or worked in the embassy of, say, South Africa while it lodged its ICJ case.
January 19, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Wonder what would the reaction would have been if Mamdani claimed to have volunteered for a Palestinian militant group or worked in the embassy of, say, South Africa while it lodged its ICJ case.
Reposted by Barry Freed
Secretary General of the Council of Europe says “International law is either universal or meaningless. Greenland will show which one we choose.” Yes, well. Did Gaza show which one we choose?
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/o...
Opinion | I’m the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. This Is Something I Thought I’d Never Have to Write.
www.nytimes.com
January 19, 2026 at 10:22 AM
Secretary General of the Council of Europe says “International law is either universal or meaningless. Greenland will show which one we choose.” Yes, well. Did Gaza show which one we choose?
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/o...
Reposted by Barry Freed
I'm sorry, doing the right thing is going to require a modicum of moral courage, and these motherfuckers manifestly don't have it. You don't need to feel bad for them. They can all eat shit, and I hope they have nightmares about what they're doing until their dying day.
January 19, 2026 at 5:46 PM
I'm sorry, doing the right thing is going to require a modicum of moral courage, and these motherfuckers manifestly don't have it. You don't need to feel bad for them. They can all eat shit, and I hope they have nightmares about what they're doing until their dying day.
Reposted by Barry Freed
One of the most horrifying bits of Christopher Browning's book "Ordinary Men," on a group of German Holocaust perpetrators, is the fact that absolutely nobody in the unit Browning researched was ever punished in any way for refusing to participate in massacres. These guys could just say no.
In an interview with @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social, Blas Nuñez-Neto wouldn't tell us his clients, but did say we should remember that ICE agents are people too. (Can't believe this quote below)
prospect.org/2026/01/19/a...
prospect.org/2026/01/19/a...
![Nuñez-Neto recommended that protesters understand that ICE agents are people, too.
“I think it would help both sides to appreciate the fact that that’s a human being across from you who may or may not want to do the things they’ve been ordered to do. In my long history being in and out of the Department [of Homeland Security], it is very often what makes the news are the terrible things that happen but what doesn’t get reported are the … stories about agents bringing toys into the border patrol station,” he said.
“We’re all human beings, many of them have families, many of them don’t want to be doing what they’ve been directed to do … so it would help us all to lower the temperature a bit. I’m angry too.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nztbvvo2gl4227zuxjf7gog3/bafkreia3sqpgq4ufvy746ld4tuadfwuf7ul4so6u2wjhf5oggd6kzxibtm@jpeg)
January 19, 2026 at 5:45 PM
One of the most horrifying bits of Christopher Browning's book "Ordinary Men," on a group of German Holocaust perpetrators, is the fact that absolutely nobody in the unit Browning researched was ever punished in any way for refusing to participate in massacres. These guys could just say no.
Reposted by Barry Freed
It is not Europe's job to protect us from the consequences of our elections. They've got a responsibility to defend Greenland from imperialist aggression.
To those who are claiming that it'd be too cruel and extreme for the EU to cut off American tourist visas now (or to otherwise sanction or inconvenience us Americans in any way)....
You're REALLY not gonna like what happens if the madman Trump is permitted to set off a hot war with Europe.
You're REALLY not gonna like what happens if the madman Trump is permitted to set off a hot war with Europe.
January 19, 2026 at 7:18 PM
It is not Europe's job to protect us from the consequences of our elections. They've got a responsibility to defend Greenland from imperialist aggression.
Reposted by Barry Freed
[waving a loaded gun around] I WANT MY PEACE PRIZE! I WANT MY PEACE PRIZE!
January 19, 2026 at 1:43 PM
[waving a loaded gun around] I WANT MY PEACE PRIZE! I WANT MY PEACE PRIZE!