Juan José Ponce Vázquez
@jjponcevazquez.bsky.social
Historian, sevillano, and USian. Spain, LatAm, Caribe & Atlantic. Opinions are my own. Author of Islanders and Empire. He/Him/Él. Nick Fury of the Spanish Bureaucratic Legal Universe.
Pinned
Hello historians! I would like to mention that I have this initiative called the Iberian Colonial Repository, where I am gathering primary sources from archives that are not available online. If you have sources about colonial LatAm from previous projects collecting digital dust, please DM me
Reposted by Juan José Ponce Vázquez
“Conflict experts tell The Independent that the “just following orders” defense may not stick under other administrations or federal judges who could find the strikes illegal, exposing Pentagon officials & others to criminal liability.”
Nuremberg, Madame Defarge, and Pepperidge Farms all remember.
Nuremberg, Madame Defarge, and Pepperidge Farms all remember.
Experts doubt legal memo shields troops from prosecution over Trump’s boat strikes
DOJ claims military personnel aren’t liable for what critics are calling extrajudicial murder
www.independent.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 3:15 PM
“Conflict experts tell The Independent that the “just following orders” defense may not stick under other administrations or federal judges who could find the strikes illegal, exposing Pentagon officials & others to criminal liability.”
Nuremberg, Madame Defarge, and Pepperidge Farms all remember.
Nuremberg, Madame Defarge, and Pepperidge Farms all remember.
Reposted by Juan José Ponce Vázquez
How Oregon’s Data Center Boom Is Supercharging a Water Crisis
Amazon has come to the state’s eastern farmland, worsening a water pollution problem that’s been linked to cancer and miscarriages.
Rolling Stone reports in collaboration with @thefern.org: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
Amazon has come to the state’s eastern farmland, worsening a water pollution problem that’s been linked to cancer and miscarriages.
Rolling Stone reports in collaboration with @thefern.org: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
November 25, 2025 at 1:27 AM
How Oregon’s Data Center Boom Is Supercharging a Water Crisis
Amazon has come to the state’s eastern farmland, worsening a water pollution problem that’s been linked to cancer and miscarriages.
Rolling Stone reports in collaboration with @thefern.org: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
Amazon has come to the state’s eastern farmland, worsening a water pollution problem that’s been linked to cancer and miscarriages.
Rolling Stone reports in collaboration with @thefern.org: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
Reposted by Juan José Ponce Vázquez
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
November 26, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
Reposted by Juan José Ponce Vázquez
Fundamentally, the relationship we are encouraged and expected to have with LLMs is that of the citizens of Oz to their Wizard. It's magic, it's all-powerful...until we look behind the green curtain.
November 26, 2025 at 4:28 AM
Fundamentally, the relationship we are encouraged and expected to have with LLMs is that of the citizens of Oz to their Wizard. It's magic, it's all-powerful...until we look behind the green curtain.
Reposted by Juan José Ponce Vázquez
This is not the way, and @cnygren.bsky.social and I lay out in detail why it isn’t in this essay here. static1.squarespace.com/static/55577...
November 24, 2025 at 1:16 PM
This is not the way, and @cnygren.bsky.social and I lay out in detail why it isn’t in this essay here. static1.squarespace.com/static/55577...
Reposted by Juan José Ponce Vázquez
Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.
One of the bragging rights that the US ed system had in the 20th century is that we didn't have education tracks. Essentially, any kid could go to a CC or state school & major in whatever they wanted to (obviously an oversimplification). I fear this aspect of the American dream is dying.
November 23, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.
Reposted by Juan José Ponce Vázquez
I think the shortest version of why LLMs are an anti education technology is that education is fundamentally about making shared context to understand ourselves, each other, and the world
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
November 23, 2025 at 12:57 PM
I think the shortest version of why LLMs are an anti education technology is that education is fundamentally about making shared context to understand ourselves, each other, and the world
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
Reposted by Juan José Ponce Vázquez
Quite a tell about the quality of the work often done by these consulting firms. If their work is interchangeable with LLM slop, it means their human-authored reports are also slop (at least at times). Governments and higher ed admins, take notice!
This is the 2nd time a major government report from Deloitte has been found to contain errors likely generated by AI.
First in Australia and now, as The Independent has confirmed, in a major healthcare policy paper for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador #nlpoli #AI #deloitte
First in Australia and now, as The Independent has confirmed, in a major healthcare policy paper for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador #nlpoli #AI #deloitte
A major healthcare policy paper commissioned by @govnl.bsky.social government from Deloitte at a cost of $1.6 million, cites research papers that don’t exist, making it the second major government policy paper called into question in as many months. #nlpoli #AI
theindependent.ca/news/lji/maj...
theindependent.ca/news/lji/maj...
November 23, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Quite a tell about the quality of the work often done by these consulting firms. If their work is interchangeable with LLM slop, it means their human-authored reports are also slop (at least at times). Governments and higher ed admins, take notice!
No words for such infamy and abuse
ICE point gun at father in front of son—drag him out of truck by smashing window.
"Please put the gun down! That's my dad!" son cries. "You're hurting him... Look he's bleeding!"
"Why did you break window? He wasn't doing anything."
Club Heights neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina.
"Please put the gun down! That's my dad!" son cries. "You're hurting him... Look he's bleeding!"
"Why did you break window? He wasn't doing anything."
Club Heights neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina.
November 22, 2025 at 6:51 PM
No words for such infamy and abuse
Reposted by Juan José Ponce Vázquez
A Chinese immigrant named Chaofeng Ge died in ICE custody. He was found hanging with his hands and feet tied behind him in the “hog tie” position. Unexplained deaths in ICE detention have exploded since Kristi Noem became secretary of DHS.
November 22, 2025 at 2:47 PM
A Chinese immigrant named Chaofeng Ge died in ICE custody. He was found hanging with his hands and feet tied behind him in the “hog tie” position. Unexplained deaths in ICE detention have exploded since Kristi Noem became secretary of DHS.
Bitcoin is tanking and this is my first thought: 🤣
a person is jumping in the rain while holding an umbrella ..
Alt: Gene Kelly jumping in the rain while holding an umbrella ..
media.tenor.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Bitcoin is tanking and this is my first thought: 🤣
Reposted by Juan José Ponce Vázquez
Cuba is country with “the most convictions for arbitrary detention in the world,” according to the United Nations, which also declares imprisonment of dozens of political prisoners "illegal" elpais.com/america/2025...
Cuba es el país con “más condenas por detención arbitraria del mundo”, según la ONU
Naciones Unidas declaró en su último periodo de sesiones “ilegal” el encarcelamiento de decenas de presos políticos
elpais.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Cuba is country with “the most convictions for arbitrary detention in the world,” according to the United Nations, which also declares imprisonment of dozens of political prisoners "illegal" elpais.com/america/2025...
“Even today, Franco serves as a warning that outward mediocrity is no barrier to the ruthlessly ambitious.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Spain has too rosy a view of Franco’s regime. Let’s remind ourselves of its horrors | Giles Tremlett
Little is taught about the murderous, incompetent dictatorship – and now almost one in five young people say Franco was good for the country, says historian Giles Tremlett
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:07 PM
“Even today, Franco serves as a warning that outward mediocrity is no barrier to the ruthlessly ambitious.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Juan José Ponce Vázquez
The forum on Catherine Hall's Lucky Valley comes from an important discussion at the AHA and will be excellent for teaching and discussing this excellent book!
The award-winning journal Small Axe focuses on publishing critical work that examines the ideas that guided the formation of Caribbean modernities. Issue 78 is now available, read it online: buff.ly/xTwnWC6
Learn more, sign up for issue alerts, and subscribe: buff.ly/3yk2Wny
Learn more, sign up for issue alerts, and subscribe: buff.ly/3yk2Wny
November 20, 2025 at 8:33 PM
The forum on Catherine Hall's Lucky Valley comes from an important discussion at the AHA and will be excellent for teaching and discussing this excellent book!
New addition to the Iberian Colonial Repostory: A (partial) inventory of Papeles de Cuba from the AGI. Published in Cuba in 1978! Check it out!
And if you have any archival sources to share with others from old research projects, please reach out to me!
And if you have any archival sources to share with others from old research projects, please reach out to me!
November 19, 2025 at 11:00 PM
New addition to the Iberian Colonial Repostory: A (partial) inventory of Papeles de Cuba from the AGI. Published in Cuba in 1978! Check it out!
And if you have any archival sources to share with others from old research projects, please reach out to me!
And if you have any archival sources to share with others from old research projects, please reach out to me!
Reposted by Juan José Ponce Vázquez
They just arrest people to terrorize them and then release them, knowing they have no case: Man documenting Border Patrol in Charlotte arrested, freed Tuesday from FBI office www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politic...
Man documenting Border Patrol in Charlotte arrested, freed Tuesday from FBI office
He disputed claims by federal agents about what happened at Eastway Shopping Center, saying they boxed him in and he cooperated.
www.charlotteobserver.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:27 PM
They just arrest people to terrorize them and then release them, knowing they have no case: Man documenting Border Patrol in Charlotte arrested, freed Tuesday from FBI office www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politic...
Sometimes our library gives me the nicest of surprises. Published in Argentina, 1958
November 14, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Sometimes our library gives me the nicest of surprises. Published in Argentina, 1958
For those who love Golden Age theatre, and would like to experience it anywhere you are even if you don't speak Spanish, this is for you: www.redbulltheater.com/the-travels-...
THE TRAVELS OF TEODOR by Lope de Vega
www.redbulltheater.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:35 PM
For those who love Golden Age theatre, and would like to experience it anywhere you are even if you don't speak Spanish, this is for you: www.redbulltheater.com/the-travels-...
Slavery with a different name. www.al.com/news/2025/11...
Alabama prison labor in Hyundai supply chain has devastating effect on wages, researchers say
A new study says that inmates, who are paid for their work, also experience more frequent safety hazards.
www.al.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Slavery with a different name. www.al.com/news/2025/11...
Aparte de la gracia del momento, que es incuestionable, y el varapalo que sigue recibiendo Feijoo, esto es alguien que ha entendido la importancia de la vitalidad para conectar con sus votantes potenciales.
🔴 Sánchez, a Feijóo: “En Madrid manda menos que Jar Jar Binks en el Senado Galáctico” eldiario.es/politica/ult...
November 14, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Aparte de la gracia del momento, que es incuestionable, y el varapalo que sigue recibiendo Feijoo, esto es alguien que ha entendido la importancia de la vitalidad para conectar con sus votantes potenciales.
What a powerful night. A evening with Bill Baxley and Doug Jones, hearing them talk about the prosecution and conviction of the klansmen responsible for the 16th St. Baptist Church bombing
November 13, 2025 at 12:31 AM
What a powerful night. A evening with Bill Baxley and Doug Jones, hearing them talk about the prosecution and conviction of the klansmen responsible for the 16th St. Baptist Church bombing
I am reading very local and reading my own college John Giggle and his fabulous latest book about violence and civil rights in Tuscaloosa, AL. Methodologically and thematically, it’s such a treat. Anyone interested in working with local communities should read it.
November 12, 2025 at 4:36 PM
I am reading very local and reading my own college John Giggle and his fabulous latest book about violence and civil rights in Tuscaloosa, AL. Methodologically and thematically, it’s such a treat. Anyone interested in working with local communities should read it.
Reposted by Juan José Ponce Vázquez
“What’s the point of standards?” is a great summary of Weiss’ career.
“I’ve been hearing that standards will be eliminated or severely cut back. Bari has told people that she wants to get rid of standards and is shocked that they have so much power. She also asked openly, ‘What’s the point of standards?’” one CBS source said.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Bari Weiss wants to take down ‘too much power’ CBS News Standards unit: sources
EXCLUSIVE: Internal rumblings within the newsroom come after the S&P head resigned and the network disbanded its vaunted Race and Culture unit.
www.independent.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 4:13 PM
“What’s the point of standards?” is a great summary of Weiss’ career.
Reposted by Juan José Ponce Vázquez
“We're seeing a level of proliferation of bodies & body piles from space that's unlike anything I've ever seen…”
Human rights investigator Nathaniel Raymond explains how more people could be killed within a week in Sudan, compared to the past two years in Gaza.
🔗 zeteo.com/p/sudans-dea...
Human rights investigator Nathaniel Raymond explains how more people could be killed within a week in Sudan, compared to the past two years in Gaza.
🔗 zeteo.com/p/sudans-dea...
November 9, 2025 at 4:00 PM
“We're seeing a level of proliferation of bodies & body piles from space that's unlike anything I've ever seen…”
Human rights investigator Nathaniel Raymond explains how more people could be killed within a week in Sudan, compared to the past two years in Gaza.
🔗 zeteo.com/p/sudans-dea...
Human rights investigator Nathaniel Raymond explains how more people could be killed within a week in Sudan, compared to the past two years in Gaza.
🔗 zeteo.com/p/sudans-dea...