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Michael Hall

@mishahall

Bostonian expat living in New York. Human rights. Academic freedom. Languages/linguistics. Russia, Central/Inner Asia. Politics of memory/commemoration. Books. The occasional lighthouse. Personal account, views expressed are my own. Repostβ‰ endorsement. πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦πŸ‰

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31.12.2023
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Latest posts by Michael Hall @mishahall

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The House of theΒ Satrap King, Rhyne. 2025. The House of the Satrap: The Making of the Ancient Persian Empire. Oakland: University of California Press. Starting in the sixth century BCE, the conquests of the Persian kings Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius transformed the lives of humans on a continental scale, as their empire reached from the Iranian plateau to eastern Europe, Central Asia, and North Africa.

The House of theΒ Satrap

King, Rhyne. 2025. The House of the Satrap: The Making of the Ancient Persian Empire. Oakland: University of California Press. Starting in the sixth century BCE, the conquests of the Persian kings Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius transformed the lives of humans on a continental…

17.06.2025 06:47 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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MRNA, Used in Covid Shots, May Help Rid the Body of H.I.V.

The technology that powered Covid vaccines may also lead scientists to a cure for H.I.V.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/h...

05.06.2025 18:57 πŸ‘ 448 πŸ” 77 πŸ’¬ 14 πŸ“Œ 10

History teaches us that alliances between oligarchs and fascists, while initially beneficial to each other, usually don't end well.

05.06.2025 20:56 πŸ‘ 3423 πŸ” 568 πŸ’¬ 105 πŸ“Œ 17

Breaking: Men officially deemed too emotional for positions of power

05.06.2025 20:39 πŸ‘ 1052 πŸ” 147 πŸ’¬ 26 πŸ“Œ 8

I'm just glad one of these men has the nuclear codes and the other has all our personal data.

05.06.2025 20:24 πŸ‘ 66987 πŸ” 14657 πŸ’¬ 1608 πŸ“Œ 873
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Kyrgyzstan: Detention of Kloop media staff intensifies crackdown on independent journalism Detaining journalists for their work, denying access to legal counsel and carrying out warrantless searches of homes violates both Kyrgyzstan’s own legal obligations and international human rights sta...
29.05.2025 23:52 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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Public pressure works! Keep it going.

25.05.2025 09:36 πŸ‘ 22023 πŸ” 4600 πŸ’¬ 354 πŸ“Œ 166
Nation Can't Believe It On Harvard's Side

Nation Can't Believe It On Harvard's Side

22.05.2025 20:35 πŸ‘ 16154 πŸ” 1965 πŸ’¬ 147 πŸ“Œ 112
A photo of Viola Ford Fletcher with her hands clasped

A photo of Viola Ford Fletcher with her hands clasped

Today is the 111th birthday of Viola Ford Fletcher, the oldest living survivor of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre

10.05.2025 15:20 πŸ‘ 27353 πŸ” 6258 πŸ’¬ 551 πŸ“Œ 321
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Trump Is Driving International Students Away from U.S. Universities. That's a Big Problem. β€œI just don't feel safe going to the U.S. right now.”

β€œI just don't feel safe going to the U.S. right now.”

The Trump administration's immigration policies are pushing international students away from U.S. universities. That's a big problem.

Read more: www.teenvogue.com/story/trump-...

01.05.2025 12:28 πŸ‘ 218 πŸ” 64 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 2
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Your moment of calm at the Twin Lighthouses with the sounds of waves crashing against the rocks

@stormhour.bsky.social @photohour.bsky.social

23.04.2025 12:01 πŸ‘ 26 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Abrego Garcia's wife: "I will not stop fighting until I see my husband alive. Kilmar, if you can hear me, stay strong. God hasn't forgotten about you. Our children are asking when you will come home ... they miss their dad so much."

15.04.2025 19:47 πŸ‘ 54487 πŸ” 13176 πŸ’¬ 1068 πŸ“Œ 845

I fully endorse this thread on how to keep your stuff. The Cloud is *never* enough. It's your life's work!

Not worried? Our govt is crushing knowledge systems like a mob of monster cybertrucks smashing into the front door of the library.

Kate Ozment tells you how to make your stuff recoverable.

09.04.2025 04:55 πŸ‘ 64 πŸ” 38 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0
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Opinion | Trump’s Gulag Archipelago (Gift Article) He is seeking to establish a truly chilling proposition: that no one can stop his administration from imprisoning anyone it wants, anywhere in the world.

"If the government can disappear anyone it wishes, dump him in a Salvadoran dungeon and prevent any court in this country from providing relief, we all should be very, very afraid."

09.04.2025 12:35 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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πŸ”” Join us this Thursday, April 10 at 10 am EST for a virtual discussion ahead of the two year anniversary of the war in Sudan.

Register now: timep.org/2025/04/03/t...

Scroll down and meet the speakers!

09.04.2025 12:30 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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Mississippi libraries ordered to delete academic research in response to state laws - Mississippi Today The two research collections state officials ordered for deletion included material from professional journals, conference papers, books, student dissertations, periodicals and newspaper articles.

This is the literal destruction of knowledge.

Mississippi libraries are being ordered to remove academic research on race and gender from library databases.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/08/m...

09.04.2025 01:36 πŸ‘ 4073 πŸ” 2297 πŸ’¬ 184 πŸ“Œ 361
A graphic that reads Free RΓΌmeysa Γ–ztΓΌrk with a photo of her.

A graphic that reads Free RΓΌmeysa Γ–ztΓΌrk with a photo of her.

This week, my Somerville constituent RΓΌmeysa Γ–ztΓΌrk was abducted in broad daylight by DHS officials and sent to Louisiana to be locked in a detention center. She has not been charged with any crime.

29.03.2025 14:27 πŸ‘ 7610 πŸ” 3046 πŸ’¬ 202 πŸ“Œ 126
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New open access book from @ucpress.bsky.social :

Collaborative Settler Colonialism: Japanese Migration to Brazil in the Age of Empires by Sidney Xu Lu

www.ucpress.edu/books/collab...

26.03.2025 02:56 πŸ‘ 25 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Here’s the correct link πŸ€¦β€β™‚οΈ: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

25.03.2025 22:54 πŸ‘ 594 πŸ” 145 πŸ’¬ 10 πŸ“Œ 6
β€˜I Messed Up At Work Again,’ Crestfallen Michael Waltz Texts Wife, National Geographic Editorial Staff

β€˜I Messed Up At Work Again,’ Crestfallen Michael Waltz Texts Wife, National Geographic Editorial Staff

β€˜I Messed Up At Work Again,’ Crestfallen Michael Waltz Texts Wife, National Geographic Editorial Staff

25.03.2025 21:00 πŸ‘ 36280 πŸ” 6093 πŸ’¬ 443 πŸ“Œ 220

I am BEGGING people to frame this properly. The issue here is not one colossal blunder where a reporter got info. The issue is it’s clear these people are all routinely ignoring the most absolutely basic security protocols, and WE HAVE NO IDEA what breaches this has already enabled.

25.03.2025 15:36 πŸ‘ 8191 πŸ” 2549 πŸ’¬ 177 πŸ“Œ 110
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Great, questions for the Press Sec.

1. If it turns out "war plans" WERE discussed, what would be the appropriate punishment?
2. If it turns out classified material WAS sent, what would be the appropriate punishment?
3. Will the administration continue to use Signal to discuss top secret info?

25.03.2025 14:05 πŸ‘ 313 πŸ” 34 πŸ’¬ 37 πŸ“Œ 2
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β€œThe sheer sloppiness is bad. The illegality is probable. The dangerousness is very high.” @cnn.com

25.03.2025 12:14 πŸ‘ 732 πŸ” 177 πŸ’¬ 11 πŸ“Œ 3
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Six Short Thoughts on the Most Insane Trump Story of All Time Trump's "Team of Amateurs" Screwed Up in the Most Hilarious (and Troublesome) Way

One thing that most people are missing in the group text scandal: The Trump officials don’t appear clear on what *exactly* Trump approved, which is a huge problem in using military force. Stephen Miller says β€œas I heard it … green light.” 😱😬 www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/six-short-...

24.03.2025 22:21 πŸ‘ 5540 πŸ” 1709 πŸ’¬ 242 πŸ“Œ 221

I am reading & laughing at many of your group chat joke posts, but has anyone else gone ice-cold with terror about how our national security is now a global punchline & we have no one protecting us against the world's bad actors, who can apparently just drunk-sext Pete Hegseth whenevs?

24.03.2025 22:32 πŸ‘ 985 πŸ” 149 πŸ’¬ 25 πŸ“Œ 21

Some questions that Mike Waltz and the others must answer:
1) How did he preserve the thread and others for PRA
2) What phones were everyone using
3) What kind of security do those phones have
4) WHERE were they using those phones
5) What else is on the phones
6) Why was Joe Kent included

24.03.2025 21:30 πŸ‘ 10234 πŸ” 2516 πŸ’¬ 319 πŸ“Œ 88
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China forces Uyghurs to show video proof they are not fasting during Ramadan

Beijing has criminalized Muslim practices under the guise of stamping out religious extremism.
www.rfa.org/english/uygh...

24.03.2025 22:24 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

No reason.

24.03.2025 22:24 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0