Victor Asal

US Presidents in history: How well do you know their defining moments? - Trivia Scoop www.triviascoop.com/quiz/aRJZpJl...

There was a moment during my oral exams where I started "arguing" with one of my committee members on a certain historiographical point. They told me later that was *the* moment I passed. It proved I was enough of an expert to disagree with a bigger expert in the field and back it up with evidence.

If you are having someone else do your lit review--and I mean LLM but also research assistants, honestly--you didn't review the lit, you don't know the field, you know someone else's view of the field. That seems like a problem, like a constructing a strawman problem. With LLMs, it's worse.

Congress once fought to limit a president’s war powers − more than 50 years later, its successors are less willing to assert their authority At the tail end of the Vietnam War, Congress engaged in a breathtaking act of legislative assertion, affirming that lawmakers’ held the power to declare war – not the president.

Congress once fought to limit a president’s war powers − more than 50 years later, its successors are less willing to assert their authority
@us.theconversation.com
Sarah Burns
theconversation.com/congress-onc...

How Kennedy Is Trying to Revamp Medical School

How Kennedy Is Trying to Revamp Medical School
The health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has tapped into an old debate about how much doctors should know about nutrition. But some of his ideas, and tactics, concern medical experts
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/04/u...

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Son Emerges as Leading Choice to Be His Successor

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Son Emerges as Leading Choice to Be His Successor

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/w...

U.S. Struck Iranian Warship Off Sri Lanka, With Dozens Missing

U.S. Struck Iranian Warship Off Sri Lanka, With Dozens Missing

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/04/w...

Live Updates: Hegseth Says There Will Be No Letup in U.S. Attacks on Iran

Live Updates: Hegseth Says There Will Be No Letup in U.S. Attacks on Iran

www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03...

Report: Kurds expected to launch Iran ground offensive after receiving U.S. arms The Aim Would Be to Create Space for Iranians Opposed to the Islamic Regime to Rise After the Deaths of Its Leaders, Sources Said. Any Kurdish Operation From Iraq Would Likely Require Significant U.S....

Report: Kurds Expected to Launch Iran Ground Offensive After Receiving U.S. Arms - Middle East News
www.haaretz.com/middle-east-...

GREAT song!

Report: Trump open to backing anti-regime militias in Iran to topple ayatollahs U.S. Officials Told The Wall Street Journal That Trump Spoke With Kurdish Leaders in Iran on Sunday, and Is Engaging With Other Leaders in an Ongoing Basis Who Could Take Advantage of the Regime's Wea...

Report: Trump Open to Backing Anti-regime Militias in Iran to Topple Ayatollahs
www.haaretz.com/us-news/2026...

'I forced their hand': Trump says Israel didn't drag U.S. to strike Iran Israel-Iran War Day 4 | Lindsey Graham Calls for U.S. Strikes on Hezbollah as Democratic Senator Fears Boots on Ground. Sirens Sound in Northern Israel, Golan Heights and Southern Port City Eilat. U.S...

'I Forced Their Hand': Trump Says Israel Didn't Drag U.S. to Strike Iran

www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

😊thank you. I try.

Meaning? 🤔

True

How you behave when you have power is who you really are

🤝 Bipartisan action to cap rates would deliver real relief to millions of families. bit.ly/4qvd3so

#ProtectBorrowers #BorrowerJustice

🔥 When leaders misuse power, silence becomes complicity.

Speak out. Protect democracy.
bit.ly/4kwlNxe

#ImpeachNoem

TRUE

Once again, a single cartoon tells more truth that the entire US Congress.

Thanks to Rick McKee for making our current situation easy to understand.

Nuclear program, missiles or regime change: Trump struggles to define Iran war goals Trump and senior figures in his administration castigated previous presidents for dragging the U.S. into protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. His administration says this time will be different.

Nuclear program, missiles or regime change: Trump struggles to define Iran war goals
Trump and senior figures in his administration castigated previous presidents for dragging the U.S. into protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

‘Pray We Make It Through the Night’: Iran’s Capital Under Siege

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/w...

Soft pastel painting of triple deckers down a Brockton, MA city street.

Down Hillberg
9x14 soft pastel on sanded paper

#art #blueskyart #pastel #softpastel #cityscape #streetscape #brocktonma

Probably

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled Iran with defiance and brutality for 36 years. For many Iranians, he will not be revered Khamenei will largely be remembered for the profound weakness his leadership brought the Islamic Republic.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled Iran with defiance and brutality for 36 years. For many Iranians, he will not be revered
@us.theconversation.com
@drathomas.bsky.social
theconversation.com/ayatollah-al...

Ranked: The Countries Most Dependent on Tourism (Share of GDP) This ranking visualizes the countries most reliant on international tourism as a share of their GDP.

Ranked:Countries Most Dependent on Tourism (Share of GDP) www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-count...

Ranked: The World’s Most Indebted Countries Today Across both developed and developing economies, governments are not alone in feeling the pinch of high debt burdens.

Ranked: The World’s Most Indebted Countries Today www.visualcapitalist.com/worlds-most-...

Attacks on Iran Heighten Fears in Cuba, Already Under U.S. Pressure

Attacks on Iran Heighten Fears in Cuba, Already Under U.S. Pressure

Many Cubans are wondering if the Trump administration plans to target their country’s Communist government next

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/w...

As Trump Bombs Iran, America’s Allies Watch Fitfully From Sidelines

Disregarded by President Trump over Iran, Europe’s leaders are adapting to a world in which they are little more than bystanders

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/w...