John Ma 🇺🇦
@nakhthor.bsky.social
Chinese-American anc historian, Columbia. Antiochos III & the Cities of W Asia Minor (1999), Statues & Cities (2013), Aršāma and his World (2020, co-ed), Polis: A New History (2024). Guggenheim Fellow.
Pinned
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
January 6, 2026 at 2:00 AM
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
It is me! Let me tell you, being an ancient Roman gender historian focused on the dangers of income inequality and elite paranoia about social mobility from oppressed groups, esp. women & former enslaved folks, has never felt more unfortunately relevant!
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
January 6, 2026 at 4:19 AM
It is me! Let me tell you, being an ancient Roman gender historian focused on the dangers of income inequality and elite paranoia about social mobility from oppressed groups, esp. women & former enslaved folks, has never felt more unfortunately relevant!
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Read it and shiver in contemplation of the monstrous consequences of this immoral and profoundly dangerous world view, the one that now guides the most powerful nation on the planet.
Here is the Trump Doctrine, as articulated by Stephen Miller in his truly frightening interview with Jake Tapper this afternoon. It is very much like the doctrine of the dictators we fought and defeated in World War II and of Putin today. It is un-American at its very core.
January 6, 2026 at 4:46 AM
Read it and shiver in contemplation of the monstrous consequences of this immoral and profoundly dangerous world view, the one that now guides the most powerful nation on the planet.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Trading the Nobel Peace Prize to the president of the United States so he’ll militarily install you as president of your country seems a bit contrary to its intended purpose
Hannity: Did you at any point offered to give him the Nobel peace prize?
Machado: It hasn’t happened yet. We want to give it to him. Share it with him.
Machado: It hasn’t happened yet. We want to give it to him. Share it with him.
January 6, 2026 at 5:43 AM
Trading the Nobel Peace Prize to the president of the United States so he’ll militarily install you as president of your country seems a bit contrary to its intended purpose
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Hannity: Did you at any point offered to give him the Nobel peace prize?
Machado: It hasn’t happened yet. We want to give it to him. Share it with him.
Machado: It hasn’t happened yet. We want to give it to him. Share it with him.
January 6, 2026 at 2:43 AM
Hannity: Did you at any point offered to give him the Nobel peace prize?
Machado: It hasn’t happened yet. We want to give it to him. Share it with him.
Machado: It hasn’t happened yet. We want to give it to him. Share it with him.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Really, a remarkable statement from Colombia’s President.
January 5, 2026 at 3:39 AM
Really, a remarkable statement from Colombia’s President.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
remarkable amount of talk abt how Trump is going to administer Venezuela when he pretty clearly hasn't overthrown the current govt yet
Venezuela Regime Change and the Theater of the Absurd talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/venez...
Venezuela Regime Change and the Theater of the Absurd
On Saturday, a friend and I were comparing notes on the events...
talkingpointsmemo.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:13 PM
remarkable amount of talk abt how Trump is going to administer Venezuela when he pretty clearly hasn't overthrown the current govt yet
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Top DOJ Official Shut Down Enforcement Against Crypto Companies While Holding More Than $150,000 in Crypto Investments talkingpointsmemo.com/news/top-doj...
Top DOJ Official Shut Down Enforcement Against Crypto Companies While Holding More Than $150,000 in Crypto Investments
This article first appeared at ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses...
talkingpointsmemo.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Top DOJ Official Shut Down Enforcement Against Crypto Companies While Holding More Than $150,000 in Crypto Investments talkingpointsmemo.com/news/top-doj...
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
France at the UN Security Council:
"The military operation which led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro runs counter to the principle of peaceful dispute resolution and the principle of non use of force. Violations of the UN Charter... chips away at the very foundation of the international order."
"The military operation which led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro runs counter to the principle of peaceful dispute resolution and the principle of non use of force. Violations of the UN Charter... chips away at the very foundation of the international order."
January 5, 2026 at 4:48 PM
France at the UN Security Council:
"The military operation which led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro runs counter to the principle of peaceful dispute resolution and the principle of non use of force. Violations of the UN Charter... chips away at the very foundation of the international order."
"The military operation which led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro runs counter to the principle of peaceful dispute resolution and the principle of non use of force. Violations of the UN Charter... chips away at the very foundation of the international order."
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
This is political retribution, plain and simple. Pete Hegseth is trampling our Constitution to go after Trump’s critics. It’s wrong, it’s illegal, and Hegseth must be held liable.
January 5, 2026 at 10:46 PM
This is political retribution, plain and simple. Pete Hegseth is trampling our Constitution to go after Trump’s critics. It’s wrong, it’s illegal, and Hegseth must be held liable.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Trump regime thugs arrested a US protestor on camera for criticizing the pedophile regime during an interview.
January 5, 2026 at 10:46 PM
Trump regime thugs arrested a US protestor on camera for criticizing the pedophile regime during an interview.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
When I covered the DNC, members of Congress, various interest groups and activists seemed either as excited about Walz as they were Harris or even more.
Tim Walz: "I don't want to mince words here. Donald Trump and his allies in Washington and in St Paul and online want to make our state a colder, meaner place. They won't to poison our people against each other by attacking our neighbors."
January 5, 2026 at 6:55 PM
When I covered the DNC, members of Congress, various interest groups and activists seemed either as excited about Walz as they were Harris or even more.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
“No room at the Inn” is a biblical reference about immigrants (Jesus’ parents) being turned away. Not the government. Way to go, Hilton! The 3rd Amendment protects private entities from having to house the government.
January 5, 2026 at 10:01 PM
“No room at the Inn” is a biblical reference about immigrants (Jesus’ parents) being turned away. Not the government. Way to go, Hilton! The 3rd Amendment protects private entities from having to house the government.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
That she did it wearing the Pink Ranger outfit (some creative liberties aside) was a power move, IMO (pun intended)
A hacker known as Martha Root broke in and deleted three white supremacists websites at the end of a talk during the annual hacker conference Chaos Communication Congress in Germany.
Hacktivist deletes white supremacist websites live on stage during hacker conference | TechCrunch
A hacker known as Martha Root broke in and deleted three white supremacists websites at the end of a talk during the annual hacker conference Chaos Communication Congress in Germany.
techcrunch.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:46 PM
That she did it wearing the Pink Ranger outfit (some creative liberties aside) was a power move, IMO (pun intended)
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
It was a law enforcement operation so Senate Judiciary Committee members were ... excluded from the briefing:
January 5, 2026 at 10:44 PM
It was a law enforcement operation so Senate Judiciary Committee members were ... excluded from the briefing:
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Children will die with RFK Jr.'s new vaccine recommendations. We're NOT doing the "experts disagree" game. The US vaccine schedule was painstakingly constructed through a deep & thorough process by experts with unquestionable expertise. This is policy by fiat. It is pre-meditated murder. 1/
January 5, 2026 at 10:39 PM
Children will die with RFK Jr.'s new vaccine recommendations. We're NOT doing the "experts disagree" game. The US vaccine schedule was painstakingly constructed through a deep & thorough process by experts with unquestionable expertise. This is policy by fiat. It is pre-meditated murder. 1/
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
What in the Gestapo is going on in Grand Rapids?
Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.
Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.
January 5, 2026 at 4:12 PM
What in the Gestapo is going on in Grand Rapids?
Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.
Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Good reminder that the medical debt numbers you see don't include credit card debt taken on to pay a medical bill. The problem is worse than even the grim numbers presented suggest.
January 5, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Good reminder that the medical debt numbers you see don't include credit card debt taken on to pay a medical bill. The problem is worse than even the grim numbers presented suggest.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
I think Mamdani really hit a nerve with the reactionaries this time. Absolute crack pipe take to say that the sacraments of the Church are individualistic. Not a single one of the sacraments is individualistic. Hell is full of individuals though.
January 4, 2026 at 4:41 AM
I think Mamdani really hit a nerve with the reactionaries this time. Absolute crack pipe take to say that the sacraments of the Church are individualistic. Not a single one of the sacraments is individualistic. Hell is full of individuals though.
Maybe Noem can billet ICE goons on families and businesses
January 5, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Maybe Noem can billet ICE goons on families and businesses
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
But I also think James Tan has done a good job of explaining how Roman tributum (the land tax in Italy) shifts money around in a way that gets more households able to provide a heavy infantryman and Roman colonization in Italy is basically terraforming Italy into an infantry-generation-machine.
January 5, 2026 at 8:28 PM
But I also think James Tan has done a good job of explaining how Roman tributum (the land tax in Italy) shifts money around in a way that gets more households able to provide a heavy infantryman and Roman colonization in Italy is basically terraforming Italy into an infantry-generation-machine.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
When power is rooted in disinformation, data become a threat.
The administration is scaling back the childhood vaccine schedule *while also* eliminating state vaccine reporting requirements.
The latter will likely complicate efforts to measure the connsequences of the former for vaccine uptake.
The latter will likely complicate efforts to measure the connsequences of the former for vaccine uptake.
January 5, 2026 at 7:47 PM
When power is rooted in disinformation, data become a threat.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Your periodic reminder that in the 115th Congress, Harrie (and Booker) both voted to the left of Saint Bernie
(The only person more left wing than Harris? Elizabeth Warren)
(The only person more left wing than Harris? Elizabeth Warren)
very simply; if the progressive WOC Senator from California wasn't left wing enough for you, you've probably boiled your brain with too much propaganda.
January 5, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Your periodic reminder that in the 115th Congress, Harrie (and Booker) both voted to the left of Saint Bernie
(The only person more left wing than Harris? Elizabeth Warren)
(The only person more left wing than Harris? Elizabeth Warren)