A bracing read

In Canada, we are publishing think pieces re: fighting as insurgents. Meanwhile in the US, this is what was in the papers recently ... "Fallout maps show what could happen if America’s nuclear missile silos were attacked." #Throughthelookingglass www.usatoday.com/graphics/int...

Chocolate candied orange peel macadamia nut biscotti.

this is basically ricks' argument in THE GENERALS: that the structure of the american military (and political leadership) has generated an enormously competent professional force... that consistently generates useless results because of a void of strategic thinking at the top

NEW: Organ tuners have been leaving temperature and humidity records in little-known books for decades. 🎹 They reveal how temperatures inside churches have changed over time due to climate change and increased heating. A new scoop for The Reengineer! www.thereengineer.pro/p/church-org...

Was at a Christmas party with a load of clergy last night and as some people were leaving they found a person collapsed on the street outside so the Verger took over and called an ambulance and sent all the clergy away because "if they wake up surrounded by priests that'll just make things worse"

First-ever US airstrikes in Nigeria put the second Trump admin’s 2025 combat actions at: —Nigeria—tonight’s strikes —Yemen—1,000+ strikes (Mar-Apr) —Somalia—120 strikes, 1 ground raid —Syria—78+ strikes, 3 ground raids —Caribbean—11 strikes —Eastern Pacific—20 strikes —Iran—3 strikes —Iraq—1 strike

So Nigeria has significant strike capabilities themselves. Their Air Force is robust and they have a solid up to date drone fleet. There is nothing we can bring to bear *from the Gulf of Guinea* that would have more effect than what they’ve been doing for the last fifteen years.

Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is the complete and utter collapse of the entire AI industry, to include the fortunes of those involved in it Please and thank you Because I’d like there to be some semblance of a world left for my niece and nephews in

The Free Speech wing of the Free Speech party has made it so you have to upload journalism like it's an ISIS video

I mean we’ve just had to deal with like three years of DoD hyperventilating about “THE CHINESE ARE GONNA BUILD A NAVAL BASE IN GABON!!!” and here we are literally abandoning diplomatic connections with Gabon!

Our great national humiliation continues apace.

We share second part of our Boardgames Guide for Christmas Gifts🎁. Today the focus is on the all-time classics. Enjoy! ⬇️⬇️⬇️ theboardgameschronicle.com/2025/12/19/t... @gmtgames.bsky.social @fgradaille.bsky.social @volko.bsky.social @joedewhurst.bsky.social

Liu Huaqing (2001): “Defense development is a gradual accumulation process. We cannot ignore it for a decade or two and then rush to address it when funds are available. Many development projects have long cycles, and if we don’t prioritize key projects, the gap will widen.”

“I am a hopeful animal and in my most hopeful moments, I think the longer term consequence of the Trump presidency will be much more stringent restrictions on the executive power of the president of the United States.” @ldfreedman.bsky.social drew me out on civ-mil and US politics.

The set up for blowtorching your sense of taste

This USA number 8 who's just come on and immediately started 2 fights is my new favourite

I'm riding my mountain bike on the 850-mile Arizona Trail this fall to see and write about #climate impacts along the way. We're publishing weekly dispatches from the trail in The Arizona Republic | @azcentral.com as I go. The first one just dropped: www.azcentral.com/story/news/l...

I didn't get a picture of the best sign I saw today, but I remember what it said: Somewhere in America A little Hispanic girl Is hiding in an attic And keeping a diary. #NoKings

Comedy is illegal again I guess

Thoroughly enjoyed tonight’s “Evening with Mary Beard”. It turns out that quite a lot of us in Edinburgh are fascinated by the Romans! Thank you, @wmarybeard.bsky.social for all the fun and wisdom!

I would also like to report that I just heard from my mother, who has voted Republican for most of her life. Can't stand Trump Went to her first protest today. 150-200 people in our tiny rural two-stop-sign town

Proud to start the morning with THOUSANDS of fellow Coloradans in Fort Collins at the No Kings rally who are standing up for our constitution and the rule of law!

In August 2025 I witnessed this brave squirrel walk up to this juvenile great horned owl perching on a fence rail right before dusk in Longmont, Colorado. #bird #birds #owl #owls #photography #photograph #photographs #photo #photos #nature #great_horned_owl #great_horned_owls #owlet #owlets

Backlight prairie grasses growing along the St. Vrain Greenway in Longmont, Colorado. They are in front of an old wood shed. #ClassicMono #Monochrome #BW #BlackandWhite #EastCoastKin #closeup #photography #photograph #photographs #photo #photos #nature #grass #grasses #prairiegrass #prairiegrasses

The number one reason that officer candidates failed Marine OCS from the 70s through the 2010s was stress fractures. Male or female candidates. We selected generations of Marine Officers with the first question being "how well do you absorb calcium with 4 minutes to eat 3x per day?"

A new mural by elusive street artist Banksy showing a judge beating an unarmed protester with a gavel will be removed from a wall outside one of London’s most iconic courts, authorities said Monday.

U.S. Responds To Rising Sea Levels By Patting East Coast With Towels https://theonion.com/u-s-responds-to-rising-sea-levels-by-patting-east-coas-1847614367/

A well preserved #Roman infantry helmet (Niederbieber type) and a lorica hamata (chainmail) found in Rainau-Buch, dating 3rd century AD. On display at our branch museum Limesmuseum Aalen. #Archaeology 🏺 📷 me

“At the Army Command and General Staff College, they use Root. I call it Furry Afghanistan. The cat faction is the NATO military occupation force, trying to win by submission. The raccoons are Pakistan, breaking all the rules." - @sebastianbae.bsky.social, game designer and research analyst at CNA

“But today, it has become easy to use drones for such an operation. Indeed, if there is a surprise, it is that there have not been major attacks using the technology yet.”

You deserve a break on Sundays that doesn’t break the bank.

I was at a DC house party and I showed a picture of my girlfriend at the time (who was Chinese American) to a group of people and a gop staffer straight up asked why I was dating a “yellow commie” if you don’t think this is a thing

Tom Hanks's work portraying U.S. troops is extensive: "Saving Private Ryan," "Forrest Gump" and "Greyhound" among them. He also co-produced "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific." Hanks also has been a forceful advocate for The World War II Memorial and The National WWII Museum.

This is incorrect: (1) Department of War was just the Army, not the Navy and Marine Corps; and (2) the President does not have the authority, only Congress can make that change in the law. Be better, @npr.org.

University wargaming in the new academic started! La Coruña scenario from Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars by @mropla.bsky.social The French struggles for most of the time, but managed to deal fatal blows just before the night descended.

The War Department was abolished for a reason. Bringing it back won’t make America stronger, writes Dr Walter Ladwig in the latest RUSI Commentary.

Just a heads up to anyone using Firefox:

People working in universities know a lot of the work that makes the organization function is outsourced to for-profit companies (catering, landscaping) or runs on platforms requiring payments to such companies: Workday, Canvas, Microsoft, Zoom. This thread will be for less obvious examples. 1/

"Ukrainian drone units near the front line tell me they often host European military or civilian manufacturers looking to test drones or components. Few Americans come, they said, and U.S. special forces no longer visit."

The devastating global boom in narcotics on.ft.com/4oQVqUt | opinion

This is basically an American version of the Al Qaeda monkey bars videos.

Elegant and detailed refutation of Huntington’s use of Prussia as the historical example of “objective control” producing an apolitical military, from @sodrock.bsky.social

Happy Battle of Atlanta Day to all who celebrate!

41. Everyone should read "Say Nothing" by Patrick Radden Keefe. My favorite book of the last decade