David Fedman
@dfeds.bsky.social
historian of japan/korea/the environment | words: davidfedman.org | digital archive: JapanAirRaids.org | film: https://papercityfilm.com/
Reposted by David Fedman
Great piece by Zadie Smith. When the right talks about classics or "Western" culture, these works are only important to the extent that it demonstrates their superiority, they have no interest in art in and of itself beyond that www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
November 12, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Great piece by Zadie Smith. When the right talks about classics or "Western" culture, these works are only important to the extent that it demonstrates their superiority, they have no interest in art in and of itself beyond that www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by David Fedman
Three German universities offering post-docs for researchers "who cannot conduct or continue their work in the USA appropriately because of actual political pressure. "
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
Early Career Rescue Fellowship
www.uni-konstanz.de
November 11, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Three German universities offering post-docs for researchers "who cannot conduct or continue their work in the USA appropriately because of actual political pressure. "
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
Reposted by David Fedman
Good for them.
One of many costs to US murder (sorry, no better word for it) in Caribbean:
"United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal."
"United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal."
Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break | CNN Politics
The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes ...
edition.cnn.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Good for them.
Reposted by David Fedman
“The U.S. military built bases and installations across Unalaska and throughout the Aleutians during WWII, then abandoned structures and equipment when forces left — including insulation with asbestos, drums of brake fluid & antifreeze, & transformers containing polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs”
Old WWII military sites still affect daily life in Unalaska — residents are changing what they hunt, fish and eat due to lingering contamination.
Unalaskans are changing their subsistence practices due to WWII contamination
Residents reported changing where they pick berries and plants, and where they hunt birds and fish. Some have stopped harvesting salmon and marine invertebrates entirely.
akpub.io
November 11, 2025 at 7:39 AM
“The U.S. military built bases and installations across Unalaska and throughout the Aleutians during WWII, then abandoned structures and equipment when forces left — including insulation with asbestos, drums of brake fluid & antifreeze, & transformers containing polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs”
Reposted by David Fedman
The world must not look away from the genocide in Sudan.
November 11, 2025 at 7:01 AM
The world must not look away from the genocide in Sudan.
Reposted by David Fedman
I have voted
for the deal
that was on
the Senate floor
and which
is probably
caving
to fascism
Forgive me
the flight delays were
so annoying
and so old
for the deal
that was on
the Senate floor
and which
is probably
caving
to fascism
Forgive me
the flight delays were
so annoying
and so old
November 10, 2025 at 5:25 AM
I have voted
for the deal
that was on
the Senate floor
and which
is probably
caving
to fascism
Forgive me
the flight delays were
so annoying
and so old
for the deal
that was on
the Senate floor
and which
is probably
caving
to fascism
Forgive me
the flight delays were
so annoying
and so old
Currently locked in a (super niche!) battle with my co-author ranking our top-5 wartime diarists:
My list:
1) Furukawa Roppa
2) Tokugawa Musei
3) Hashimoto Aiko
4) Nagai Kafu
5) Tokugawa Musei
His:
1) Nagai Kafu
2) Kiyosawa Kiyoshi
3) Isshiki Jiro
4) Yoshizawa Hisako
5) Tokugawa Musei
My list:
1) Furukawa Roppa
2) Tokugawa Musei
3) Hashimoto Aiko
4) Nagai Kafu
5) Tokugawa Musei
His:
1) Nagai Kafu
2) Kiyosawa Kiyoshi
3) Isshiki Jiro
4) Yoshizawa Hisako
5) Tokugawa Musei
November 10, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Currently locked in a (super niche!) battle with my co-author ranking our top-5 wartime diarists:
My list:
1) Furukawa Roppa
2) Tokugawa Musei
3) Hashimoto Aiko
4) Nagai Kafu
5) Tokugawa Musei
His:
1) Nagai Kafu
2) Kiyosawa Kiyoshi
3) Isshiki Jiro
4) Yoshizawa Hisako
5) Tokugawa Musei
My list:
1) Furukawa Roppa
2) Tokugawa Musei
3) Hashimoto Aiko
4) Nagai Kafu
5) Tokugawa Musei
His:
1) Nagai Kafu
2) Kiyosawa Kiyoshi
3) Isshiki Jiro
4) Yoshizawa Hisako
5) Tokugawa Musei
Reposted by David Fedman
My two cents is that at the end of the day, after everything, Senate Democrats identify more with Senate Republicans, and ultimately with Donald Trump, than they will ever identify with you and me
November 10, 2025 at 4:38 PM
My two cents is that at the end of the day, after everything, Senate Democrats identify more with Senate Republicans, and ultimately with Donald Trump, than they will ever identify with you and me
Reposted by David Fedman
I’m not a highly paid political consultant, but it seems to me that “Republicans showed that they’d rather starve children and risk planes falling from the sky than lower health care costs” is a better message than this.
November 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
I’m not a highly paid political consultant, but it seems to me that “Republicans showed that they’d rather starve children and risk planes falling from the sky than lower health care costs” is a better message than this.
Reposted by David Fedman
seems to me that those democrats inclined not to fight perceive themselves as living through a somewhat ordinary cycle of presidential overreach and backlash and not something much more significant and dangerous
November 10, 2025 at 12:50 PM
seems to me that those democrats inclined not to fight perceive themselves as living through a somewhat ordinary cycle of presidential overreach and backlash and not something much more significant and dangerous
Reposted by David Fedman
It’s truly a loss today. First time since 1948, the government didn’t collect information on unemployment. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6isk...
Government Shutdown Delays US Jobs Data for Second Month
YouTube video by Bloomberg Podcasts
www.youtube.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:31 PM
It’s truly a loss today. First time since 1948, the government didn’t collect information on unemployment. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6isk...
Reposted by David Fedman
An NPR reporter travels into Gaza. Some great takes. www.npr.org/2025/11/07/n...
An NPR reporter's journey into Gaza, for the first time since the war began
NPR Mideast correspondent Daniel Estrin has entered the Gaza Strip for the first time since the war began, but Israel still requires a military escort.
www.npr.org
November 7, 2025 at 5:37 PM
An NPR reporter travels into Gaza. Some great takes. www.npr.org/2025/11/07/n...
Reposted by David Fedman
This sleepy, confused, unhealthy old man has sole and ultimate authority over whether, when, and how to use any or all of the approximately 1,770 deployed weapons in the US nuclear stockpile, up to 900 of which are maintained on 24/7 alert on Minuteman III ICBMs and Trident II D5LE SLBMs.
photos of Trump sleeping through yesterday's Oval Office event via Andrew Harnik of Getty
November 7, 2025 at 5:08 PM
This sleepy, confused, unhealthy old man has sole and ultimate authority over whether, when, and how to use any or all of the approximately 1,770 deployed weapons in the US nuclear stockpile, up to 900 of which are maintained on 24/7 alert on Minuteman III ICBMs and Trident II D5LE SLBMs.
Reposted by David Fedman
NEW: A lovely personal reflection from Laurence Tribe. I feel like this is the sort of article that people used to clip out of the newspaper and mail to one another, or stick on the fridge with magnets.
@tribelaw.bsky.social
www.thebulwark.com/p/my-fathers...
@tribelaw.bsky.social
www.thebulwark.com/p/my-fathers...
My Father’s Flag and the Idea of America
Over decades, across continents, and through harrowing experiences, my family held on to this bit of cloth as a reminder of everything they believed in—and were running toward.
www.thebulwark.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:59 PM
NEW: A lovely personal reflection from Laurence Tribe. I feel like this is the sort of article that people used to clip out of the newspaper and mail to one another, or stick on the fridge with magnets.
@tribelaw.bsky.social
www.thebulwark.com/p/my-fathers...
@tribelaw.bsky.social
www.thebulwark.com/p/my-fathers...
Reposted by David Fedman
another darling bites the dust
November 7, 2025 at 1:21 AM
another darling bites the dust
Reposted by David Fedman
My latest piece for Tokyo Review:
Ten years ago, two municipalities in Tokyo wrote history by commencing Japan’s first so-called “partnership systems” to provide some level of recognition to LGBTQ+ couples’ relationships. In the years that followed, the policy has spread tremendously and paved the way for further change.
A decade of LGBT partnership systems in Japan
Ten years ago, two municipalities in Tokyo wrote history by commencing Japan’s first so-called “partnership systems” (パートナーシップ制度) to recognize LGBTQ+ couples’ relationships. In the years that followed...
www.tokyoreview.net
November 5, 2025 at 4:03 PM
My latest piece for Tokyo Review:
ya know that thing that musicians sometimes do at the very end of recordings, when they sort of casually hit wrong notes and/or playfully let the song peter out in an unexpected way?
i'm your guy for that, but for book endings
i'm your guy for that, but for book endings
November 7, 2025 at 5:28 AM
ya know that thing that musicians sometimes do at the very end of recordings, when they sort of casually hit wrong notes and/or playfully let the song peter out in an unexpected way?
i'm your guy for that, but for book endings
i'm your guy for that, but for book endings
Reposted by David Fedman
November 6, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Reposted by David Fedman
Oh my god is that a Chiang-faced aircraft carrier?
A cartoon from 1941 ridiculing American efforts to project air power -- the stuff of carriers -- from the rugged reaches of China
November 6, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Oh my god is that a Chiang-faced aircraft carrier?
another darling bites the dust
November 7, 2025 at 1:21 AM
another darling bites the dust
You'll be relieved to know that my coauthor shot down BOTH of my proposed chapter titles today—"The Dharma Bombs" and "EmPyre in Flames"
And if you think those are the worst things I proposed today you are sorely mistaken. It's a real team effort.
And if you think those are the worst things I proposed today you are sorely mistaken. It's a real team effort.
November 6, 2025 at 5:12 AM
You'll be relieved to know that my coauthor shot down BOTH of my proposed chapter titles today—"The Dharma Bombs" and "EmPyre in Flames"
And if you think those are the worst things I proposed today you are sorely mistaken. It's a real team effort.
And if you think those are the worst things I proposed today you are sorely mistaken. It's a real team effort.
Reposted by David Fedman
Federal agents pulling a woman out of Rayito Del Sol, a daycare by Lane Tech high school
November 5, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Federal agents pulling a woman out of Rayito Del Sol, a daycare by Lane Tech high school
Reposted by David Fedman
I’m Jewish. I lived in New York for a decade. I am very, very concerned about antisemitism.
I have no doubt that Zohran Mamdani would fight to protect my life and my rights. I have no doubt the ADL has entirely failed to protect me and my family from fascists.
I know where my allegiance lies.
I have no doubt that Zohran Mamdani would fight to protect my life and my rights. I have no doubt the ADL has entirely failed to protect me and my family from fascists.
I know where my allegiance lies.
November 5, 2025 at 5:00 PM
I’m Jewish. I lived in New York for a decade. I am very, very concerned about antisemitism.
I have no doubt that Zohran Mamdani would fight to protect my life and my rights. I have no doubt the ADL has entirely failed to protect me and my family from fascists.
I know where my allegiance lies.
I have no doubt that Zohran Mamdani would fight to protect my life and my rights. I have no doubt the ADL has entirely failed to protect me and my family from fascists.
I know where my allegiance lies.
Reposted by David Fedman
NYC is going to have the world's biggest media-manufactured crime panic in history the second Mamdani is elected. They aren't even going to wait until he is inaugurated. Whether or not you like the guy, you need to start preparing now for the fire hose of disinformation that is about to activate.
November 2, 2025 at 11:19 PM
NYC is going to have the world's biggest media-manufactured crime panic in history the second Mamdani is elected. They aren't even going to wait until he is inaugurated. Whether or not you like the guy, you need to start preparing now for the fire hose of disinformation that is about to activate.
Reposted by David Fedman
“Live, laugh, loathe.”
November 5, 2025 at 4:11 PM
“Live, laugh, loathe.”