Gareth Knapman
@garethknapman.bsky.social
Historian of C18th & C19th Southeast Asia, South Asia and Australia. Research Fellow at ANU. Main research - provenance reports for repatriation. Quaker.
https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/persons/gareth-knapman
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4431-6659
https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/persons/gareth-knapman
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4431-6659
Pinned
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
I genuinely cannot believe the degree to which we are pissing away this generational breakthrough, even given the fuckmuppets who are involved www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
FDA declines to review Moderna's mRNA flu shot
Under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Food and Drug Administration has taken an aggressive stance against mRNA technology.
www.nbcnews.com
February 10, 2026 at 11:32 PM
I genuinely cannot believe the degree to which we are pissing away this generational breakthrough, even given the fuckmuppets who are involved www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Robert M. Hutchins in 1952. How idealistic the world looked. Something like that vision of freedom to lean and think is certainly needed now.
February 10, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Robert M. Hutchins in 1952. How idealistic the world looked. Something like that vision of freedom to lean and think is certainly needed now.
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
We knew from the moment we heard it that “social cohesion” would be one of those Orwellian terms which would be used to cover all manner of state sanctioned abuse and deprivation of civic freedoms.
It fuels the very unrest it pretends to seek to quell.
It fuels the very unrest it pretends to seek to quell.
February 10, 2026 at 12:13 AM
We knew from the moment we heard it that “social cohesion” would be one of those Orwellian terms which would be used to cover all manner of state sanctioned abuse and deprivation of civic freedoms.
It fuels the very unrest it pretends to seek to quell.
It fuels the very unrest it pretends to seek to quell.
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
As someone who recently fled the US, I am begging the Australian government to not make the same mistakes and open the flood gates to a police state through weaponized anti-semitism. This is not the way to do it.
February 10, 2026 at 2:18 AM
As someone who recently fled the US, I am begging the Australian government to not make the same mistakes and open the flood gates to a police state through weaponized anti-semitism. This is not the way to do it.
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
crickets from the free speech crowd, of course
FAMU can't use the word Black on anything posted around campus related to Black History Month, to stay in compliance with Florida state laws against DEI. Black students can't use the word Black at their Historically Black College during Black History Month.
February 8, 2026 at 3:35 PM
crickets from the free speech crowd, of course
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
That so many of the folks who claimed to care so much about campus free speech in yesteryear are suddenly uninterested today when the problem is just flagrantly, obviously worse (but entails costs in their social circles) tells me they are hypocrites, and I will not listen to them again.
February 9, 2026 at 3:36 AM
That so many of the folks who claimed to care so much about campus free speech in yesteryear are suddenly uninterested today when the problem is just flagrantly, obviously worse (but entails costs in their social circles) tells me they are hypocrites, and I will not listen to them again.
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
The next UK general election is *THREE AND A HALF YEARS AWAY*. How broken is British politics when you have more time left to get your act together than an entire term of Australian government, but everyone in UK Labour and politics has decided to shit the bed instead. You're all an embarassment.
February 6, 2026 at 2:59 PM
The next UK general election is *THREE AND A HALF YEARS AWAY*. How broken is British politics when you have more time left to get your act together than an entire term of Australian government, but everyone in UK Labour and politics has decided to shit the bed instead. You're all an embarassment.
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
Had literally *any* other nation done this the anger being heard across the media airwaves and from politicians would be deafening and unending.
Australia vows to repair ‘distressing’ damage to war graves in Gaza bulldozed by Israeli army
Australia vows to repair ‘distressing’ damage to war graves in Gaza bulldozed by Israeli army
Satellite photographs show rows of gravestones removed and soil disturbed at the Gaza War Cemetery where more than 250 Australians are buried
*
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The Australian government has vowed to repair the graves of dozens of Australian soldiers in Gaza after satellite imagery and witness testimony revealed they had been bulldozed by the Israel Defense Forces.
But it could be months or years before authorities can access the Commonwealth war cemetery in Gaza and Australian graves might face further damage as conflict continues in the occupied territory. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:05 AM
Had literally *any* other nation done this the anger being heard across the media airwaves and from politicians would be deafening and unending.
Something all historians should remember.
For (3), that doesn't mean a book has to be pop history or even pitched at a lay audience. Instead I'm basically asking, "could a normal reader follow the argument here, with perhaps a few trips to Wikipedia?"
So my main concerns are jargon or books with really, really technical arguments.
So my main concerns are jargon or books with really, really technical arguments.
February 5, 2026 at 4:02 AM
Something all historians should remember.
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
Masked thugs on the streets.
Measles outbreaks across the nation.
Blatant government corruption.
Coverup of group of elite sex offenders.
Ruling party trying to rig elections.
Leader building grandiose monuments to himself.
Collapse of remnants of nonpartisan civil service.
Third world America.
Measles outbreaks across the nation.
Blatant government corruption.
Coverup of group of elite sex offenders.
Ruling party trying to rig elections.
Leader building grandiose monuments to himself.
Collapse of remnants of nonpartisan civil service.
Third world America.
February 4, 2026 at 12:21 AM
Masked thugs on the streets.
Measles outbreaks across the nation.
Blatant government corruption.
Coverup of group of elite sex offenders.
Ruling party trying to rig elections.
Leader building grandiose monuments to himself.
Collapse of remnants of nonpartisan civil service.
Third world America.
Measles outbreaks across the nation.
Blatant government corruption.
Coverup of group of elite sex offenders.
Ruling party trying to rig elections.
Leader building grandiose monuments to himself.
Collapse of remnants of nonpartisan civil service.
Third world America.
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
Follow the money.
If we had mainstream political journalists worth the name, they'd focus far less on the superficial race-horse politics of One Nation v LNP.
And far more on the links between Rinehart, MAGA, One Nation, Advance, IPA & other RW 'think tanks', and the global Atlas Network. #auspol
If we had mainstream political journalists worth the name, they'd focus far less on the superficial race-horse politics of One Nation v LNP.
And far more on the links between Rinehart, MAGA, One Nation, Advance, IPA & other RW 'think tanks', and the global Atlas Network. #auspol
Gina Rinehart’s company donated almost $900k to rightwing group Advance, latest data shows
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Gina Rinehart’s company donated almost $900k to rightwing group Advance, political donations data shows
Clive Palmer’s Minerology was the single biggest political donor in 2024-25, giving $53.1m to Trumpet of Patriots, which failed to win a seat
www.theguardian.com
February 2, 2026 at 2:41 AM
Follow the money.
If we had mainstream political journalists worth the name, they'd focus far less on the superficial race-horse politics of One Nation v LNP.
And far more on the links between Rinehart, MAGA, One Nation, Advance, IPA & other RW 'think tanks', and the global Atlas Network. #auspol
If we had mainstream political journalists worth the name, they'd focus far less on the superficial race-horse politics of One Nation v LNP.
And far more on the links between Rinehart, MAGA, One Nation, Advance, IPA & other RW 'think tanks', and the global Atlas Network. #auspol
Tomato salad tonight!
February 1, 2026 at 6:58 AM
Tomato salad tonight!
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
On the rare occasion that I write for a publication that offers a fee, I ask that they donate it to charity.
I don't think it's ethical to ask to be paid twice for work done as a salaried academic.
I don't think it's ethical to ask to be paid twice for work done as a salaried academic.
As an academic, I feel strongly that it’s unethical for me to sell subscription-only content in a newsletter. I am already being paid to do intellectual work and share it with the world. Asking people to pay me for my analysis would be a kind of embezzlement.
February 1, 2026 at 3:41 AM
On the rare occasion that I write for a publication that offers a fee, I ask that they donate it to charity.
I don't think it's ethical to ask to be paid twice for work done as a salaried academic.
I don't think it's ethical to ask to be paid twice for work done as a salaried academic.
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
Colin Rubenstein, executive director of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council says he is heartened by the fact that Albanese is welcoming this visit and “bringing into line many of his colleagues who are a little bit more equivocal about it”
#auspol #BringingIntoLine
#auspol #BringingIntoLine
Legal challenge to Israeli president's visit - ABC listen
Some Jewish groups have welcomed plans for a visit from Israeli president Isaac Herzog next month, but a collection of Jewish and Muslim leaders say he should not be allowed in the country while he fa...
www.abc.net.au
January 30, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Colin Rubenstein, executive director of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council says he is heartened by the fact that Albanese is welcoming this visit and “bringing into line many of his colleagues who are a little bit more equivocal about it”
#auspol #BringingIntoLine
#auspol #BringingIntoLine
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
40 or so years of neoliberal governments have taught us at least two things. First, that hollowing out our public life and institutions only enables corruption and fascism. Second, that ‘the market’ is a source of no kind of moral value whatsoever.
February 1, 2026 at 12:44 AM
40 or so years of neoliberal governments have taught us at least two things. First, that hollowing out our public life and institutions only enables corruption and fascism. Second, that ‘the market’ is a source of no kind of moral value whatsoever.
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
When I studied political science in the 1990s, we were taught that ‘conservatives’ were in favour of property and tradition, and an attenuated notion of the common good. Turns out in the 2020s that conservatives only favour their own advancement by excusing corruption and defending pedophiles.
January 31, 2026 at 11:02 PM
When I studied political science in the 1990s, we were taught that ‘conservatives’ were in favour of property and tradition, and an attenuated notion of the common good. Turns out in the 2020s that conservatives only favour their own advancement by excusing corruption and defending pedophiles.
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
This is the ultimate lesson: Democracy depends on us being willing to hold our fellow humans to account as persistently, cleverly, tenaciously, and humanely as we can. Democracy is a struggle that never ends, because the alternative is what every opportunist desires: tyranny. 8.
January 31, 2026 at 3:50 AM
This is the ultimate lesson: Democracy depends on us being willing to hold our fellow humans to account as persistently, cleverly, tenaciously, and humanely as we can. Democracy is a struggle that never ends, because the alternative is what every opportunist desires: tyranny. 8.
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
One of the things about democratic governments that most people do not understand is that they are based on the simple idea that given the opportunity, many humans will literally say and do anything for power over others. What they want is clear a pathway to power (or money, status, fame, etc). 1.
January 31, 2026 at 3:50 AM
One of the things about democratic governments that most people do not understand is that they are based on the simple idea that given the opportunity, many humans will literally say and do anything for power over others. What they want is clear a pathway to power (or money, status, fame, etc). 1.
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
This is an amazing thread on what may or may not be the UK constitution (including a pseudonymous letter to The Times in 1950). From the country that gave us the word “bonkers”
This seems like cope.
If this sort of thing is allowed to happen, with no institutions stepping in, your constitution evidently doesn't work.
It doesn't really matter that you technically have a avenue to stop it.
If this sort of thing is allowed to happen, with no institutions stepping in, your constitution evidently doesn't work.
It doesn't really matter that you technically have a avenue to stop it.
The United States is not actually in a constitutional crisis. Our Constitution works just fine.
We are in a crisis of character — where nearly every single person who has sworn an oath to uphold our Constitution and enforce the law lacks the courage, moral fiber, and decency to do what is right.
We are in a crisis of character — where nearly every single person who has sworn an oath to uphold our Constitution and enforce the law lacks the courage, moral fiber, and decency to do what is right.
January 30, 2026 at 10:18 PM
This is an amazing thread on what may or may not be the UK constitution (including a pseudonymous letter to The Times in 1950). From the country that gave us the word “bonkers”
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
I used to be very much a written constitution guy - I liked the clear concepts and rules, the codification aspects.
But at best rules are speedbumps. What matters are people and culture. And there is a huge danger people invest their faith, time and effort in the rules, not the people
But at best rules are speedbumps. What matters are people and culture. And there is a huge danger people invest their faith, time and effort in the rules, not the people
January 30, 2026 at 7:35 AM
I used to be very much a written constitution guy - I liked the clear concepts and rules, the codification aspects.
But at best rules are speedbumps. What matters are people and culture. And there is a huge danger people invest their faith, time and effort in the rules, not the people
But at best rules are speedbumps. What matters are people and culture. And there is a huge danger people invest their faith, time and effort in the rules, not the people
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
There’s a lot of dramatic new stuff happening in Javanese cultural history: journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/hup4/mc/arti...
View of Early Islamic Manuscript Art in Southeast Asia
journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de
January 30, 2026 at 10:47 PM
There’s a lot of dramatic new stuff happening in Javanese cultural history: journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/hup4/mc/arti...
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
If AI can really teach the future, which I believe it can in a limited capacity, it should be a public utility. Not a for-profit labor-destroying virus.
January 30, 2026 at 12:21 AM
If AI can really teach the future, which I believe it can in a limited capacity, it should be a public utility. Not a for-profit labor-destroying virus.
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
Pauline’s Clown House
I don’t like it.
It’s always their fault –
First the Asians –
Which ones? Please explain.
Indians this week, Chinese next,
But always, always
It’s the Aborigines –
I just don’t like them.
Please explain.
blakandblack.com/2026/01/30/p...
I don’t like it.
It’s always their fault –
First the Asians –
Which ones? Please explain.
Indians this week, Chinese next,
But always, always
It’s the Aborigines –
I just don’t like them.
Please explain.
blakandblack.com/2026/01/30/p...
Pauline’s Clown House
Please explain ...
blakandblack.com
January 29, 2026 at 9:22 PM
Pauline’s Clown House
I don’t like it.
It’s always their fault –
First the Asians –
Which ones? Please explain.
Indians this week, Chinese next,
But always, always
It’s the Aborigines –
I just don’t like them.
Please explain.
blakandblack.com/2026/01/30/p...
I don’t like it.
It’s always their fault –
First the Asians –
Which ones? Please explain.
Indians this week, Chinese next,
But always, always
It’s the Aborigines –
I just don’t like them.
Please explain.
blakandblack.com/2026/01/30/p...
Reposted by Gareth Knapman
Complaining about the comedic depiction of Indigenous kids in jail, but doing nothing about the fact of Indigenous kids being massively over incarcerated? That's the Australian way.
Liberal MP complains to ABC managing director about Tony Armstrong’s satire special
Melissa McIntosh, who claims Always Was Tonight violated ABC charter, has been dubbed the ‘Liberal party fun police’ by the Greens
www.theguardian.com
January 30, 2026 at 6:44 AM
Complaining about the comedic depiction of Indigenous kids in jail, but doing nothing about the fact of Indigenous kids being massively over incarcerated? That's the Australian way.