@benfordham.bsky.social
Political science professor at Binghamton University. International relations, especially the political economy of conflict and security, domestic politics and foreign policy, historical social science. Enjoyer of beaches and mountains.
Someone just posted about how they don't care if their students use AI as long as the text conveys the ideas the students meant to convey. The thing is, you don't know exactly what you think until you write it. And if some prefab thing pops up, you're liable to decide that was what you thought.
"Some will say that a 47-year-old threat doesn’t sound so imminent and that I don’t know what the word even means, and don’t really understand how language works. To them I say: photosynthesis. Followed by: This is not the time for linguistic nitpicking."
I think the “little excursion” bit is a mashup of Johnny Horton’s “The Battle of New Orleans” and the effort to present the invasion of Cambodia as merely an “incursion” in 1970.
In all, six Palestinian civilians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran just over a week ago, in what appears to be an intensification of settler violence while worldwide attention is focused elsewhere.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/w...
Doh! Sorry this story has been de-bunked. I have used it to defend opossums in the past. Nevertheless, I think they get a bad rap!
Bombed Germany to rubble during World War II, but the regime wasn’t replaced until the country was fully controlled by ground forces.
I think they eat ticks!
Pete Hegseth, war crimes enthusiast, drunk, and member of a misogynist cult, must be among the worst possible people to be "Secretary of War.” Many will suffer because he holds this office.
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
Incredible to watch Hegseth just faceplanting into the Absolute Destruction acceleration of violence with his whole face.
Utterly convinced that you lose wars if you don't war crimes hard enough and entirely unprepared for any other theory of victory or success.
“Unconditional surrender” was the Allies’ demand in WWII. They backed it up by occupying Germany, Italy and Japan.
Is Trump prepared to send hundreds of thousands of troops to occupy Iran, a nation of 93 million people, and to risk the resulting casualties? If not, this is simply bluster.
Paternal side: rugged WW I vet and tobacco farmer.
Maternal side: Ruthless business tycoon investing in orange juice and plant nursery facilities.
4 all day long
Neil Sedaka was so talented, and he inspired me to follow my dream of being a songwriter.
With love and gratitude and condolences to his family.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/music/music-...
I’d love it too! Someone with the requisite skills should get to work on this...
Totally agree! TV is going to suck.
I love the way the inventor of this thing casts himself as a bold fighter against “credentialism” in higher education instead of what he actually is: an unprincipled opportunist cashing in on some students' laziness at the expense of their education.
This stunt where ICE releases people far from home with no proper clothing and no way home should be treated as attempted homicide. In this case, actual homicide. These cases are not accidental or based on misunderstandings. They are deliberate attempts to inflict bodily harm.
These dogs are having the time of their lives following this week's historic blizzard in the Northeast. Please enjoy. 14/10 for all
This is absolutely horrible. Why would anyone do such a thing?
This is Wiley. He has never seen snow before and wants to make sure he gets a real good look at it. For science. 12/10 (IG: smileywileydog)
A retired British primary school administrator with a British passport and a valid visa was shackled, chained and detained for six weeks by ICE
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
An ICE agent shot and killed Ruben Ray Martinez, a US citizen and San Antonio resident, in March 2025. Then ICE and the Texas Department of Public Safety covered it up. He was 23 years old. I am calling for a full investigation into this shooting, including why there was an 8-month cover up.
He is extremely dopey, but Pete Hegseth seems barely sentient.
Hey, folks who write seriously about defense. There is no Department of War in the US--that is just a small dick branding exercise. Just as there is no Gulf of America. So, use Dept of Defense until Congress legislates a change.
FFS.
and, today's example: www.chathamhouse.org/2026/02/what...
2026 basically
"This instructional design reflects our commitment to inclusive pedagogy: All learning pathways are valid, whether students engage as manual human learners or outsource their consciousness to a chatbot."
Honestly watching all the beltway assholes, big pundits and media types open their mouths and speak nonsense and then finding out they all went to the Ivys really sank all that mystique in one fell swoop.
lol
