Paul Staniland

an administration staffed to the top with degenerate liars

Pentagon’s New Defense Strategy Strikes Conciliatory Tone on China The blueprint says the U.S. will focus attention on the Western Hemisphere while reducing its military role in Europe, South Korea and the Middle East.

The Pentagon struck a conciliatory tone toward Beijing in its new defense strategy, stating that its overarching goal is to establish “strategic stability” in the Indo-Pacific region www.wsj.com/politics/nat... via @WSJ

Happy to announce the 1st ever @isanet.bsky.social conference in South Asia in August 2026. Hosted in Colombo, Sri Lanka, we welcome proposals from scholars based in and/or studying South Asian politics & international relations, but also broader global themes ofc www.isanet.org/Conferences/...

Hyde Park is hip and cool:
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

winter Chicago

Professors are turning to this old-school method to stop AI use on exams A small but growing number of educators are experimenting with oral exams to circumvent the temptations presented by powerful AI platforms.

I use class presentations and an oral exam alongside papers now in my undergrad seminar (and blue book final all by side papers in my UG lecture):
“Professors are turning to this old-school method to stop AI use on exams” wapo.st/4pU5mNf

Sushila Karki government beset by court decisions kathmandupost.com/politics/202... via @kathmandupost

India Was Optimistic About Its Relationship with the US. Trump Changed Things Since taking office, Trump has increased tariffs, restricted H-1B visas, and made a deal with China. What does that mean for India’s future?

- As others have argued, time for India to hedge, seek relationships w/Russia, Europe, China distinct from American policy
- Link here: globalaffairs.org/commentary/a...

My thoughts on US-India relations in the Trump era for Chicago Council on Global Affairs:
- US deeply unreliable & mercurial
- Unclear if even a weakened Trump would lead to a rapid shift back toward pro-India policies
- India needs to engage more broadly in US, especially beyond the coasts (1/2)

Should the Feds Bail Out Chicago? “Municipal debt is the history of America”

Illinois & Chicago stuck in "high tax, massive debt, comparatively unremarkable public services" equilibrium that will take either crisis or real political creativity to change:
www.statecraft.pub/p/should-the...

Myanmar's Shwe Kokko: Inside a city 'built on scams' A haven for the super rich, or a city built on scams? The BBC was invited to find out.

"Casinos, high-rises and fraud: The BBC visits a bizarre city built on scams"
bbc.com/news/article...

‘A Recipe for Idiocracy’ What happens when even college students can’t do math anymore?

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

huge sale on Cornell University Press books:

YouTube video by CanonUSA Welcoming the EOS R6 Mark III

I could spend my life just watching camera release videos:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMXV...

Americans Reverse Course on US-China Competition While Republicans remain focused on limiting China's rise, a majority of Americans now favor a policy of cooperation and engagement with Beijing.

Really important survey from @ChicagoCouncil:
“the bipartisan embrace of US-China competition no longer holds among the public, with partisan differences in perceived threats from China and disagreements on current US-China trade policy”
globalaffairs.org/research/pub...

From Brooklyn Heights

Pakistani general's Dhaka visit explores stronger defence ties General Sahir Shamshad Mirza meets Bangladesh’s three service chiefs

Pakistani general's Dhaka visit explores stronger defence ties www.thedailystar.net/news/banglad...

Border patrol agents deployed tear gas on the 3700 block of North Kildare where residents say a landscape worker, a resident, and a woman on a bike were detained. Video from a resident.

Chicago's SkyDeck is pretty awesome (first time I've been here despite living in Chicago 19 of the past 25 years):

23 troops martyred, 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists killed in border skirmishes with Afghanistan: ISPR 21 hostile positions on Afghan side of border were briefly captured and multiple terrorist training camps were rendered inoperative, says ISPR.

Afghanistan-Pakistan clashes:
www.dawn.com/news/1948219...

Can't say I am loving the "Donald Trump sends combat forces to Chicago on an obvious pretext" experience.

Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion

Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...

Based on his track record at UChicago, there is truly no one I would less want to be in a foxhole with than Daniel Diermeier, so very unsurprising news here:
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

current draft syllabus for my Political Violence lecture class:
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8swsa...

current draft syllabus for my Political Violence lecture class:
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8swsa...

YouTube video by Ray Delahanty | CityNerd Can We Agree On the 4 Major U.S. Cities?

Fun video on assessing US cities' "Majorness":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrj-...

vintage Canon FD 50/1.4: surprisingly sharp in the middle, weird, fun bokeh in the background

A cool find for the 6 people on earth (including me) with overlapping interests in photography and Chicago politics: