Halbert Jones
@halbertjones.bsky.social
Historian of Mexico and US-Latin American relations. A North Carolinian in 🇬🇧. Following US and UK politics, academia and higher education, and UK borders and immigration.
FRUS in the news …
Analysis | State Department erases 15 pages of nuclear history — with no warning
Key historical records about the incident during the Reagan administration, known as the Able Archer 83 War Scare, were removed without explanation.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:25 PM
FRUS in the news …
Reposted by Halbert Jones
Mexico really did have the strongest WWII poster game
October 30, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Mexico really did have the strongest WWII poster game
Reposted by Halbert Jones
Mexico Versus Nazis is a theme that’s really resonating with me of late
October 30, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Mexico Versus Nazis is a theme that’s really resonating with me of late
Reposted by Halbert Jones
This Mexican WWII poster is some of the hardest shit ever
October 30, 2025 at 1:19 AM
This Mexican WWII poster is some of the hardest shit ever
Interesting about Harvard’s President visiting the UK, but the Crimson has done the weird (American?) thing of conflating the capital with the country:
Though the reception with Rhodes Scholars and meetings with Oxford officials apparently took place in Oxford, it’s described as a “London trip”.
Though the reception with Rhodes Scholars and meetings with Oxford officials apparently took place in Oxford, it’s described as a “London trip”.
Garber Met With Oxford Counterparts, Rhodes Scholars in Unannounced London Trip | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 traveled across the pond earlier this week for an unannounced trip to London, where he met with the University’s Rhodes Scholars and senior University of Oxford of...
www.thecrimson.com
October 24, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Interesting about Harvard’s President visiting the UK, but the Crimson has done the weird (American?) thing of conflating the capital with the country:
Though the reception with Rhodes Scholars and meetings with Oxford officials apparently took place in Oxford, it’s described as a “London trip”.
Though the reception with Rhodes Scholars and meetings with Oxford officials apparently took place in Oxford, it’s described as a “London trip”.
A lengthy piece in today’s FT on the Mexican political landscape
on.ft.com/4okwcfV How long can Mexico’s president straddle populism and pragmatism?
on.ft.com/4okwcfV How long can Mexico’s president straddle populism and pragmatism?
How long can Mexico’s president straddle populism and pragmatism?
In her first year in office, Claudia Sheinbaum has deftly managed tensions with the US and at home. But the pressure is starting to mount
on.ft.com
October 15, 2025 at 6:53 AM
A lengthy piece in today’s FT on the Mexican political landscape
on.ft.com/4okwcfV How long can Mexico’s president straddle populism and pragmatism?
on.ft.com/4okwcfV How long can Mexico’s president straddle populism and pragmatism?
People know that buying (or winning) a house in another country doesn’t actually entitle you to move and take up residence there, right?
I fear many of the Americans who might think this sounds like a good idea don’t know anything about UK immigration law.
I fear many of the Americans who might think this sounds like a good idea don’t know anything about UK immigration law.
‘A safe haven’: Buckinghamshire man invites Americans to enter house raffle
Man hopes liberal Americans looking to move from Donald Trump’s America will buy tickets
www.theguardian.com
October 9, 2025 at 10:39 AM
People know that buying (or winning) a house in another country doesn’t actually entitle you to move and take up residence there, right?
I fear many of the Americans who might think this sounds like a good idea don’t know anything about UK immigration law.
I fear many of the Americans who might think this sounds like a good idea don’t know anything about UK immigration law.
Reposted by Halbert Jones
One of my occasional rants about the UK’s increasingly extortionate international postage rates:
After a big hike in April — the point in the year when rate changes are usually made — Royal Mail will next month again raise the price to send a letter or postcard abroad, to £3.40.
1/X
After a big hike in April — the point in the year when rate changes are usually made — Royal Mail will next month again raise the price to send a letter or postcard abroad, to £3.40.
1/X
September 14, 2025 at 9:20 AM
One of my occasional rants about the UK’s increasingly extortionate international postage rates:
After a big hike in April — the point in the year when rate changes are usually made — Royal Mail will next month again raise the price to send a letter or postcard abroad, to £3.40.
1/X
After a big hike in April — the point in the year when rate changes are usually made — Royal Mail will next month again raise the price to send a letter or postcard abroad, to £3.40.
1/X
One of my occasional rants about the UK’s increasingly extortionate international postage rates:
After a big hike in April — the point in the year when rate changes are usually made — Royal Mail will next month again raise the price to send a letter or postcard abroad, to £3.40.
1/X
After a big hike in April — the point in the year when rate changes are usually made — Royal Mail will next month again raise the price to send a letter or postcard abroad, to £3.40.
1/X
September 14, 2025 at 9:20 AM
One of my occasional rants about the UK’s increasingly extortionate international postage rates:
After a big hike in April — the point in the year when rate changes are usually made — Royal Mail will next month again raise the price to send a letter or postcard abroad, to £3.40.
1/X
After a big hike in April — the point in the year when rate changes are usually made — Royal Mail will next month again raise the price to send a letter or postcard abroad, to £3.40.
1/X
Those most inconvenienced by having to apply for a US visa in their country of nationality or residence will be those living in the US: Though the US is their country of residence, you can’t get a US visa *there*. Previously, renewals could be done in Canada or Mexico, subject to appt availability.
Yesterday, the State Dept took yet another anti-immigrant action. It stopped the helpful policy of allowing individuals to apply for visa stamps at any US consular post in the world rather than just in their home country. Effective immediately, that policy is over. travel.state.gov/content/trav...
Adjudicating Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants in Their Country of Residence - September 6, 2025
travel.state.gov
September 8, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Those most inconvenienced by having to apply for a US visa in their country of nationality or residence will be those living in the US: Though the US is their country of residence, you can’t get a US visa *there*. Previously, renewals could be done in Canada or Mexico, subject to appt availability.
An afterthought, in paragraph 16:
“The Department of Defense and the secretary of defense were named through acts of Congress, so it is unclear if Mr. Trump’s order will go into effect immediately.”
“The Department of Defense and the secretary of defense were named through acts of Congress, so it is unclear if Mr. Trump’s order will go into effect immediately.”
Trump to Sign Order Renaming the Defense Department as the Department of War
www.nytimes.com
September 5, 2025 at 9:27 AM
An afterthought, in paragraph 16:
“The Department of Defense and the secretary of defense were named through acts of Congress, so it is unclear if Mr. Trump’s order will go into effect immediately.”
“The Department of Defense and the secretary of defense were named through acts of Congress, so it is unclear if Mr. Trump’s order will go into effect immediately.”
Reposted by Halbert Jones
The FBI returned to Mexico a 500-year-old manuscript page signed by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. The manuscript was initially stored in Mexico’s national archives, but archivists microfilming the collection in 1993 found that 15 pages had gone missing. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
FBI returns stolen document signed by conquistador Hernán Cortés to Mexico
US officials did not say who had the 16th-century page that was missing from Mexico’s archives for decades
www.theguardian.com
August 31, 2025 at 1:31 PM
The FBI returned to Mexico a 500-year-old manuscript page signed by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. The manuscript was initially stored in Mexico’s national archives, but archivists microfilming the collection in 1993 found that 15 pages had gone missing. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
A West End/Broadway star on belonging in Britain & becoming a citizen:
“[In the UK] They saw me for who I was. I didn’t have to change anything about myself; I didn’t have to be anybody else.”
… Britain, she said, “was the first place I ever felt like I belonged somewhere, and they understood me.”
“[In the UK] They saw me for who I was. I didn’t have to change anything about myself; I didn’t have to be anybody else.”
… Britain, she said, “was the first place I ever felt like I belonged somewhere, and they understood me.”
In London, She Became Musical Theater Royalty. Now She’s Back on Broadway.
www.nytimes.com
August 27, 2025 at 1:19 PM
A West End/Broadway star on belonging in Britain & becoming a citizen:
“[In the UK] They saw me for who I was. I didn’t have to change anything about myself; I didn’t have to be anybody else.”
… Britain, she said, “was the first place I ever felt like I belonged somewhere, and they understood me.”
“[In the UK] They saw me for who I was. I didn’t have to change anything about myself; I didn’t have to be anybody else.”
… Britain, she said, “was the first place I ever felt like I belonged somewhere, and they understood me.”
The framing here is (as so often) exasperating.
The headline: “Trump threatens to strip Rosie O’Donnell of U.S. citizenship”
Not until 9 paragraphs in: “Experts said the president does not have the power to take away the citizenship of a U.S.-born citizen.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/12/u...
The headline: “Trump threatens to strip Rosie O’Donnell of U.S. citizenship”
Not until 9 paragraphs in: “Experts said the president does not have the power to take away the citizenship of a U.S.-born citizen.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/12/u...
July 13, 2025 at 3:18 PM
The framing here is (as so often) exasperating.
The headline: “Trump threatens to strip Rosie O’Donnell of U.S. citizenship”
Not until 9 paragraphs in: “Experts said the president does not have the power to take away the citizenship of a U.S.-born citizen.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/12/u...
The headline: “Trump threatens to strip Rosie O’Donnell of U.S. citizenship”
Not until 9 paragraphs in: “Experts said the president does not have the power to take away the citizenship of a U.S.-born citizen.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/12/u...
The comments on this are exactly what you would expect …
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has already conquered the tech world. Now, he’s been invited to compete in a UFC tournament.
Mark Zuckerberg offered a spot in new UFC tournament
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has already conquered the tech world. Now, he’s been invited to compete in a UFC tournament.
bit.ly
June 28, 2025 at 12:29 PM
The comments on this are exactly what you would expect …
Interesting to see the US included here (and I like that Uruguay is down as ‘Uruguay’!) …
Latin America Risk Report made an interesting map while tracking corruption issues and impeachment processes around the Latino hemisphere.
June 26, 2025 at 6:22 AM
Interesting to see the US included here (and I like that Uruguay is down as ‘Uruguay’!) …
Ah, the old hometown …
Wrote about Winston-Salem’s hottest new trend: People gathering at midnight to watch the lights turn off on an extremely phallic skyscraper. www.ncrabbithole.com/p/winston-sa...
June 6, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Ah, the old hometown …
The media is really hitting the key points in its coverage of the move to strip Harvard of its ability to enrol international students …
May 23, 2025 at 3:56 PM
The media is really hitting the key points in its coverage of the move to strip Harvard of its ability to enrol international students …
Hmm. I suppose knowledge of history might be a bit of ‘spoiler’ here …
May 9, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Hmm. I suppose knowledge of history might be a bit of ‘spoiler’ here …
Spotted in the city centre today: a reminder that Oxford is home to a significant East Timorese community … and that East Timor is one of handful of countries (along with El Salvador, Panama, and Ecuador to use the US dollar as its official currency.
May 5, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Spotted in the city centre today: a reminder that Oxford is home to a significant East Timorese community … and that East Timor is one of handful of countries (along with El Salvador, Panama, and Ecuador to use the US dollar as its official currency.
The FT on a backlash against narcocorridos …
The hit music accused of glorifying violence in Mexico
‘Narcocorridos’ that romanticise cartel figures face a ban in some parts of the country
on.ft.com
April 24, 2025 at 7:16 AM
The FT on a backlash against narcocorridos …
Interesting from the FT on Sheinbaum’s quiet shift in Mexico’s security strategy.
on.ft.com/42ktM95 Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum woos Donald Trump with security shake-up
on.ft.com/42ktM95 Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum woos Donald Trump with security shake-up
Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum woos Donald Trump with security shake-up
President turns US criticism into plaudits by confronting drug cartels
on.ft.com
April 19, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Interesting from the FT on Sheinbaum’s quiet shift in Mexico’s security strategy.
on.ft.com/42ktM95 Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum woos Donald Trump with security shake-up
on.ft.com/42ktM95 Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum woos Donald Trump with security shake-up
Reposted by Halbert Jones
MAYBE it would be a good idea for our national library to actually buy hard copies of books to, you know, preserve them and make them accessible to researchers for decades to come
April 7, 2025 at 11:50 AM
MAYBE it would be a good idea for our national library to actually buy hard copies of books to, you know, preserve them and make them accessible to researchers for decades to come
Reposted by Halbert Jones
If you’re planning a visit to the UK within the 2 years and need the new “electronic travel authorisation” (ETA) for visa-exempt travellers, looks like the date for the ETA fee hike — from £10 to £16 — is now set to be 9th April (if I read these regs correctly), so apply now for big savings!
The Immigration, Nationality and Passport (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
These Regulations amend the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/330) (“the principal Regulations”) (which set fees for the exercise of various functions in connection with i...
www.legislation.gov.uk
March 20, 2025 at 7:38 AM
If you’re planning a visit to the UK within the 2 years and need the new “electronic travel authorisation” (ETA) for visa-exempt travellers, looks like the date for the ETA fee hike — from £10 to £16 — is now set to be 9th April (if I read these regs correctly), so apply now for big savings!