Robert Borden Stan Account
@bordenstan.bsky.social
Canadian, Tory, somehow found my way onto Bluesky and am now trapped here. Interested in military history, COIN, foreign military training, jihadism, the KPA, and many others.
Pinned
In the spirit of promoting more Canadian mili thought and history, some book recommendations! First up, this one (surprisingly available in the UK too)! An examination of a Canadian victory which I believe has more lessons to teach than Vimy Ridge- covering everything from staff work to logistics.
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It’s only a matter of time before the high priests of The Gizmo Cult - Luckey, the UNIT X guys, The Merge, etc. - start blaming Ukrainians for being woke and feminized and not understanding America’s finest gizmos and failing to see how innovation actually works.
“They wanted to lose, actually.”
“They wanted to lose, actually.”
Russia Gains the Upper Hand in the Drone Battle, Once Ukraine’s Forte
The growing ability of Russia’s troops to hit Ukrainian supply lines with drones is seen as a more significant shift than its incremental gains in territory.
www.wsj.com
November 30, 2025 at 2:16 PM
It’s only a matter of time before the high priests of The Gizmo Cult - Luckey, the UNIT X guys, The Merge, etc. - start blaming Ukrainians for being woke and feminized and not understanding America’s finest gizmos and failing to see how innovation actually works.
“They wanted to lose, actually.”
“They wanted to lose, actually.”
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Remember Thomas Jacob Sanford, the Iraq veteran who burned up a Mormon Church in September? Remember Nigel Edge, the Iraq veteran sniper who shot up a bar from his boat in Cape Fear, also in September?
Keep track of how differently we speak of them than Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
Keep track of how differently we speak of them than Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
November 30, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Remember Thomas Jacob Sanford, the Iraq veteran who burned up a Mormon Church in September? Remember Nigel Edge, the Iraq veteran sniper who shot up a bar from his boat in Cape Fear, also in September?
Keep track of how differently we speak of them than Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
Keep track of how differently we speak of them than Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
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Imagine being so far gone into Trumpism/Republicanism that you would say this to someone who was shot in the head in an act of political violence.
MAGA legal world, man…
Gorsuch and Grassley should be so proud.
Gorsuch and Grassley should be so proud.
November 30, 2025 at 5:57 AM
Imagine being so far gone into Trumpism/Republicanism that you would say this to someone who was shot in the head in an act of political violence.
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RIP the greatest British playwright of our time on.ft.com/4anfEQJ
British playwright Sir Tom Stoppard dies
[FREE TO READ] Czech-born author of witty, cerebral plays was also an award-winning screenwriter
on.ft.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:15 PM
RIP the greatest British playwright of our time on.ft.com/4anfEQJ
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If you've spent 20, 30, 40 years in roles that were grounded in assumptions about the US and US-Europe relations, adjusting to the fact that the world that gave birth to and sustained your professional self is gone, is incredibly hard. Denial is often more appealing than reality.
November 29, 2025 at 4:47 PM
If you've spent 20, 30, 40 years in roles that were grounded in assumptions about the US and US-Europe relations, adjusting to the fact that the world that gave birth to and sustained your professional self is gone, is incredibly hard. Denial is often more appealing than reality.
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Neither is particularly likely compared to "this guy was cracked by trauma and then told he or some of his friends were going to be deported, and he broke"
What's more logical?
That the CIA directed one of its assets to perform the perfect false flag?
Or
That a jihadist played the long game by working with the CIA in Afghanistan to gain legal access to the country and then travel 3,000 miles to enact his plan of attacking National Guard soldiers?
That the CIA directed one of its assets to perform the perfect false flag?
Or
That a jihadist played the long game by working with the CIA in Afghanistan to gain legal access to the country and then travel 3,000 miles to enact his plan of attacking National Guard soldiers?
November 29, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Neither is particularly likely compared to "this guy was cracked by trauma and then told he or some of his friends were going to be deported, and he broke"
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I’m not saying that this isn’t happening, but this was not my experience at all this semester.
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
November 29, 2025 at 3:13 PM
I’m not saying that this isn’t happening, but this was not my experience at all this semester.
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Admin are continually pressuring us to make the course "more accessible," by which they mean "devastatingly easy to complete," but it's not about access. Many students refuse to read or write in any capacity that isn't tech-aided, no matter how simple the assignment, no matter how process-based.
November 28, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Admin are continually pressuring us to make the course "more accessible," by which they mean "devastatingly easy to complete," but it's not about access. Many students refuse to read or write in any capacity that isn't tech-aided, no matter how simple the assignment, no matter how process-based.
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At this point, our intro comp/first-year English course has been so heavily revised, it no longer includes a novel, or "extended reading" of any kind, no "specialized" or "historical" reading, mostly in-class assignments, no research essay...and we are still seeing a 40-50% rate of AI misconduct.
November 28, 2025 at 11:31 PM
At this point, our intro comp/first-year English course has been so heavily revised, it no longer includes a novel, or "extended reading" of any kind, no "specialized" or "historical" reading, mostly in-class assignments, no research essay...and we are still seeing a 40-50% rate of AI misconduct.
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It's only a matter of time before humanities departments will be forced to accept AI-authored assignments, as part of revised university policy to cooperate with these billionaires. It's already happening, and our response needs to be decisive. Because our students' ability to *think* is at stake.
November 28, 2025 at 10:37 PM
It's only a matter of time before humanities departments will be forced to accept AI-authored assignments, as part of revised university policy to cooperate with these billionaires. It's already happening, and our response needs to be decisive. Because our students' ability to *think* is at stake.
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Universities are assembling larger and larger teams to deal with academic integrity issues--mostly focused on AI--while simultaneously holding AI "writing" contests, AI-themed events, "hey, come play with these fun tools!" The messages are so mixed, it's criminal. Because AI is bloated with money.
November 28, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Universities are assembling larger and larger teams to deal with academic integrity issues--mostly focused on AI--while simultaneously holding AI "writing" contests, AI-themed events, "hey, come play with these fun tools!" The messages are so mixed, it's criminal. Because AI is bloated with money.
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And I swear, once again, this is not dunking on kids. We are seeing this at all levels--even grad students. AI + social media has had a profound impact on how we think and process our world, and we can't stop to reflect on it, because billionaires keep hurling addictive tech at us.
November 28, 2025 at 10:34 PM
And I swear, once again, this is not dunking on kids. We are seeing this at all levels--even grad students. AI + social media has had a profound impact on how we think and process our world, and we can't stop to reflect on it, because billionaires keep hurling addictive tech at us.
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When I ask them: "What are you reading? What are you watching? What are you listening to?" Often, the answer is: nothing. Which has a direct effect on their over-use of prompts and AI, because they can't think of ideas, because they are literally not engaging with a single figurative thing.
November 28, 2025 at 10:33 PM
When I ask them: "What are you reading? What are you watching? What are you listening to?" Often, the answer is: nothing. Which has a direct effect on their over-use of prompts and AI, because they can't think of ideas, because they are literally not engaging with a single figurative thing.
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I don't know how to teach students who hate reading/writing, when reading/writing are the foundations of what I'm supposed to teach. Yes, I engage with audio technologies, digital narratives, cinema, material culture...but it's all forms of reading. I just don't know what they want out of this.
November 28, 2025 at 10:31 PM
I don't know how to teach students who hate reading/writing, when reading/writing are the foundations of what I'm supposed to teach. Yes, I engage with audio technologies, digital narratives, cinema, material culture...but it's all forms of reading. I just don't know what they want out of this.
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I've never encountered more students who say they hate reading. Students who want to be teachers, writers, or both. I wonder if "hate" means "I have trouble reading," but I also talk with so many students who write in a genre but refuse to read in it. They can't see themselves in relation to others.
November 28, 2025 at 10:29 PM
I've never encountered more students who say they hate reading. Students who want to be teachers, writers, or both. I wonder if "hate" means "I have trouble reading," but I also talk with so many students who write in a genre but refuse to read in it. They can't see themselves in relation to others.
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It's like they just keep...forgetting? Or they read the instructions and completely disregard them, even knowing that they can't pass the assignment without demonstrating really clear skills (citing material, writing on a course text, etc.). They just...don't do it. And don't seem to care.
November 28, 2025 at 10:26 PM
It's like they just keep...forgetting? Or they read the instructions and completely disregard them, even knowing that they can't pass the assignment without demonstrating really clear skills (citing material, writing on a course text, etc.). They just...don't do it. And don't seem to care.
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I am forever explaining assignments which, to me, feel fairly basic. I do offer some creative options, which need a bit more context. But so many of my students seem unable to follow instructions, even when I return to them multiple times, write them down, or turn them into games or quizzes.
November 28, 2025 at 10:25 PM
I am forever explaining assignments which, to me, feel fairly basic. I do offer some creative options, which need a bit more context. But so many of my students seem unable to follow instructions, even when I return to them multiple times, write them down, or turn them into games or quizzes.
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We keep adjusting our goalposts, trying to meet students where they're at--but for some, that place is a kind of non-place, where they don't complete any work or engage with the class, but still receive a high grade. Emails are ignored. They can't meet a deadline or keep an appointment.
November 28, 2025 at 10:19 PM
We keep adjusting our goalposts, trying to meet students where they're at--but for some, that place is a kind of non-place, where they don't complete any work or engage with the class, but still receive a high grade. Emails are ignored. They can't meet a deadline or keep an appointment.
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We're seeing possibly the worst attendance in history. Even in creative writing classes, where students generally want to participate and have their voice heard--they're not showing up, ignoring guidelines and feedback, and either describing expectations as "unclear" or simply refusing to comply.
November 28, 2025 at 10:17 PM
We're seeing possibly the worst attendance in history. Even in creative writing classes, where students generally want to participate and have their voice heard--they're not showing up, ignoring guidelines and feedback, and either describing expectations as "unclear" or simply refusing to comply.
Reposted by Robert Borden Stan Account
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
November 28, 2025 at 10:15 PM
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
Reposted by Robert Borden Stan Account
>service to be perverted to serve themselves and their divisive and unconstitutional ends.
On an aside, both my tours in Iraq where w/ or in support of Iraqi Security Forces. Watching how U.S. SOF would recruit for support forces and come back for more always seemed concerning to me.
On an aside, both my tours in Iraq where w/ or in support of Iraqi Security Forces. Watching how U.S. SOF would recruit for support forces and come back for more always seemed concerning to me.
November 28, 2025 at 11:40 PM
>service to be perverted to serve themselves and their divisive and unconstitutional ends.
On an aside, both my tours in Iraq where w/ or in support of Iraqi Security Forces. Watching how U.S. SOF would recruit for support forces and come back for more always seemed concerning to me.
On an aside, both my tours in Iraq where w/ or in support of Iraqi Security Forces. Watching how U.S. SOF would recruit for support forces and come back for more always seemed concerning to me.
Reposted by Robert Borden Stan Account
Alberta is to the cultural right of Canada. That doesn't mean that the average Albertan PC voter/elite is now a frothing lunatic
this is fairly obvious if you watch the AGMs where nothing short of turning into Ron DeSantis's Florida is seen as good enough
i suspect that this is *not* exactly in line with the average Albertan expects, especially with a government willing to work hand in hand with the province
i suspect that this is *not* exactly in line with the average Albertan expects, especially with a government willing to work hand in hand with the province
I get the impression that for the hard core of the UCP, everything—pipelines, vaccination, federal/provincial relations—is processed through the filter of identity politics more than anything else.
November 28, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Alberta is to the cultural right of Canada. That doesn't mean that the average Albertan PC voter/elite is now a frothing lunatic
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They like Trump and want to help him
“Biden Asylum Cases” is NYT’s framing for a story pegged to a man who got asylum 3 months into the Trump administration
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/u...
November 27, 2025 at 11:32 PM
They like Trump and want to help him
Reposted by Robert Borden Stan Account
Although he was from Khost, the DC shooter was a veteran of the CIA’s Kandahar CTPT surrogate unit, known in the early years as the QSF or KSF and later as NSU-03.
Here is a 2021 WaPo story I wrote about 03’s escape from Kandahar into collapsing Kabul, where they helped secure the HKIA evacuation.
Here is a 2021 WaPo story I wrote about 03’s escape from Kandahar into collapsing Kabul, where they helped secure the HKIA evacuation.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Although he was from Khost, the DC shooter was a veteran of the CIA’s Kandahar CTPT surrogate unit, known in the early years as the QSF or KSF and later as NSU-03.
Here is a 2021 WaPo story I wrote about 03’s escape from Kandahar into collapsing Kabul, where they helped secure the HKIA evacuation.
Here is a 2021 WaPo story I wrote about 03’s escape from Kandahar into collapsing Kabul, where they helped secure the HKIA evacuation.
Reposted by Robert Borden Stan Account
Dear foreign nationals in war-torn countries, terrorism hot-spots, and amidst our enemies:
If you help the United States, we’ll fuck you over and abandon you. Not the individual servicepeople or intelligence officers — they’ll fight for you. I mean the depraved, soulless leadership of the nation.
If you help the United States, we’ll fuck you over and abandon you. Not the individual servicepeople or intelligence officers — they’ll fight for you. I mean the depraved, soulless leadership of the nation.
So now they’re going to be doing individualized re-review of tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees’ cases on TOP of the re-review of 200,000+ refugees who entered under Biden?
November 27, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Dear foreign nationals in war-torn countries, terrorism hot-spots, and amidst our enemies:
If you help the United States, we’ll fuck you over and abandon you. Not the individual servicepeople or intelligence officers — they’ll fight for you. I mean the depraved, soulless leadership of the nation.
If you help the United States, we’ll fuck you over and abandon you. Not the individual servicepeople or intelligence officers — they’ll fight for you. I mean the depraved, soulless leadership of the nation.