Marko Milanovic, who I am sure must never sleep, offers an early analysis of legality in re Israel's attack on Iran. In short "Israel’s use of force against Iran is, on the facts as we know them, almost certainly illegal" www.ejiltalk.org/is-israels-u...

As things escalate further in California, have a read of @sineadmceneaney.com on historical precedents (or the lack thereof) here theconversation.com/trumps-use-o...

100 MPs have now signed NC20 to give women in England and Wales the human right women in Northern Ireland have to a safe and legal abortion. Swipe to see if your MP is one of them — and what to do if they aren’t! Here’s the petition: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/de...

You can now pre-order the second edition of Great Debates on the European Convention on Human Rights that I wrote with @fdelond.bsky.social. It covers many new things that happened since the first one including climate change cases, Russia’s expulsion and many more www.bloomsbury.com/uk/great-deb...

Criminalisation of abortion causes undeniable and deep harms. If you thought it was merely an historical artefact in England please think again. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

If you were involved in any way in the Repeal campaign and would be interested in speaking with a US-based researcher who wants to understand the referendum--not just the simple narrative but inclusion/exclusion, pragmatism, pain, joy etc--please drop me a line here. All involvement is relevant.

This

Did you know that we give away free credits to students who want to use Transkribus for their Bachelor, Master or PhD thesis? Lean more about our Transkribus Scholarships 👇 www.transkribus.org/scholarship

The Trump regime is now using US Attorneys to intimidate academic journals by sending them letters demanding they explain how they ensure ‘viewpoint diversity.’ Journal editors should be public about this and coordinate to refuse to comply with these fascist tactics.

Absolutely would have been fine with it being less enthralling TBQH

An exquisite read to accompany lunch--theology, book history, social history, and critique in one tidy package www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

"Republicans want a disruptive president, but who’s being disrupted really matters — and if it’s the government or institutions that many Republicans believe are hostile to them...rationalizing their own constitutional violations as fighting fire with fire" www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/o...

US Schools “are watching Columbia with alarm; many fear a demand for similar concessions. Their primary concern: without freedom to follow their intellectual curiosity, the discoveries and innovations that fuel the U.S.’s economy will decline or even grind to a halt”. www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

Worth reading these two pieces side by side www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/n... www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/n...

"Norms of restraint, flipped on their head" www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/w...

Ukraine is Europe! We stand by Ukraine. We will step up our support to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight back the agressor. Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge.

This is a dangerous, cruel move that will result in entirely foreseeable physical and psychological harm.

Anois teacht an Earraigh, beidh an lá dúl chun shíneadh, Is tar eis na féil Bríde, ardóigh mé mo sheol... Finally, spring arrives (at least for us Celts) #imbolc

If this evening's launch at The Barber Institute of Fine Art is anything to go by, this book is a tour de force. I've just made my order and really look forward to learning much more about the artist and about the social histories of intimacy and domesticity in his art.

I’m very sorry to hear this. Like so many interested in how states work, I learned a great deal from his work

This deranged, disgusting attack on Jess Phillips deserves a public rebuke, not just behind-the-scenes diplomacy

This morning’s raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital has put this last major health facility in North #Gaza out of service. Initial reports indicate that some key departments were severely burnt and destroyed during the raid.

"Until men engage earnestly and honestly with the pervasiveness of sexual assault and the aspects of the culture that celebrate and normalise it, not enough will change. The criminal justice system cannot change culture and consciousness; that happens elsewhere." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The little 'ding' on Teams when one 'completes' a task is strangely motivating when one has 1 hour 21 minutes left in the 2024 working year.

Beautiful, generous, strangely helpful.

At the NIHR PRU on Reproductive Health, we are seeking 4 people with lived experience of accessing reproductive health services to help shape a public event on Reproductive Health Data in Summer 2025. Find out more and apply here by Jan 8 2025: www.coproductioncollective.co.uk/news/opportu...

I haven't yet quite got out of the habit of clicking over to 'the other place' when need distraction, and the amount of junk is amazing. It's giving me a whole new insight into the kind of internet lots of people must experience: speculation, conspiracies, slander, and deep fakes. Astounding.

Me & @fdelond.bsky.social watching latest ep of Bad Sisters. Karaoke scene: “That is the capsule of irishness: death, abortion, infertility, alcohol and the cranberries.”

"The human mind cannot imagine all the death and body parts and blood that surround us around the clock....We feel as if the rest of the world is wrapped up in a different world than the one we are in" www.nytimes.com/2024/12/02/o...

Tbilisi tonight.

I suppose a time comes when an emigrant doesn’t go to sleep after an Irish election with the radio coverage on in the background, but if it does I haven’t reached it yet. #GE24

Today is the first election in 80 years in Ireland that my grandmother did not have a vote in. She never missed the chance to exercise her franchise, and neither should you. There’s still some time before polls close… #GE24

The next round of ESRC postdoctoral fellowships (12 months, fully funded) at the Midlands Graduate School is now open. If you did your PhD at a UK uni, finish by 25 March 25, have less than 12 months postdoc experience, and don't have a permanent academic role w/ research dimension you're eligible.

Using an AI programme combined with drones and human analysis, earth scientists have discovered "303 previously uncharted geoglyphs in only six months" in Peru. Extraordinary. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/23/s...

I'm working my way through the glorious back catalogue of @charlottemendelson.bsky.social as I stumble across things in charity shops and online. This weekend I sunk myself into 'When We Were Bad'. Messy families at their best, as usual. www.charlottemendelson.com/when-we-were...

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Israeli PM Netanyahu & ex Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Reasonable grounds to believe each bear criminal responsibility as co-perpetrators for the war crime of starvation, & crimes against humanity incl murder/persecution. www.icc-cpi.int/news/situati...

800 shekels is around £160. For flour.

🧡

"The trial was so big that the courthouse had to create what it called a “mega courtroom” to accommodate all the defendants...Instead of a jury, the case is being heard by three judges handpicked by the city’s Beijing-backed leader, as allowed by the law" www.nytimes.com/2024/11/18/w...

There's a wealth of useful advice for anyone looking to move into an academic post from a PhD in the latest DFLW practice guide (including my ruminations on how to approach the REF, if you are pursuing a job in UK academia and need to be able to get your head round it): dflw.ie/wp-content/u...

Stumbling across this unexpectedly thrilling exhibition was a great experience at Tate Modern today. Highly recommend it.

Anois teacht an Earraigh beidh an lá dúl chun shíneadh, Is tar eis na féil Bríde ardóigh mé mo sheol.

Looks fantastic. I’ve just read “Male historians explain things to me”. It definitely has cross disciplinary application…

As usual, I'm v behind on my reading but this is v interesting. "This cycle of anti-colonial anger has taken on a ‘Pan-Africanist’ inflection. Or rather, the term Pan-Africanism has done the rounds...No one is on steady ground when they invoke the Pan-Africanist model" www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Watched 'Past Lives' last night and was blown away by it. As the NYT review put it "The movie’s modesty — its intimacy, human scale, humble locations and lack of visual oomph — is one of its strengths". Greta Lee is immaculate, as always (see her brilliant Stella Bak in The Morning Show).

Joining the legions enamoured by Bee Wilson’s ‘The Secret of Cooking’. I was sceptical about her chicken stew for tired people. Can a stew without stock, softening, and onions be tasty? Absolutely yes, it turns out. I left out the cream, added a tin of white beans, and thickened with potato flour.

Albanese has lost his appetite for referenda www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-a...

In what seems to be a record it appears our estate agent, rental agent, and conveyancer are all ghosting us. Funtimes.

After a genuinely awful 2023 I have replenished myself over the holiday with lots of fantastic novels, @oldfortunatus.bsky.social lovely podcasts on Approaching Shakespeare, cooking multiple feasts for my family, proper pints, and a reminder of how much it rains in Ireland. Ready for 2024.

"My father played the melodion, My mother milked the cows, And I had a prayer like a white rose pinned On the Virgin Mary’s blouse" No-one says it better than Kavanagh. Merry Christmas everyone.