I'm not sure if she's on Bsky, but Tamara Krawchenko and I just published a piece for The Conversation, related to the much longer essay I put on Medium yesterday, about the "NATO expansion" myth and the deportation & russification of Ukrainian children. theconversation.com/ukraines-sto...

Happy to say I've finally gotten around to finishing an essay about the "NATO expansion" myth. It was intended originally for the newsletter, but it got too big so I put it on Medium instead. As always, it's free for everyone, so please have a read! medium.com/@geogvma/the...

Fascinating how "present" Russia is at these Olympics, despite being barred from competing: "neutral" athletes; flags everywhere; "apolitical" sports fans going on about how "Russia should be there"; and indeed in the IOC's own repeated efforts to deny Ukrainians a voice.

Dictators think they reside in a fortress, insulated from the people. In truth, they depend on elites to act as pillars of their regimes. Popular resistance can force those pillars to break away. Part two of my series on the downfall of Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos:

My latest: Dictators are not omnipotent. They depend for support on security forces, business elites, party allies, civil servants, and ordinary people. Deprive him of that support, and he’s just a man, isolated and powerless. Understanding this will be the key to removing Trump. /n

⚡️Kyiv residents are vowing to never surrender as brutal Russian missile strikes leave the capital frozen without heat or power in subzero temperatures.

Renee Good's family is accusing federal immigration officers of killing the Minneapolis mother of three as she attempted to follow agents' instructions, and have now hired the same law firm that represented George Floyd's family to press for answers and accountability.

Russia’s senior military leadership is significantly exaggerating the amount of Ukrainian territory its forces have captured, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s General Staff said

A little article I posted a bit over a month ago but forgot to mention here, I guess. A look at how popular culture and media can shape (or reaffirm) what we know (or think we know) about the world. open.substack.com/pub/geogvma/...

Until this morning, Ukraine had no missiles left for air defense systems, Zelenskyy said. A major package arrived this morning. Launchers without missiles can’t protect cities. When deliveries move slowly, Ukraine pays in blood and lives. Words don’t intercept strikes. Air defense does.

Holy shit. Renee Good was alive when the bystander physician asked to check her pulse. She was alive when ICE refused to let him help. She was alive when they told him “I don’t care.” www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

Pritzker: The Insurrection Act is designed for circumstances where your rights can’t be protected by local authorities This is exactly the opposite. Your civil rights are being infringed upon by CBP and ICE, and then they want to call in troops claiming that they’re protecting CBP and ICE.

Over the past week, Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure have left people across the country without electricity, heating, and water amid subzero temperatures. The Kyiv Independent team is reporting from Kyiv, where prolonged blackouts have forced us to adapt.

Who'd have thought the horseshoe theory would ever manifest as Trump's and Chomsky's fans both using the same excuse for their cult leader's relationship with one of the worst sex traffickers in modern times.

Who chose Steve Witkoff? Putin www.wsj.com/world/putin-...

One silver lining in the US-Russia rapprochement is that it’s forced mouthpieces like Aaron to shift to the much more ridiculous and less believable narrative that the EU is “war crazy” and waging a “Ukraine proxy war” against the country they all used to buy gas from. /1

It's fear masquerading as contempt. Rightwing America does not want a Europe that is its own geopolitical power.

Exhibit B: Lawrence, Kansas (that one little spot all the way on the east of the map where the district dips south into Douglas county)

Hey friends, I've got a new article up on The Checkpoint! It's a long-delayed companion to my Medium article about geopolitics and uses the example of the (canceled) BBC show "Ambassadors" to explore how popular culture can shape how we understand the world. geogvma.substack.com/p/ambassador...

The "Return Every Child" report exposes how Russian authorities are ripping Ukrainian children from their homes, erasing their identities, and reshaping them to serve an authoritarian state. www.warchild.org.uk/returneveryc...

Here is my read of the "peace plan" and how Kirill Dmitriev played the American media to force this thing into being -- with an incompetent White House scrambling to make it seem like this was somehow coordinated and well-planned. open.substack.com/pub/macspaun...

If reporters could remove their lips from Trump's backside for a minute b/c he didn't act like a flaming asshole in a photo op with Mamdani, perhaps they could focus on the fact he (Trump) is selling out Ukraine to the Russians. I don't know, just a thought.

😡 Russians hit a supermarket in Zaporizhzhia, at least 5 people injured The store and nearby houses were damaged. All the injured are already receiving assistance. One of the local ATB supermarkets was hit.

Footage has surfaced online showing unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war executed while lying face down, accompanied by the approving shouts of those filming the scene. This is not an isolated atrocity, it is russia’s pattern. Execution. Torture. Destruction.

🥴🇭🇺 Orban: Hungary will now block absolutely any aid to Ukraine. Europeans must immediately and unconditionally support the peace initiative of the United States. In addition to supporting the U.S. President, we must without delay launch autonomous and direct negotiations with Russia.

On Nov. 21, Ukraine marks the Day of Dignity and Freedom — a commemorative date that coincides with the start of the 2013–2014 Revolution of Dignity and the 2004 Orange Revolution. 🔗: link.nv.ua/AaMN85

As I said on Twitter, the perversity of ghouls like this feigning outrage about occupying Gaza and depriving Palestinians of self-determination and dignity while both of them are calling for Ukraine to suffer that exact fate "for their own good" proves once again that they're dishonest frauds. /1

This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

Social media is full of pseudo-academic and journalistic jackals who, since 2022, have positioned themselves as the only people who “really” care about Ukraine. But their “analysis” consists of only one message: “for its own good,” Ukraine must capitulate and accede to whatever Russia demands. /1

Just watched US political scientists present empirical evidence from Ukraine that removing foreign military aid will not make Ukrainians stop resisting, but rather will more likely prolong the war, make it bloodier, and make Ukrainians suffer more.

At this momentUkraine may face a very hard choice: either the loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner." I feel sick.

Zelenskyy has posted a deeply difficult, ten‑minute national address. It is honestly heartbreaking to watch. I’m sure translations are already circulating and you’ll find it online, but the first point you need to hear is this: "Right now is one of the most difficult moments in our history. ,

I wrote this back in February and, unfortunately, here we are again.

The world feels very dark right now, doesn’t it?

Um, ICE just coldly shot an unarmed PRIEST in the head w a pepper ball when he (and everyone around him) clearly posed no threat. For the crime of … complaining about government policy. Core 1A speech. With cameras rolling, they’re sniping priests for sport.

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

Another must read from JVL open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

The First Amendment explicitly guarantees: -the right of the people peaceably to assemble -to petition the Government for a redress of grievances -the free exercise of religion -freedom of speech If this priest had also been press, ICE would have violated all five 1A freedoms at once.

I think a significant number of people continue to advocate for Russian victory solely because they’ve realized that, if Ukraine prevails, their goose is fucking cooked because they’ve spent the last 3.5 years publicly cheering genocide and justifying atrocities. www.politico.eu/article/russ...

I can't believe that Yamantaka Eye is 61 years old.

I think this misreads the extent to which an increasingly addled Trump is in control of his own administration and underestimates how much some of his courtiers will blow up the country because they believe in the cleansing power of blowing up the country

Why did I have this image on my hard drive

Sitting on a couch in the morning, drinking some coffee and listening to the cat purr on my lap. Recommended activity.

US move to ease Belavia sanctions raises fears of spare parts reaching Russia, Politico reports There is growing concern that U.S.-made aircraft components could be diverted to Russian airlines, which face acute shortages of spare parts and maintenance capacity after more than...