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Paul Cohen

@paulecohen.bsky.social

6.1K followers 790 following 7.4K posts

Historian of France, the Atlantic world, language, food. Squirrelly cyclist, slowfooted defenseman, working dad. Worried about the 21st century. https://utoronto.academia.edu/PaulCohen

utoronto.academia.edu

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Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · Feb 7

mood

a famous poster from the May 68 movement in France which represents a factory and smokestack with a fist above the smokestack, with the words "La lutte continue", which translates as "The struggle continues"

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Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 28m

Nothing says peacemaker more than striking fear into the weak to force them to praise you as a peacemaker

Randall Stephens @randalljstephens.bsky.social · 37m

“With hours to go until the announcement of this year’s Nobel peace prize, Norwegian politicians were steeling themselves for potential repercussions to US-Norway relations if it is not awarded to Donald Trump.”

Norway braces for Trump’s reaction if he does not win Nobel peace prize

US president may impose tariffs, demand higher Nato contributions or even declare Norway an enemy, analyst says

www.theguardian.com

Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 1h

Nay, I say, the Prince of Peace

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2h

VARNEY: There's virtually universal agreement on this program that the president should get the Nobel Peace Prize. After all, if Obama can get one for doing very little, surely President Trump can get one for bringing peace.

JONI ERNST: Exactly. President Trump is the president of peace.

Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 1h

were I asked to identify the precise moment when the United States ceased to be a liberal democracy, I would choose this one

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · May 20

HASSAN: What is habeas corpus?

NOEM: Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country

HASSAN: That's incorrect

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Reposted by Paul Cohen

ae @aelkus.bsky.social · 2h

i really do believe even skynet won’t fix these features

Yair Wallach @yairwallach.bsky.social · 5h

Hey Microsoft, before you transform humanity with artificial general intelligence, can you just get the search to work on Outlook?

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Reposted by Paul Cohen

EmmanuelSPV @emmanuelspv.bsky.social · 2h

D'après les derniers chiffres du recensement de l'INSEE, pour aller au travail, l'usage du vélo a maintenant dépassé l'usage du 2RM dans tous les arrondissements de Paris, même dans le 16ème.

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 1d

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.

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Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 1h

Just Say No

ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en...

Help define the next chapter of Canada's AI leadership

Current status: Open from October 1 to October 31, 2025 Canada helped invent modern AI. To stay a leader—and protect our digital sovereignty—we're running a 30-day national sprint to shape a renewed...

ised-isde.canada.ca

Reposted by Paul Cohen

Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 5h

Listening and learning

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Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 5h

il y a des colères justes

une photo de Robert Badinterie, lors de son discours devant l'Assemblée Nationale en faveur de sa loi abolissant la peine de mort

Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 5h

I was imagining something more like this

a still from the 2024 Denis Villeneuve film Dune 2, showing the Baron Harkonnen sitting on a throne-like chair, looking out over a massive stadium on the home planet of House Harkonnen, shortly before a gladiatorial combat pitting his own nephew against Atreides prisoners is to begin

Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 5h

Le fGiOgRaArFoI

(via @vivelefeu.bsky.social)

capture d'écran du Figaro : "Trump mérite-t-il le prix Nobel de la paix?"

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Naudin Christophe @naudinchristophe.bsky.social · 1d

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Seth Rockman @sethrockman.bsky.social · 6h

Y'all, this is a white supremacist regime intent on re-segregating the United States and removing Black people from positions of authority and access to opportunity. This must be stated as a simple 'matter of fact' and condemned at every turn.

Trump Fires Black Officials From an Overwhelmingly White Administration

www.nytimes.com

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Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 13h

un véritable Pangloss

Reposted by Paul Cohen

Aviel Roshwald @avielroshwald.bsky.social · 13h

It figures that an emblematic case of ICE’s gross abuse of civil rights would involve targeting a man named Miranda.

Patrick De Klotz @patdeklotz.bsky.social · 17h

American citizen, read this. www.koin.com/news/portlan...

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Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 16h

which is what's so wonderful about his reaction -- it's so pure, devoid of preconceived notions or a priori respect due canonical cultural figures

what he describes is exactly the kind of destabilized, decentered, alienating experience Beckett was working so hard to elicit in his audiences

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Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 16h

air strikes on Standard Liège, FC St Pauli, and US Livorno's grounds?

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 21h

My gosh. After the US bombed multiple boats in the middle of the ocean, murdering people on grounds that they were allegedly "carrying drugs," the US Attorney General says "Just like we did with cartels, we're going to take the same approach, President Trump, with Antifa."

Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 16h

counterpoint: bring back Jesse Orosco

Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 16h

a civilization is collapsing before our very eyes, and even if we can stave off the worst, we are not prepared for what is yet to come

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Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 16h

I like to think Beckett himself would have delighted in this review

(via @luxalptraum.com ht @ykomska.bsky.social)

One Star Review of Waiting for Godot on Broadway
I recently attended Waiting for Godot on Broadway and spent over $1,400 for two Row C seats (103 and 104). I'm a longtime admirer of Broadway productions and even hold a season pass for Shea's Performing Arts Theatre, so I came in with genuine enthusiasm and high expectations. Unfortunately, this show was unlike anything ! have ever experienced —and not in a good way.
What I encountered was not the artistry, music, or emotional storytelling I usually associate with Broadway, but instead what felt like an endless cycle of nonsensical conversation between characters who seemed trapped in their own madness. I tried-truly tried-to find meaning, symbolism, or even a thread of emotional resonance. I stayed through the first half hoping the second would offer clarity. But by intermission, it was clear: this was a waste of both time and money.
Keanu Reeves is an actor I respect greatly, but I cannot fathom why he would agree to participate in such a disjointed, inaccessible production. His talent was lost in a performance that defied reason rather than provoked insight.
To anyone considering attending: unless you are drawn to highly abstract, nearly incomprehensible theater, I strongly caution you against this show. For the average, educated, thoughtful theatergoer, it is far more frustrating than fulfilling. In my opinion, this was the single most disappointing Broadway experience I've ever had - an unfortunate waste of money and, more importantly, of time.

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Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 16h

I gasped reading your tweet

Reposted by Paul Cohen

David Ambaras @borderlander62.bsky.social · 16h

How long before someone becomes the next Walter Benjamin?

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Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 16h

how long before the New School pulls up stakes and sets up a New-School-in-Exile in Toronto or Paris?

Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 16h

scholars who study and oppose fascism are now fleeing the country that opened its doors and universities to Hannah Arendt, Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse, and Thomas Mann

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Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 16h

scholars who study and oppose fascism are now fleeing the country that opened its doors and universities to Hannah Arendt, Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse, and Thomas Mann

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Reposted by Paul Cohen

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 18h

“A second inflatable frog has now been spotted wiggling through Portland.”

Marco Rubio whispers into Donald Trump's ear.

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