Jason Dittmer

Okay, a new one - maybe the Fog of War is his new tipple of choice?

Someone probably made this joke two days ago

Does Pete Hegseth know the fog of war isn’t an actual fog?

Excellent!

🎄 Norwegian Christmas tree arrives in London

In a yearly tradition going back to 1947, a Norwegian spruce arrives in London, where it will "grace" Trafalgar Square during the Christmas period, with a lighting ceremony planned for December 4

I think they might just be south London. But good eggs!

Also Hiyacar

Flow chart from TX Tech memo showing that most class materials must be reviewed by chair, dean, and provost, and that all curricular material must be disclosed

TX Tech has a flow chat for guidance on what can be taught in the university system. Two things:
1. Very little content seems to be permitted. This is partisan control of the curriculum.
2. I would not enjoy teaching under these conditions, but I really would not want to be a Chair or Dean.

Putin Defends Witkoff Against Accusations of Pro-Russia Bias

Well, that settles that
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/w...

bsky.app/profile/bloo... And the consequences…

The death of the diplomat in Trump’s America Sidelining the state department and relying on dealmakers will come at a cost

on.ft.com/481Bk3s The death of the diplomat in Trump’s America (Or of expertise, I would argue)

How Ireland became the weak spot in Europe’s defences With few ships and limited intelligence-sharing, some say the country cannot hope to protect itself or its infrastructure

An interesting read given we are all talking about critical infrastructure these days
on.ft.com/3XPJbeq How Ireland became the weak spot in Europe’s defences

UT-Austin still silent on Trump compact as deadline passes Most other invited universities have rejected the administration’s offer tying priority federal funding to campus policy changes.

So the University of Texas at Austin neither signed Trump's higher-ed compact nor rejected it. The deadline passed and UT just did not respond: www.texastribune.org/2025/11/17/u...

Secret US-Russia Talks Led to Peace Plan That Blindsided Ukraine The controversial 28-point plan dropped suddenly by the Trump administration to Ukraine as a take-it-or-leave it proposition mere days ago was mostly the result of several weeks of negotiations behind...

Bloomberg unfolds the history of the Vance-Dmitriev initiative... Dmitriev put it to Witkoff and Vance in a meeting in Miami, Axios published it, Trump and Rubio knew nothing of it. But then Trump decided to simply bless Dmitriev's draft after the fact. A perfect biopsy of "diplomacy" under Trump.

You are too kind! Though I have to confess that was my post-PhD project. Nobody noticed my PhD project so I went pop culture! LOL

'Things happen' - Trump defends Saudi crown prince over Khashoggi killing The US president's claims that the crown prince "knew nothing" contradict the CIA's own assessment.

When Forest Gump said something similar it was cute. But I don’t think he was talking and brutal murder and repression.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Looks like an exciting opportunity for an energy geographer:
www.uvmjobs.com/postings/84073

Along the Line: Writing with Comics and Graphic Narrative in Geography, with Juliet Fall Stream Along the Line: Writing with Comics and Graphic Narrative in Geography, with Juliet Fall by Thinking Through Infrastructure Network on desktop and mobile. Play over 320 million tracks for free ...

It was such a pleasure to chat with @julietjfall.bsky.social about her recent book Along the Line, which explores border infrastructure through graphic narrative.

For the new TTiN series of conversations with academics and artists working on infrastructure.

m.soundcloud.com/ttinfrastruc...

Good to remeber Heritage Foundation spent a good deal of its cultural capital complaining about the way James Madison's Montpelier talks about slavery. In particular they didnt like an agreement to give the descendents of Montpelier's enslaved population more say on how the museum presented slavery.

Shout out to @stephenlegg11.bsky.social for passing the article on to me!

Diplomatic Material: Affect, Assemblage, and Foreign Policy In Diplomatic Material Jason Dittmer offers a counterintuitive reading of foreign policy by tracing the ways that complex interactions between people and t

Anyhow, if you liked the article you might like Chapter 2 of my book Diplomatic Material, which gives the Foreign Office the same treatment! (that was pre-toilets, though)
read.dukeupress.edu/books/book/2... (5/5)

It's not just funny quips though, clearly the role of toilets is central to the geography of power, as they provide opportunities for staffers to 'randomly' encroach on the inner circle of power around the PM. (4/5)

'The ex-aide recalled once walking past a prawn on the floor of No. 10’s famous yellow staircase, which is lined with portraits of past PMs. “It was there for, like, a week.”' (3/5)

So many gems in this article: 'Parking spaces were no easier to assign, as Truss’ personal trainer — who had a car — discovered, said the ex-Truss aide quoted above. “By the time we got the car park sorted, Liz had resigned,” they said.' (2/5)

Inside 10 Downing Street, the creaky old house that runs Britain Mice, “nan’s bathrooms,” carpets duct-taped together — and terrible phone signal. Is there a worse place to run a country from than 10 Downing Street?

'One senior ally of Starmer has been heard describing Larry the Cat, who has been No. 10’s “chief mouser” since 2011, as a metaphor for the British state — old, lazy, too pampered to do the job he was hired for (catching mice), yet unsackable due to a sense of fondness and tradition.' (1/5)

The US Senate deal seems a triumph for linking the GOP to the rise in health care costs (assuming there is a vote on it as promised) but colossal defeat for actually maintaining Americans’ health care

Opinion | Bruce Springsteen’s Father Complicates a Powerful American Narrative

A great reflection on masculinity and the shape of the economy
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/o...

Save Geography at the University of Leicester Can you spare a minute to help this campaign?

Please sign and share this petition.

I care deeply about geography and want to do everything I can to save our jobs and the school, and protect our students 🌍

#Geography #SchoolClosure

c.org/Z2ZK6fQVgf

Human Geography at Leicester is facing closure. Staff contracts are to end in June 2026; students are to be relocated to other universities, or taught out by a maximum of two (!) teaching-only staff. Other departments and subjects are facing closure, too. Please join the demo!

The Department of Geography invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Indigenous Geographies, preferably with a focus on Human–Environment Relationships.

Read more 👉 www.uvic.ca/faculty-staf...