Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
@polar-journal.bsky.social
Devoted to the ethnographic and interdisciplinary study of law and politics, broadly conceived. Journal: PoLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review.
polarjournal.org
polarjournal.org
Pinned
Speaking Justice to Power 2025
Academic Freedom, Immigration, and Carceral Regimes At the American Anthropological Association Annual Meetings, New Orleans Cosponsored by APLA (Association for Political and Legal Anthropol…
politicalandlegalanthro.org
SJP NOLA event at AAA meetings!
November 22
Ashé Cultural Arts Center
"Academic Freedom, Immigration, and Carceral Regimes."
Louisiana advocates discuss state terror against immigrants, the detention center in Jenna, and more
Food and cash bar!
politicalandlegalanthro.org/2025/10/24/s...
November 22
Ashé Cultural Arts Center
"Academic Freedom, Immigration, and Carceral Regimes."
Louisiana advocates discuss state terror against immigrants, the detention center in Jenna, and more
Food and cash bar!
politicalandlegalanthro.org/2025/10/24/s...
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
On the Holodomor Commemoration Day, spare a thought for all innocent Ukrainian victims of the Soviet-made famine.
Impunity is never a path towards peace. It's a highway to violence, slaughter and barbarism.
Impunity is never a path towards peace. It's a highway to violence, slaughter and barbarism.
November 22, 2025 at 4:33 PM
On the Holodomor Commemoration Day, spare a thought for all innocent Ukrainian victims of the Soviet-made famine.
Impunity is never a path towards peace. It's a highway to violence, slaughter and barbarism.
Impunity is never a path towards peace. It's a highway to violence, slaughter and barbarism.
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
This is a story about how America’s world-leading cancer and dementia research system was destroyed by frauds and naifs who broke the law.
There must be consequences.
There must be consequences.
Some incredible details in this piece
*one DOGE faction was planning the future of the US government at a venture capital firm
*illegally communicating on Signal to avoid transparency laws was deeply embedded into organizational culture to be taken for granted
*one DOGE faction was planning the future of the US government at a venture capital firm
*illegally communicating on Signal to avoid transparency laws was deeply embedded into organizational culture to be taken for granted
November 22, 2025 at 10:12 PM
This is a story about how America’s world-leading cancer and dementia research system was destroyed by frauds and naifs who broke the law.
There must be consequences.
There must be consequences.
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
Reminder:
SDNY "was running an active investigation into Jeffrey Epstein[’s] ... coconspirators. In January [2025], SDNY prosecutors were ordered to transfer the Epstein case files to DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C. ... the investigation into co-conspirators has inexplicably ceased."
SDNY "was running an active investigation into Jeffrey Epstein[’s] ... coconspirators. In January [2025], SDNY prosecutors were ordered to transfer the Epstein case files to DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C. ... the investigation into co-conspirators has inexplicably ceased."
November 21, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Reminder:
SDNY "was running an active investigation into Jeffrey Epstein[’s] ... coconspirators. In January [2025], SDNY prosecutors were ordered to transfer the Epstein case files to DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C. ... the investigation into co-conspirators has inexplicably ceased."
SDNY "was running an active investigation into Jeffrey Epstein[’s] ... coconspirators. In January [2025], SDNY prosecutors were ordered to transfer the Epstein case files to DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C. ... the investigation into co-conspirators has inexplicably ceased."
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
good morning, logging on to catch up on what i missed on a serene autumn saturday morning
November 22, 2025 at 12:54 PM
good morning, logging on to catch up on what i missed on a serene autumn saturday morning
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
I *think* the attempt to speedrun authoritarianism has failed. The new acute danger is greater political violence (Trump calling for hangings, etc). But the concerted danger is down the line, when MAGA realizes the bill for all this corruption will come due. www.offmessage.net/p/maga-disar...
MAGA Disarray And The Accumulated Debt Of Corruption
They'd bring America down rather than face accountability, but accountability is not optional.
www.offmessage.net
November 21, 2025 at 4:30 PM
I *think* the attempt to speedrun authoritarianism has failed. The new acute danger is greater political violence (Trump calling for hangings, etc). But the concerted danger is down the line, when MAGA realizes the bill for all this corruption will come due. www.offmessage.net/p/maga-disar...
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
okay so here’s the actual bad part of the article
“oh it never affected my coverage” horse and also shit
and what the fuck is Lizza doing sitting on this while RFK takes a buzz saw to American health so he can sell substack subscriptions
ghouls, the lot of them
“oh it never affected my coverage” horse and also shit
and what the fuck is Lizza doing sitting on this while RFK takes a buzz saw to American health so he can sell substack subscriptions
ghouls, the lot of them
November 22, 2025 at 7:45 AM
okay so here’s the actual bad part of the article
“oh it never affected my coverage” horse and also shit
and what the fuck is Lizza doing sitting on this while RFK takes a buzz saw to American health so he can sell substack subscriptions
ghouls, the lot of them
“oh it never affected my coverage” horse and also shit
and what the fuck is Lizza doing sitting on this while RFK takes a buzz saw to American health so he can sell substack subscriptions
ghouls, the lot of them
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
hahahahaha I knew it. "I feel very confident that he can do a very good job. I think he's gonna surprise some conservative people, actually. And some very liberal people he won't surprise because they already like him."
Trump in a room with a very charismatic person results in like half a day of Trump agreeing with everything that person said, so this has the potential to be very, very funny.
Trump says he’s meeting with “communist” Mamdani at the White House on Friday
November 21, 2025 at 8:56 PM
hahahahaha I knew it. "I feel very confident that he can do a very good job. I think he's gonna surprise some conservative people, actually. And some very liberal people he won't surprise because they already like him."
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
Using Jmail, you can read thousands of Jeffrey Epstein's emails in a familiar format. Use the star function to highlight notable finds.
wrd.cm/49u9pdF
wrd.cm/49u9pdF
Pranksters Recreated a Working Version of Jeffrey Epstein’s Gmail Inbox
Using Jmail, you can read thousands of Jeffrey Epstein's emails in a familiar format. Use the star function to highlight notable finds.
www.wired.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Using Jmail, you can read thousands of Jeffrey Epstein's emails in a familiar format. Use the star function to highlight notable finds.
wrd.cm/49u9pdF
wrd.cm/49u9pdF
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
TRUMP [after spending 5 minutes with Zohran]: surplus value, it’s a very wonderful thing, very wonderful, and they’re stealing it. Can you believe that?
We’re going to be looking very strongly at the bourgeoisie, what they’re up to
We’re going to be looking very strongly at the bourgeoisie, what they’re up to
November 21, 2025 at 9:25 PM
TRUMP [after spending 5 minutes with Zohran]: surplus value, it’s a very wonderful thing, very wonderful, and they’re stealing it. Can you believe that?
We’re going to be looking very strongly at the bourgeoisie, what they’re up to
We’re going to be looking very strongly at the bourgeoisie, what they’re up to
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
this is your brain when your entire politics is just a set of aesthetics
November 21, 2025 at 11:04 PM
this is your brain when your entire politics is just a set of aesthetics
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
Former Finnish PM Sanna Marin put it bluntly: “To end the conflict, Russia must leave Ukrainian territory.”
Just one point. Nothing more to discuss.
Just one point. Nothing more to discuss.
November 21, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Former Finnish PM Sanna Marin put it bluntly: “To end the conflict, Russia must leave Ukrainian territory.”
Just one point. Nothing more to discuss.
Just one point. Nothing more to discuss.
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
And the piece itself:
www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...
www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...
Nicolas Guillou, French ICC judge sanctioned by the US: 'You are effectively blacklisted by much of the world's banking system'
Six judges and three prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have been sanctioned by the Trump administration. In an interview with Le Monde, Guillou discusses the impact of these measures on ...
www.lemonde.fr
November 21, 2025 at 12:58 PM
And the piece itself:
www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...
www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
As we knew all along, these were murders.
“The lawyer at U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the operations against alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela, disagreed that the strikes are legal and was overruled, according to six sources.”
“The lawyer at U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the operations against alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela, disagreed that the strikes are legal and was overruled, according to six sources.”
Top military lawyer raised legal concerns about boat strikes
The lawyer at U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the operations against alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela, disagreed that the strikes are legal and was overruled, according to six sources...
www.nbcnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:21 AM
As we knew all along, these were murders.
“The lawyer at U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the operations against alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela, disagreed that the strikes are legal and was overruled, according to six sources.”
“The lawyer at U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the operations against alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela, disagreed that the strikes are legal and was overruled, according to six sources.”
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
The Trump admin's case to the Supreme Court that the situation in Chicago justifies a National Guard deployment rests partly on the actions of two motorists.
Now, prosecutors have moved to dropped charges against them. Julie Bosman reports... www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/u...
Now, prosecutors have moved to dropped charges against them. Julie Bosman reports... www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/u...
Officials Move to Drop Case Against Drivers in Chicago Immigration Clash
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:19 PM
The Trump admin's case to the Supreme Court that the situation in Chicago justifies a National Guard deployment rests partly on the actions of two motorists.
Now, prosecutors have moved to dropped charges against them. Julie Bosman reports... www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/u...
Now, prosecutors have moved to dropped charges against them. Julie Bosman reports... www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/u...
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
This is a thread detailing a series of incidents where federal Judge Ellis rules that Gregory Bovino and his agents lied or misrepresented what was happening on the streets of Chicago. In this one, she says body cam footage suggests they brake checked to cause accidents
November 20, 2025 at 9:27 PM
This is a thread detailing a series of incidents where federal Judge Ellis rules that Gregory Bovino and his agents lied or misrepresented what was happening on the streets of Chicago. In this one, she says body cam footage suggests they brake checked to cause accidents
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
A Trump supporter started murdering his way through an assassination list of Democratic law makers FIVE MONTHS AGO. He murdered my colleague Melissa Hortman, and her husband Mark — and attempted to assassinate my dear friend John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. I was also on the hit list. WTF
November 20, 2025 at 5:56 PM
A Trump supporter started murdering his way through an assassination list of Democratic law makers FIVE MONTHS AGO. He murdered my colleague Melissa Hortman, and her husband Mark — and attempted to assassinate my dear friend John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. I was also on the hit list. WTF
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
THREAD: Judge Ellis is the first federal judge to review extensive body cam video of DHS's actions in Chicago. She finds that DHS *repeatedly* misled the public and made claims that were disproven by agents' own videos.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
![II. Credibility
The Court next addresses the credibility of the parties’ evidence and witnesses. After reviewing all the evidence submitted to the Court and listening to the testimony elicited at the preliminary injunction hearing, during depositions, and in other court proceedings, the Court finds Defendants’ evidence simply not credible. [FN 6]
Plaintiffs submitted a mountain of evidence, providing the Court with over eighty declarations, numerous videos and articles, and other evidence. Defendants did not rebut anything that Plaintiffs set forth in their declarations or testimony, even with BWC footage.
[FN 6] In another case considering some of the same evidence presented to this Court, another court in this district also found that the perceptions of certain of Defendants’ declarants, such as Hott and Parra, were not reliable. See Illinois v. Trump, No. 25-cv-12174, 2025 WL 2886645, at *5 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 10, 2025) (noting a “troubling trend of Defendants’ declarants equating protests with riots and a lack of appreciation for the wide spectrum that exists between citizens who are observing, questioning, and criticizing their government, and those who are obstructing, assaulting, or doing violence”), motion to stay denied in part, 155 F.4th 929 (7th Cir. 2025).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2vtbmhmrwzbqcfv4we4uxzzt/bafkreifpyry2il5toxbr3iejgrsxs6kmnwve75qwnhebfp44ieyjrfpsdu@jpeg)
November 20, 2025 at 11:04 PM
THREAD: Judge Ellis is the first federal judge to review extensive body cam video of DHS's actions in Chicago. She finds that DHS *repeatedly* misled the public and made claims that were disproven by agents' own videos.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
Kash Patel's personal firing of the Pride flag-displaying employee was always absurd and unconstitutional, so I'm glad David Maltinsky is suing, but, wait.
It was a flag FLOWN BY THE FBI that was given to him BY THE FBI?! Come on.
Complaint: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
It was a flag FLOWN BY THE FBI that was given to him BY THE FBI?! Come on.
Complaint: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
![On October 1, 2025, after successfully completing 16 weeks of the FBI Academy's
19-week training program, Maltinsky was handed a letter terminating his employment with the
FBI. The letter was signed by Defendant Patel ("Patel"). In the letter, Patel wrote that he had
"determined that [Maltinsky] exercised poor judgment with an inappropriate display of political signage in [his] work area during [his] previous assignment at the Los Angeles Field Office." In short, Patel fired Maltinsky for displaying a pride flag at his workstation that had been flown by the FBI at the LAFO and then given by the FBI to Maltinsky.
The Defendants' discrimination against Maltinsky for engaging in protected speech
was a clear and brazen violation of federal law and the Constitution.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:36eqtmzysqf7wsslczw4uxcd/bafkreid5rog4gjpv3qeneunmoyqxoesnuxac2srp3u6ppnjdxphfv7jcoe@jpeg)
November 20, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Kash Patel's personal firing of the Pride flag-displaying employee was always absurd and unconstitutional, so I'm glad David Maltinsky is suing, but, wait.
It was a flag FLOWN BY THE FBI that was given to him BY THE FBI?! Come on.
Complaint: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
It was a flag FLOWN BY THE FBI that was given to him BY THE FBI?! Come on.
Complaint: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
They lied about it. All of it. A thug cop shot an unarmed woman five times without justification, boasted about it to his colleagues, and then this administration tried cover it all up by arresting her and charging her with felonies.
Absolutely incredible; after shooting Marimar Martinez 5 times and arresting her on claims that she rammed them and pulled a gun, prosecutors have now moved to dismiss ALL criminal charges against her and her codefendant.
New: the govt has moved to dismiss its assault case against Marimar Martinez and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, two people accused of "box[ing] in" a Border Patrol vehicle in Chicago on Oct. 4.
One agent shot Martinez, with evidence presented to the court that he later bragged about in text messages.
One agent shot Martinez, with evidence presented to the court that he later bragged about in text messages.
November 20, 2025 at 6:24 PM
They lied about it. All of it. A thug cop shot an unarmed woman five times without justification, boasted about it to his colleagues, and then this administration tried cover it all up by arresting her and charging her with felonies.
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
Absolutely incredible; after shooting Marimar Martinez 5 times and arresting her on claims that she rammed them and pulled a gun, prosecutors have now moved to dismiss ALL criminal charges against her and her codefendant.
New: the govt has moved to dismiss its assault case against Marimar Martinez and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, two people accused of "box[ing] in" a Border Patrol vehicle in Chicago on Oct. 4.
One agent shot Martinez, with evidence presented to the court that he later bragged about in text messages.
One agent shot Martinez, with evidence presented to the court that he later bragged about in text messages.
November 20, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Absolutely incredible; after shooting Marimar Martinez 5 times and arresting her on claims that she rammed them and pulled a gun, prosecutors have now moved to dismiss ALL criminal charges against her and her codefendant.
Reposted by Association for Political and Legal Anthropology / PoLAR journal
This tracks: Cornell researchers: xAI's Grokipedia cites neo-Nazi website Stormfront 42 times, Infowars 34 times, and white nationalist website VDare 107 times www.nbcnews.com/tech/elon-mu...
Elon Musk’s Grokipedia cites Stormfront — a neo-Nazi forum — dozens of times, study finds
An analysis by researchers at Cornell University is the first comprehensive look at Grokipedia since Musk launched his project last month.
www.nbcnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:07 PM
This tracks: Cornell researchers: xAI's Grokipedia cites neo-Nazi website Stormfront 42 times, Infowars 34 times, and white nationalist website VDare 107 times www.nbcnews.com/tech/elon-mu...