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Howard Eissenstat

@heissenstat.bsky.social
9.6K followers 291 following 4K posts

Laurentian Associate Professor of History, St. Lawrence University. Non-resident scholar, Stockholm University, Institute for Turkish Studies (SUITS) Focused on Turkey and the Middle East. Unlikely to argue on-line. Blocks dumb, annoying, or noisy.

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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 2h
One of my students shared this video with me, which I hadn't seen before youtu.be/jzBVCcpn_iY?...
youtu.be
1958 -- Egyptian President Nasser Rejects the Hijab
YouTube video by Lilac Inn On Deer Island
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Kevin Moore @kevinwmoore.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
From this day on 2012: probably the most popular thing I’ve ever drawn.
TinTin discovers Edward Said.
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 14h
Turkey is now significantly more expensive than Greece.
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
You may think, "it's just a typo." But my experience with WH staffers in the past is that they obsessed with getting things exactly right.... dozens of people double-checking everything. To me, this speaks to an utter lack of discipline and expertise at every level of the WH
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 12h
Gift article Remember when Google used to say, "Don't be evil"? Yeah, they've given up on that. "Google’s own researchers have written that the technology can pose elevated risks to children" www.wsj.com/tech/ai/goog...
wsj.com
Inside Google’s AI Push Into Schools: ‘It Slowed My Thinking Down’
The risks of cognitive and emotional dependence, along with falling test scores, are fueling a backlash.
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 22h
Super useful, not least because it helps get us out of these ridiculous language policing debates: was Gaza a "conflict"? A "war"? A "genocide"? Yes. Yes. And yes. MOST genocides occur in the context of broader conflicts.
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 12h
Gift article Remember when Google used to say, "Don't be evil"? Yeah, they've given up on that. "Google’s own researchers have written that the technology can pose elevated risks to children" www.wsj.com/tech/ai/goog...
wsj.com
Inside Google’s AI Push Into Schools: ‘It Slowed My Thinking Down’
The risks of cognitive and emotional dependence, along with falling test scores, are fueling a backlash.
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 14h
Turkey is now significantly more expensive than Greece.
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 16h
"Mind boggling"
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Nate Schenkkan @nateschenkkan.bsky.social · 16h
This is a really good report and it should get more attention: www.usccr.gov/files/2026-0...
usccr.gov
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Nate Schenkkan @nateschenkkan.bsky.social · 16h
My op-ed on the attack on higher education in the United States and how it fits in an international context where ruling parties around the world are trying to seize control of education systems: www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?sto...
universityworldnews.com
Universities should stick together, draw on civil society
Academic freedom is falling fast in the United States, but there are lessons from other countries and other parts of civil society. Higher education i...
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 16h
It occurred to me this afternoon that Hegseth and Kennedy are the MAGA equivalents of the kind of propaganda that Putin used to pump out a decade or so ago.
static.klipy.com
Putin in Judo Gi
ALT: Putin in Judo Gi
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ex-Lethality Jane @lethalityjane.bsky.social · 18h
You want an example of focusing on culture war bullshit instead of warfighting, THIS is it. Hegseth isn't worried about the fact that he's set US policy goals in the Gulf back literal decades, no, he's too busy monitoring soldiers' testosterone levels and reveling in what slurs he gets to use.
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 17h
Watch this buffoon. Then read this article. www.usni.org/magazines/pr...
usni.org
Where Exactly Has the Warrior Ethos Gotten Us?
The Marine Corps should revive its traditional ethos, emphasizing professional competence, readiness, honor, courage, and commitment for the demands of modern warfare.
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Sinem Adar @sinemadar.bsky.social · 22h
What is happening in Turkey is nothing less than a war of attrition against dissidence (be it political parties, be it organised civil society, be it critical media, be it cultural sector).
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 22h
Super useful, not least because it helps get us out of these ridiculous language policing debates: was Gaza a "conflict"? A "war"? A "genocide"? Yes. Yes. And yes. MOST genocides occur in the context of broader conflicts.
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 23h
Meanwhile, the Turkish government continues to stamp out any evidence of independent journalism left in the country. It's almost like they have something to hide.
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Dirk Moses @dirkmoses.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Regarding the #Naza film and debate about war crimes vs genocide, the debate has been underway for a while, based on the documentary makers research, I published this in July 2025 link.springer.com/article/10.1... People are beginning to understand the illusion of the war/genocide distinction.
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@charleshb@mastodon.sdf.org @charleshb.bsky.social · 23h
It Could Happen Here "West Bank Takeover" Dana( @danaelkurd.bsky.social )El Kurd @coolzonemedia.bsky.social #CoolZoneMedia www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...
iheart.com
West Bank Takeover - It Could Happen Here | iHeart
<p>In this episode Dana El Kurd talks about how the settlers and the Israeli state are working hand in hand to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from the West Bank, and how we should understand the rela...
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 23h
And, just because it drives me up the wall that this has been memory-holed, I will remind readers that Uncommitted urged its supporters to vote against Trump.
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I too would like to have a salary and benefits but not do my job.
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
You may think, "it's just a typo." But my experience with WH staffers in the past is that they obsessed with getting things exactly right.... dozens of people double-checking everything. To me, this speaks to an utter lack of discipline and expertise at every level of the WH
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I'm not sure that there is any real commentary to make about the FlyDubai flight except: (a) mercifully, the effort to crash the plane was thwarted and (b) Normalization with Israel remains deeply unpopular and will continue to be a challenge for Arab states that do so
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 30/09/2026
A passenger jet flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv signaled it was in distress on Wednesday and abruptly reversed course near the Saudi-Jordanian border. Officials of three Israeli government agencies said it appeared that the pilot and co-pilot of the FlyDubai flight had gotten into a scuffle.
nyti.ms
FlyDubai Flight to Tel Aviv Issues Distress Signal Before Landing in Saudi Arabia
The plane was traveling from Dubai to Israel when the pilot and co-pilot appear to have gotten into a fight, Israeli officials said.
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Yavuz Baydar @yavuzbaydar.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Interested in Turkey’s story? Here is a list. go.bsky.app/NoVB1zM
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
There are many Nirvana covers. But, Patti Smith makes it hers. www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3IY...
youtube.com
Patti Smith - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Cover Nirvana)
YouTube video by ROCKMANIACS & AFINS
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Friends, international law is not a buffet. You don't get to choose only those bits that appeal to you.
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This strikes me as 90% useless and 100% performative. That said, given the odd obsession with portraying Mamdani as an antisemite for erm, saying things that many if not most NY Jews think about Israel, I think it's mostly fine, really.
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Quinn Slobodian @quinnslobodian.com · 29/09/2026
Feel like we don't talk enough about the 50,000 North Koreans fighting in Ukraine.
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Nate Schenkkan @nateschenkkan.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This means months more of abductions and deportations without protections from torture, without due process, for hundreds or thousands of people
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Nate Schenkkan @nateschenkkan.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Just awful, criminal behavior by our highest court
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Vasabjit Banerjee @vasabjit.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Hire incompetent internet edgelord congressional staffers in haste: repent at leisure on national media.
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
A staffer or two in the Schmitt office are cleaning their desks this afternoon
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Jennifer Hattam @jenhattam.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Help show that women and girls belong everywhere – on the roads and trails, and in every aspect of the public sphere – by donating to my fundraiser for Free to Run. No amount too small (or too large 😇), 2027tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/jennifer-...
2027tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com
London Marathon 2027
Imagine having to exercise only under cover of night; to hide the activities you love to do from your neighbors or even your own family; to put yourself at physical risk simply by heading out the door
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Friends, international law is not a buffet. You don't get to choose only those bits that appeal to you.
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This strikes me as 90% useless and 100% performative. That said, given the odd obsession with portraying Mamdani as an antisemite for erm, saying things that many if not most NY Jews think about Israel, I think it's mostly fine, really.
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Abby Sewell @sewella.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and powerful ex-Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan have formed an unlikely electoral alliance to challenge Fatah's dominance of the PA - if Palestinian legislative elections go forward as scheduled in November, which is a big if: apnews.com/article/pale...
apnews.com
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and a powerful ex-Fatah official form an unlikely electoral alliance
Islamic Jihad and Hamas have agreed to form an electoral alliance with a former top Fatah official who is close to the United Arab Emirates.
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South European Society & Politics @sespjournal.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
📚 In our Collection on POPULISM Foreign policy as domestic politics in populist competitive authoritarianism: the case of the May 2023 elections in #Turkey ⏳#FreeAccess Read the article by @senemaydndzgit.bsky.social here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
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medyascope @medyascope.tv · 29/09/2026
Stand-up comedian freed following 88 days of pre-trial detention
medyascope.tv
Stand-up comedian freed following 88 days of pre-trial detention
Deniz Göktaş, whose viral stand-up performance in late June resulted in an investigation and then his arrest, has been released
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Going to do a prune of the folks I am following with the goal of getting my timeline better focused on the things that I need to think about professionally versus doom scrolling, take-downs of media personalities that I have never heard of, and hot takes on cultural issues
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#StupidSuez @diplomatofnight.com · 29/09/2026
The Trump administration's illegal kidnapping and detention of Mahmoud Khalil will perhaps be seen as one of the more pivotal moments which accelerated the change in elite, and especially elite youth opinion on Palestine.
nytimes.com
A Quietly Shattering Memoir by a Man Detained by ICE for His Beliefs (Gift Article)
Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist and former Columbia graduate student, offers an account of his ordeal and explains why his work continues.
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
There are many Nirvana covers. But, Patti Smith makes it hers. www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3IY...
youtube.com
Patti Smith - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Cover Nirvana)
YouTube video by ROCKMANIACS & AFINS
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elia ayoub @ayoub.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Israel is a safe haven for Jews* * as long as they commit themselves to absolute ethnosupremacy over indigenous Palestinians www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
haaretz.com
Israel freezes aliyah for two Jews over activism protecting Palestinians
In both cases, the protective-presence activists, who did not know each other, had their passports photographed by a soldier or settler. These are the first known cases in which Israeli authorities ap...
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Dana El Kurd @danaelkurd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
My episode with Harsha Walia @harshawalia.bsky.social where we talk about what happened in Ceuta and why anti-immigrant narratives are so crucial to fascism. open.spotify.com/episode/3Hee...
open.spotify.com
After Ceuta
It Could Happen Here · Episode
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Turkey Book Talk @turkeybooktalk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
New episode 💯💯 Dimitar Bechev (@dimitarbechev.bsky.social) on “The Scramble for Europe: Russia, China, and Turkey Challenging Regional Order” (Oxford University Press) 👇👇 turkeybooktalk.com/2026/09/29/d...
turkeybooktalk.com
Dimitar Bechev on Turkey, Russia, China and the ‘scramble for Europe’
Turkey Book Talk #279 – Dimitar Bechev, Director of the Dahrendorf Programme at St Antony’s College, University Oxford and Senior Fellow at Carnegie Europe, on “The Scramble for Europe:…
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
It seems that, with the recent crackdown on opposition twitter accounts in Turkey, there's some migration to @bsky.app Here's a starter pack that I made when I first came to Bluesky. I think it is still mostly useful, though certainly incomplete go.bsky.app/NoVB1zM
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The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 27/09/2026
Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest. trib.al/kQdKbY1
trib.al
Trump Moves to Cut Off Student Loans for Tons of Degrees
Under a new rule, if your degree doesn’t make enough money, you won’t be able to get a student loan.
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James Ryan @jdryan08.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Leave it to Dan Pipes and Michael Rubin to find the most homophobic possible way to come to the defense of Turkey’s LGBTQ community.
Is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Gay?

Erdoğan’s Seeming Obsession with Homosexuality Is Not Unlike Closeted Homosexuals Who Are Among the Most Self-Hating

September 28, 2026 Michael Rubin
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Nicolas Bourcier @nicolasbourcier.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
En Turquie, un vaste scandale de fraude financière éclabousse des proches du pouvoir www.lemonde.fr/economie/art...
lemonde.fr
En Turquie, un vaste scandale de fraude financière éclabousse des proches du pouvoir
Pendant des mois, plusieurs fonds et sociétés cotées turques ont affiché des hausses spectaculaires. Leur brutal retournement a déclenché une enquête portant sur une fraude financière tentaculaire imp...
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06jank.bsky.social @06jank.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
From Deniz Göktaş's spirited defense on charges of insulting Erdoğan during a comedy act: "The word 'dictator' is a political description not an insult... Another comedian could call him a 'democrat' and get more laughs."
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