My new book coming out next month examines our apocalyptic moment--climate, conspiracy, authoritarianism, geopolitics, etc: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/bloomsbur...

Thank you for your praise, Clifton. Very much appreciated. I should also leave all social media, I rarely use it, and as I think you are saying, it too often amplifies conspiracism. Be well and take care!

Thank you @cliftonlee.bsky.social !!!

“And it, in some ways, makes sense, right? It’s easier to focus on a bunch of towers than the sort of larger structures of the crisis of political legitimacy and representation that we see in Northern Ireland specifically.”

“But I think what we’re seeing here geographically, at least in west Belfast, is a group of people who have a history of being surveilled and understanding it in a particular way."

Im unable to put myself in Trump's mind, he is mercurial, not rational. What will happen is wide open: Too strong of an act of force by Iran or Israel could tip scales. Without a Ukrainian peace deal, perhaps Trump realised Putin is not his friend. But, as said, Trump isn't a rational actor.

Oh wow, their music travelled farther than I would have thought!

My first intro to Lakes of Ponchartrain was by Canadian friends of ours, the Be Good Tanyas in 2000. Faster, but no less sentimental: youtu.be/Dtywt38RnX4?...

I like this kayfabe concept, normality as performance.

Balfour was an antisemite, and the Balfour Declaration wasn’t about compassion—it was about removing Jews from Europe and fulfilling a Christian Zionist prophecy requiring Jews in Israel to trigger the end-times and the Second Coming. A century later, the end-times are here—but Jesus is still MIA.

I agree, but we can go farther back still. A nice piece by Hanine Shehadeh in Political Theology that pushes "Christian Zionism" and the west's colonial designs on Palestine 300 or so years earlier: politicaltheology.com/in-christs-n...

Jealous you weren't on that train?