Jason "Red5" Lyall
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jaylyall.bsky.social
Jason "Red5" Lyall
@jaylyall.bsky.social

Prof @Dartmouth. Director, FieldLab. Carnegie Fellow. Diversity and military effectiveness, war, humanitarian aid, USAID, sci fi. Author, DIVIDED ARMIES (2020, http://amzn.to/2Y80f25). πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ #FirstGen #VermontZen

Website: www.jasonlyall.com .. more

Political science 44%
Sociology 18%

So good
In 2023 I became obsessed with videos of dads in cargo shortswaiting in parking lots during Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. So when she came to town, I grabbed a camera and headed down to talk to them. I thought it'd be funny. It turned out to be something else entirely.
In 2023 I became obsessed with videos of dads in cargo shortswaiting in parking lots during Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. So when she came to town, I grabbed a camera and headed down to talk to them. I thought it'd be funny. It turned out to be something else entirely.
!! Here’s a link to full video of the 60 Minutes segment that Bari Weiss killed last minute, via @jasonparis.bsky.social:

is.gd/paU8Ko

(It was uploaded to the Global TV app in Canada, seemingly by accident, and has now been taken down)

Trump administration abruptly recalls over two dozen career ambassadors (all of whom had been appointed by Biden)
Trump administration abruptly recalls over two dozen career ambassadors
A senior State Department official called it a bid to ensure adherence to the β€œAmerica First” agenda while others called it a devastating blow to America’s diplomatic corps.
www.washingtonpost.com

"If not entirely successful," NPR? Musk and his DOGE minions are responsible for the deaths of 100,000s of people around the world. They should be in jail

Reposted by Jason Lyall

NPR @npr.org Β· 3d
The Department of Government Efficiency effort was one of the most consequential and controversial – if not entirely successful – changes the Trump administration made in 2025. n.pr/49mmmWd
The DOGE mindset is still central to the Trump administration's agenda as 2025 ends
The Department of Government Efficiency effort was one of the most consequential and controversial – if not entirely successful – changes the Trump administration made in 2025.
n.pr

A remarkable, and sad, sign of the times: a rescue fellowship for 14 US-based early career scholars whose career has been blocked by political pressure
Post-doc positions:
"Academic freedom is under pressure today. This requires rescue havens of free research. ... [we] invite early career researchers, whose work is restricted due to political pressure in the USA..."

uni-freiburg.de/frias/call-f...
Call for Applications: Early Career Rescue Fellowship – Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies
uni-freiburg.de

The old "I'm just following orders" defense
Rubio on former colleagues who say he's abandoned his principles: "There's things people can say do in private that they can't in public...but at the end of the day, the person the people elected POTUS is Donald J Trump. That's who they elected. My job is to implement the president's foreign policy"

Reposted by Jason Lyall

Rubio on former colleagues who say he's abandoned his principles: "There's things people can say do in private that they can't in public...but at the end of the day, the person the people elected POTUS is Donald J Trump. That's who they elected. My job is to implement the president's foreign policy"
I'd like to see journalists investigate the companies/guys that are doing this work. Who are they? Do they know this is illegal? Are they worried about being held responsible for defacing a federal building? How did they get the letters so fast, given that the "decision" was only made yesterday?
Post-doc positions:
"Academic freedom is under pressure today. This requires rescue havens of free research. ... [we] invite early career researchers, whose work is restricted due to political pressure in the USA..."

uni-freiburg.de/frias/call-f...
Call for Applications: Early Career Rescue Fellowship – Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies
uni-freiburg.de
NEWS: They're adding Trump's name to the Kennedy Center building right now. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...
Kennedy Center adds Trump’s name to building
The signage change follows a vote by the board of trustees to rename the performing arts complex the Trump Kennedy Center.
www.washingtonpost.com

Every year my tiny Vermont town (pop:4,500) hosts a nativity β€œparade” that follows Mary & Joseph down Main Street from the town hall to inn (where they are turned away) to a nearby barn. High school seniors play all the parts, while the whole town turns out. Just in case you need some holiday cheer

Yeah, the article says that UNC-CH athletics will be short $50 million next year due to rising NIL costs, etc and that it may have to seek greater "institutional support" (it got $21.4 million this year). Seems bad.

I thought this was an interesting article about the state and sources of UNC's athletics funding. Seems like the business model is changing.
UNC’s Risky Belichick Math
An Assembly analysis finds UNC football has already set aside millions of dollars to bolster incoming head coach Bill Belichick and the team.
www.theassemblync.com

Reposted by Jelena Subotić

UNC-Chapel Hill is closing all six of its area studies centers to save $7 million dollars.

UNC's football coach, Bill Belichick, makes $10 million a year.

In total, the football team now has a $40 million budget.

Make this make sense.
UNC cuts all six area studies research centers, effective 2026
As part of the University's plan to make $70 million in budget cuts across the institution, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations Nate Knuffman projected that cutting 14 centers and institutes in...
dailytarheel.com

At least Nero could play the fiddle

This is fucking weird

Reposted by Jason Lyall

We just murdered four more people in a boat

We’re going to have a literal war on Christmas
Seems like Trump and his groupies think starting a regime change war of conquest out of nowhere is a political masterstroke that will get them back on the front foot, but I don’t think that’s how it will play out.
Seems like Trump and his groupies think starting a regime change war of conquest out of nowhere is a political masterstroke that will get them back on the front foot, but I don’t think that’s how it will play out.

Reposted by Jason Lyall

Yeah, look, I realize I just wrote something, but the NYT has managed to annoy me enough to get me to write something else.

othermeans.io/p/reforms-of...
Reforms of the Reckless
On The New York Times Losing Their Minds
othermeans.io

Reposted by Jason Lyall

Out next week in the US (sadly not until March in Uk). Lots of essays from a bit of autobiography to pieces on people (Michael Howard, Mandela, Putin), praising tactics, zugzwang v stalemate, retrospects on Iraq war, and even the strategy of Barbie. global.oup.com/academic/pro...

(Please let it be Canada)
The Nobel Prize committee should announce the World Cup winner tomorrow

Reposted by David Darmofal

hey fellow authors, I received my Anthropic copyright settlement materials in the mail today. I thought I'd filed a claim already, but it turns out I needed to do so again. Might be worth double-checking or filing a new claim, just to be sure

You can do so here: www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com
NEW β€” I put together a list of independent journalism subscriptions that would make great holiday gifts. From music to politics, astronomy to alcohol, tech to social justice, there’s something for [almost] everyone. Support indie media *and* surprise and delight your loved ones!

My guide:
Giving the gift of independent journalism: a guide
The Handbasket has subscription suggestions for almost everyone on your list.
www.thehandbasket.co

Wanna-be tinpot dictator bullshit
When I saw the story in passing I thought it was the same dumb bit as the army parade, the fig leaf of using Flag Day because it happens to also be his birthday. But no, Trump's birthday as such is now an official commemoration for NPS free admission days.

www.nps.gov/planyourvisi...
When I saw the story in passing I thought it was the same dumb bit as the army parade, the fig leaf of using Flag Day because it happens to also be his birthday. But no, Trump's birthday as such is now an official commemoration for NPS free admission days.

www.nps.gov/planyourvisi...