Interesting piece on minor players in the region. The role Azerbaijan (and Armenia, and Georgia) might end up playing in the balance between Iran, Russia, and the Middle East is up for geopolitical negotiation. The fact that they're realigning under relative US indifference is troubling.

Remember: It ys okaye to be lonelye. It ys okaye to feel lost. It ys okaye to be sad. It ys okaye yf nobody ys arounde. It ys okaye to have no plannes or just small plannes. It ys okaye to have big plannes that seem exhausting. It ys okaye to be a mess. Take care of thyself. Thou art amazinge.

After what we're seeing at CBS, if today is not the perfect day for everyone to find some independent journalism & nonprofit newsrooms to support... what day could be better?

Meanwhile in Russia… “A teenager had his skull fractured by a xylophone at a patriotic camp on Sakhalin.” That has got to be a brand new sentence. www.kommersant.ru/doc/8313716

I don't expect pop music to do geopolitics well by any means, but just stating that Iran is "so far away" always struck me as a shallow analysis. Do better, Flock of Seagulls.

Random, but since Salem, NH is suddenly in the news, shout out to this place for the best mulligatawny I've ever had: www.kashmirindianfood.com

Visionary pose Shiba. I’m assuming she’ll use this one on LinkedIn.

Nose!

Assertion: Driven to Tears has the single strangest guitar solo in a pop song. Andy Summers really knows how to make things weird (approbation).

Heeler enjoying unseasonable weather.

'Heather Cox Richardson Stole My Wife' Is Feel-Good Hit Of The Holiday Season! This is so insane. evanhurst.substack.com/p/heather-co...

@wonkettemedia.bsky.social might want to have a look over this list. www.reddit.com/r/linguistic...

KI throwing shade. Love to see it. kyivindependent.com/son-of-presi...

The Wild’s hot young goaltender is somehow putting up a .700 save percentage against the Abbotsford Canucks (plus some other guys) and somehow I just know Vancouver is still in panic mode.

Today’s favorite ball is just out of frame. You’ll never guess where.

Study after study shows campaign ads barely move the needle. So where does money’s real power come from? I ranked the five ways money corrupts politics—from least to most corrosive. What I’ve learned from 15 years of tracking political money:

I don’t know what’s gotten into her, but the Shiba has decided she likes glamour shots.

You can help Bolts continue to provide crucial coverage of local elections. Here's how: - Repost this = I donate $1. - Follow @boltsmag.org = I donate $1. - Donate (link below) + tell me how much = I match your donation. (Donate monthly = I match a year's worth)

"Unto me grant that which the physician has requested on my behalf" just refuses to fit in a reggae groove.

Shiba decided to pose.

Huh. That’s what a +48 goal differential will do I suppose.

Shiba and ACD in black and white.

Cold day, nice fire.

I'm just going to throw this one out there. It's not an issue on most people's radar, but if the US wants to talk out of this mess with any semblance of technological advantage remaining, saving IPR is absolutely critical. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

But what would Theda Skocpol know about such things, right?

Forget "current mood", this one has lasted for years now. (source: www.splinter.com/why-is-there...)

Shiba decided on the route last night. She apparently knows it's spooky season.

If I'd told you before the season that only three teams from the Atlantic would be above the playoff line a month in you probably wouldn't have believed me. If I'd told you _which_ three teams you would have politely inquired about my medication and been right to do so.

"Tzefardea Tzedek" (Frog of Righteousness) As soon as the Portland Frog became a meme, Jewish social media blew up with jokes about the 2nd Passover plague - tzefarde'a (frogs) - and the Rabbinical commentary around it. I knew I had to make a calligraphy piece encompassing all of it. (more in alt.)

Well, here we go. My day is made.

I know it's early, but this is downright SPICY.

Made ya look LOL

By my count, the Flames have been outscored 13-2 in the third so far this year. I suspect letting in ~2 goals per game in the last period may, in fact, be a very serious problem.

The world is going to hell and my country is slipping into dictatorship but hey, hockey is going my way. Bonus points for the Oilers and Panthers both slipping under .500.

I'm genuinely not complaining, but what the hell is up with the Sabres?

🧵 I'm excited to share that my article "Democratic Backsliding and the Limits of Civilian Control of the Military" has been accepted @thejop.bsky.social. It answers the question "how ought militaries act when civilian leaders turn on democratic institutions?" 1/ #CivMilSky #PolTheory

Brent Burns seems genuinely nice, but he LOOKS like a lumberjack who murders hobos in his free time.

Enjoy your moment in the sun, Pittsburgh.

El hockey ha vuelto and I can't quite talk myself out of following in spanish this year for no apparent reason.

I saw someone asking for the generals and admirals to launch a coup to get rid of Trump. There might be worse ideas but this one is really, really awful. I have a short list here saideman.blogspot.com/2025/10/root... #CivMilSky Beware of "Easy solutions" that are damn near catastrophic.

In case any 1Ls needed the reminder.

I wish this weren't such an important read, but unfortunately it provides both a clear-eyed look at a specific example and a general model for (more or less inevitable) future behavior. balkin.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-...

So, uh, anyone still have the Panthers for 2026?

Current pet peeve: autism was not "discovered". Autism was first DESCRIBED (or, if you prefer, differentiated) in the early 20th century and its description has been refined over time. Regardless. No "discovery".

If you are a pundit/reporter/talking head/politician and you don't IMMEDIATELY derive meaning from this picture you are under no circumstances qualified to discuss Tyler Robinson's ideology. Step away, shut your hole, it's not your beat.

It's fascinating to see how quickly some people are coming to understand the concept of stochastic terrorism.

@reactorsff.bsky.social Is your website just down at this point?