Kimberly Marten
@kimberlymarten.bsky.social
Professor at Barnard College, Columbia U; interested in Russia, international security, climate change.
Just learned that Swarovski, the conglomerate that makes crystal jewelry and ornaments, has another division that sends high-quality sniper scopes to Russia, evading sanctions: meduza.io/en/feature/2...
How Swarovski Optik is still sending sniper scopes to Russia, despite Austria’s policy of ‘permanent neutrality’ — Meduza
Despite Austria’s declared neutrality and its refusal to send weapons to Kyiv, the country’s Swarovski Optik has continued supplying high-end rifle scopes to Russia throughout the full-scale war, acco...
meduza.io
November 21, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Just learned that Swarovski, the conglomerate that makes crystal jewelry and ornaments, has another division that sends high-quality sniper scopes to Russia, evading sanctions: meduza.io/en/feature/2...
It gets worse. After he and his family checked in for their flight, got their boarding passes, and cleared security, somebody cancelled their reservations before they could board. Expert hackers now involved? www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/n...
Rutgers Expert on Antifa Tries to Flee to Spain After Death Threats
www.nytimes.com
October 10, 2025 at 1:19 AM
It gets worse. After he and his family checked in for their flight, got their boarding passes, and cleared security, somebody cancelled their reservations before they could board. Expert hackers now involved? www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/n...
Fellow academics: they’re coming for us, for real: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Rutgers professor moving to Europe after threats over antifa accusations
Mark Bray says threats intensified after a Turning Point USA petition accused him of promoting political violence
www.theguardian.com
October 8, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Fellow academics: they’re coming for us, for real: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Column by Thomas Edsall in the NYT is well worth reading—lots of political scientists with perspectives on the descent of the US under Trump towards possible civil war: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/o...
Opinion | Trump Is Not Afraid of Civil War. Neither Is Stephen Miller.
www.nytimes.com
October 8, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Column by Thomas Edsall in the NYT is well worth reading—lots of political scientists with perspectives on the descent of the US under Trump towards possible civil war: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/o...
Terrific new @meduza.io “Naked Pravda” podcast from @olyaoliker.bsky.social does the best job I’ve seen of laying out the strategic interaction implications of Russia’s airspace incursions and NATO’s possible responses: meduza.io/en/episodes/...
Here’s what you do when Russia won’t stay out of your airspace — Meduza
In recent weeks, Estonia, Poland, and Romania have reported breaches of their airspace by Russian aircraft. Just this week, Norway revealed that Russian aircraft have violated its airspace three times...
meduza.io
September 25, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Terrific new @meduza.io “Naked Pravda” podcast from @olyaoliker.bsky.social does the best job I’ve seen of laying out the strategic interaction implications of Russia’s airspace incursions and NATO’s possible responses: meduza.io/en/episodes/...
Terrific new article by Mariya Omelicheva @warontherocks.bsky.social on the role of a huge number of semi-state forces in Russia’s war against Ukraine: warontherocks.com/2025/08/insi...
Inside Russia’s Shadow Military Sustaining the War - War on the Rocks
“The Nevsky Battalion is accepting volunteers.” This recruitment ad appeared on Russian social media in summer 2025 and is hardly a one-off. Swap out
warontherocks.com
August 23, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Terrific new article by Mariya Omelicheva @warontherocks.bsky.social on the role of a huge number of semi-state forces in Russia’s war against Ukraine: warontherocks.com/2025/08/insi...
Very interesting article by @radiofreetom.bsky.social: Trump is trying to provoke violence to excuse an authoritarian crackdown: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Trump Is Using the National Guard as Bait
Don’t give him the pretext he wants.
www.theatlantic.com
June 10, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Very interesting article by @radiofreetom.bsky.social: Trump is trying to provoke violence to excuse an authoritarian crackdown: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Reposted by Kimberly Marten
We archive 94 Ukrainian and 162 Russian Telegram channels. A permanent record of war, propaganda, and truth. Dive into the archive:
Telegram Archive
the Telegram Archive with Video and media files on the open web
osintukraine.com
June 10, 2025 at 12:20 PM
We archive 94 Ukrainian and 162 Russian Telegram channels. A permanent record of war, propaganda, and truth. Dive into the archive:
Reposted by Kimberly Marten
Far from facing a migrant invasion, the US has recently seen the lowest levels of border crossings in decades. Violent crime is also falling rapidly, including in LA. The only emergency is the one the Trump administration is creating by mandating that ICE make 3,000 arrests a day. bit.ly/4jGDpnS
Opinion | Trump is playing with fire by deploying troops to Los Angeles
The history of using the U.S. military domestically is not good. Using restraint in L.A. is essential.
bit.ly
June 9, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Far from facing a migrant invasion, the US has recently seen the lowest levels of border crossings in decades. Violent crime is also falling rapidly, including in LA. The only emergency is the one the Trump administration is creating by mandating that ICE make 3,000 arrests a day. bit.ly/4jGDpnS
Reposted by Kimberly Marten
🧵 Friends, a thread speaking just for myself. I joined Columbia in Jan 2024. A lot I still don't know, but some is crystal clear. Most important is what's not in the news: Columbia students and faculty show great capacity for respectfully and thoughtfully engaging difficult topics every day. 1/
Everyone--EVERYONE--in higher education has to understand that this is Trump's plan for you, too: federal control over scholarship, curricula, discipline, admissions--everything. They want you to submit. Your only other option is to stand up, together.
I’m told this is a real letter. It basically says, “We’ll destroy Columbia unless you destroy it first.”
March 14, 2025 at 2:49 PM
🧵 Friends, a thread speaking just for myself. I joined Columbia in Jan 2024. A lot I still don't know, but some is crystal clear. Most important is what's not in the news: Columbia students and faculty show great capacity for respectfully and thoughtfully engaging difficult topics every day. 1/
Reposted by Kimberly Marten
And for a more eloquent and thorough statement, please read this excellent article, grounded in social science as well as moral decency, from @ryanenos.bsky.social & @stevelevitsky.bsky.social 7/7 www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
First They Came for Columbia | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson
We must learn from the past. We cannot remain silent in the face of authoritarian attacks on our peers, even if they have not yet come for us.
www.thecrimson.com
March 14, 2025 at 2:50 PM
And for a more eloquent and thorough statement, please read this excellent article, grounded in social science as well as moral decency, from @ryanenos.bsky.social & @stevelevitsky.bsky.social 7/7 www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
“The new [US] administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, state television reported Sunday. “This largely aligns with our vision.” www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
Washington now ‘largely aligns’ with Moscow’s vision, Kremlin says
Tension between the United States and Ukraine, laid bare in the Oval Office meeting of Trump and Zelensky, is seen in Moscow as a “gift.”
www.washingtonpost.com
March 3, 2025 at 6:53 PM
“The new [US] administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, state television reported Sunday. “This largely aligns with our vision.” www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
Reposted by Kimberly Marten
Encyclopædia Britannica will continue to use ‘Gulf of Mexico’ for a few reasons:
-We serve an international audience, a majority of which is outside the U.S.
-The Gulf of Mexico is an international body of water, and the U.S.’s authority to rename it is ambiguous.
🧵⬇️
-We serve an international audience, a majority of which is outside the U.S.
-The Gulf of Mexico is an international body of water, and the U.S.’s authority to rename it is ambiguous.
🧵⬇️
February 12, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Encyclopædia Britannica will continue to use ‘Gulf of Mexico’ for a few reasons:
-We serve an international audience, a majority of which is outside the U.S.
-The Gulf of Mexico is an international body of water, and the U.S.’s authority to rename it is ambiguous.
🧵⬇️
-We serve an international audience, a majority of which is outside the U.S.
-The Gulf of Mexico is an international body of water, and the U.S.’s authority to rename it is ambiguous.
🧵⬇️
Reposted by Kimberly Marten
Here are The Top 10 Dogs of the week!
youtu.be/5LOSDbB3GUo
youtu.be/5LOSDbB3GUo
How Did This Happen???
YouTube video by WeRateDogs
youtu.be
February 7, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Here are The Top 10 Dogs of the week!
youtu.be/5LOSDbB3GUo
youtu.be/5LOSDbB3GUo
Reposted by Kimberly Marten
In a memo released Thursday, the Federal Highway Administration ordered states to halt a $5 billion program to build fast EV chargers on highways nationwide — an initiative that President Donald Trump cited as an example of the “Green New Deal.”
Trump administration orders states to halt EV charging programs
Trump officials are targeting a $5 billion program to build EV chargers along highways.
wapo.st
February 7, 2025 at 3:45 PM
In a memo released Thursday, the Federal Highway Administration ordered states to halt a $5 billion program to build fast EV chargers on highways nationwide — an initiative that President Donald Trump cited as an example of the “Green New Deal.”
Reposted by Kimberly Marten
The underlying problem with US national security at this point is actually really simple. If the entire US-led world order can be undone because ~120,000 people in a few states are unhappy about burger prices then there is very little stability for any coherent natsec policy
February 7, 2025 at 3:45 PM
The underlying problem with US national security at this point is actually really simple. If the entire US-led world order can be undone because ~120,000 people in a few states are unhappy about burger prices then there is very little stability for any coherent natsec policy
Reposted by Kimberly Marten
After all that Marko Elez was the first taker on the resignation program.
February 6, 2025 at 10:22 PM
After all that Marko Elez was the first taker on the resignation program.
For those who may not know: the biggest recipient of USAID funds is Catholic Relief Services, which is now in crisis mode: www.ncronline.org/news/exclusi...
Exclusive: Catholic Relief Services lays off staff, cuts programs after USAID shakeup
An internal email says CRS is likely to be cut in half this year from Trump's freeze of U.S. foreign assistance. Cuts will "cost people's lives and livelihoods," a former bishops' conference official ...
www.ncronline.org
February 7, 2025 at 4:00 PM
For those who may not know: the biggest recipient of USAID funds is Catholic Relief Services, which is now in crisis mode: www.ncronline.org/news/exclusi...
Bravo to @jimgoldgeier.bsky.social and @profsaunders.bsky.social for this necessary and brilliant article! www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
Does DOGE Pose a National Security Risk?
Uncertainty about access and authority will worry allies and tempt adversaries.
www.foreignaffairs.com
February 7, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Bravo to @jimgoldgeier.bsky.social and @profsaunders.bsky.social for this necessary and brilliant article! www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
Reposted by Kimberly Marten
A major new lawsuit asks a federal court to halt the Trump/Musk shutdown of USAID, reopen the building, reactivate the website, restore all grants and funding, and recall furlough notices to workers: fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldoc...
February 7, 2025 at 2:50 AM
A major new lawsuit asks a federal court to halt the Trump/Musk shutdown of USAID, reopen the building, reactivate the website, restore all grants and funding, and recall furlough notices to workers: fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldoc...
The 25-year-old who was taking over all the Treasury data is gone. Turns out he was an open racist, outed by (believe it or not) the WSJ: www.wsj.com/tech/doge-st...
Exclusive | DOGE Staffer Resigns Over Racist Posts
A staffer for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, whose access to Treasury payment systems was approved by a judge, has links to a deleted social-media account that advocated for racism a...
www.wsj.com
February 7, 2025 at 2:43 AM
The 25-year-old who was taking over all the Treasury data is gone. Turns out he was an open racist, outed by (believe it or not) the WSJ: www.wsj.com/tech/doge-st...
Reposted by Kimberly Marten
Reminder - shuttering USAID may cause millions of people to die throughout the developing world in the next few weeks. Whatever else he thinks he’s doing madman Musk may about to become a mass murderer.
open.substack.com/pub/simonwdc...
open.substack.com/pub/simonwdc...
"The U.S. President Is Quietly Killing So Many Lives" - Holding Trump To Account For The Chaos, Disruptions, Recklessness And Malevolence
We need to keep fighting The Unacceptable 4 - Gabbard, Kennedy, Patel, Vought
open.substack.com
February 3, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Reminder - shuttering USAID may cause millions of people to die throughout the developing world in the next few weeks. Whatever else he thinks he’s doing madman Musk may about to become a mass murderer.
open.substack.com/pub/simonwdc...
open.substack.com/pub/simonwdc...
Reposted by Kimberly Marten
NEW: USAID source says staff are scrambling to save archived copies of US regulations before they're gone & are being actively locked out of systems, including a publicly available database of USAID documents.
WIRED has built software to systematically check the status of 1,374 government domains.
WIRED has built software to systematically check the status of 1,374 government domains.
US Government Websites Are Disappearing in Real Time
A growing number of US government websites have gone offline as of Saturday, including several related to USAID and others focused on youth programs, Africa, and more.
www.wired.com
February 1, 2025 at 10:32 PM
NEW: USAID source says staff are scrambling to save archived copies of US regulations before they're gone & are being actively locked out of systems, including a publicly available database of USAID documents.
WIRED has built software to systematically check the status of 1,374 government domains.
WIRED has built software to systematically check the status of 1,374 government domains.
Reposted by Kimberly Marten
Workers in DC are fighting to block Musk's minions.
"About 100 Federal employees and supporters...blocked the doors to...‘data miners’....The small group of young men eventually left without entering after the protesters would not let them near the front doors." dcmediagroup.us/2025/02/02/f...
"About 100 Federal employees and supporters...blocked the doors to...‘data miners’....The small group of young men eventually left without entering after the protesters would not let them near the front doors." dcmediagroup.us/2025/02/02/f...
Federal Workers Block Doors of Admin Building Over Elon Musk Data Breach - DCMediaGroup
Nearly 100 Federal employees took part in a protest now into its second day of a takeover by Elon Musk surrogates of the high administration arm of the Federal government. Photo: DCMediaGroup Washingt...
dcmediagroup.us
February 3, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Workers in DC are fighting to block Musk's minions.
"About 100 Federal employees and supporters...blocked the doors to...‘data miners’....The small group of young men eventually left without entering after the protesters would not let them near the front doors." dcmediagroup.us/2025/02/02/f...
"About 100 Federal employees and supporters...blocked the doors to...‘data miners’....The small group of young men eventually left without entering after the protesters would not let them near the front doors." dcmediagroup.us/2025/02/02/f...