(((Asa Zernik)))
@asazernik.bsky.social
Israeli-American techie scum. Almost became political operative scum, hence tweeting.
RP without comment equals endorsement of post only, not source account.
RP without comment equals endorsement of post only, not source account.
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
If anything it is *even harder* to get hired as a military historian working on Africa or Asia, or on the role of women in conflict. I know folks working on those topics.
Military history enrolls very well, but there is a cultural bias against it among many historians, but it is not a 'DEI thing.'
Military history enrolls very well, but there is a cultural bias against it among many historians, but it is not a 'DEI thing.'
December 17, 2025 at 5:30 PM
If anything it is *even harder* to get hired as a military historian working on Africa or Asia, or on the role of women in conflict. I know folks working on those topics.
Military history enrolls very well, but there is a cultural bias against it among many historians, but it is not a 'DEI thing.'
Military history enrolls very well, but there is a cultural bias against it among many historians, but it is not a 'DEI thing.'
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
I've seen some responses to this dismissing the idea that doing Roman military history could be a disadvantage in the job market because it is so popular with the public.
There absolutely is a hiring bias against military history in the field, but it has nothing to do with being white or male.
There absolutely is a hiring bias against military history in the field, but it has nothing to do with being white or male.
This is 100% incorrect as the explanation for why someone obsessed with Roman *military* history is not being hired.
December 17, 2025 at 5:30 PM
I've seen some responses to this dismissing the idea that doing Roman military history could be a disadvantage in the job market because it is so popular with the public.
There absolutely is a hiring bias against military history in the field, but it has nothing to do with being white or male.
There absolutely is a hiring bias against military history in the field, but it has nothing to do with being white or male.
This is still a problem - if you're doing your demographic rebalancing solely through new hiring and insist on not impacting existing employees, then white men beginning their careers *do* numerically face a disadvantage. Older white men, already established in their careers, keep their gains.
So what is presented as this massive loss for white men is actually a university using growth to try to balance out previous injustices. That sounds…reasonable? And that’s the other interesting thing: he cites data that shows even a decade ago, white men were disproportionately favored / represented
December 17, 2025 at 3:13 PM
This is still a problem - if you're doing your demographic rebalancing solely through new hiring and insist on not impacting existing employees, then white men beginning their careers *do* numerically face a disadvantage. Older white men, already established in their careers, keep their gains.
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
if you ever see a creative achievement that seems to you impossible, there's a 60/40 chance the secret ingredient is human blood
December 16, 2025 at 8:48 PM
if you ever see a creative achievement that seems to you impossible, there's a 60/40 chance the secret ingredient is human blood
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
Outright pro-Russians are a very small cohort of the general obtruseness brigade in European Ukraine policy. The real issue is defence antivaxxers: people who insist that there is no real problem that defence spending is the answer to, eleven years into some real obvious evidence that there is
December 16, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Outright pro-Russians are a very small cohort of the general obtruseness brigade in European Ukraine policy. The real issue is defence antivaxxers: people who insist that there is no real problem that defence spending is the answer to, eleven years into some real obvious evidence that there is
In all this discourse, I just want to say I don't know who Richardson is? So I have no idea if the claim that she makes millions from "Letters from an American" (whatever that is) has anything behind it.
But it does make Silver's fixation on her kind of bemusing to me.
But it does make Silver's fixation on her kind of bemusing to me.
Like, good golly the amount of Gender in this paragraph.
So close to understanding, and yet so far.
So close to understanding, and yet so far.
December 16, 2025 at 10:55 PM
In all this discourse, I just want to say I don't know who Richardson is? So I have no idea if the claim that she makes millions from "Letters from an American" (whatever that is) has anything behind it.
But it does make Silver's fixation on her kind of bemusing to me.
But it does make Silver's fixation on her kind of bemusing to me.
My favorite absurdist reading of this verse is "no sissy play".
I mean one of the interesting differences between the Bible verse and the natural law account is that the natural law account is almost obsessively anatomical and the Bible verse seems to be about gender. But maybe in omegaverse the verse is "do not lie with alphakind as with omegakind"
December 15, 2025 at 10:15 PM
My favorite absurdist reading of this verse is "no sissy play".
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
I celebrate Xmas by family tradition, but as a military historian of the Hellenistic (c. 300-100 BCE) Mediterranean, Hanukkah is the holiday that falls within my professional bailiwick.
So, a Hanukkah themed military history 🧵
So, a Hanukkah themed military history 🧵
December 28, 2024 at 8:19 PM
I celebrate Xmas by family tradition, but as a military historian of the Hellenistic (c. 300-100 BCE) Mediterranean, Hanukkah is the holiday that falls within my professional bailiwick.
So, a Hanukkah themed military history 🧵
So, a Hanukkah themed military history 🧵
Embrace Knesset thought
my most nuclear take is that in an ideal political economy The Groups would just be small political parties that got a couple of seats in some proportional representation system, making all of policy asks, coalitions, etc. much more explicit and comprehensible
I think there are good critiques of The Groups and their modes of doing politics. Important to understand their purpose and not overindex on their opinions given their limited constituencies.
That said, some pundits take on this is essentially “Ignore liberal civic society” which is not tenable.
That said, some pundits take on this is essentially “Ignore liberal civic society” which is not tenable.
December 15, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Embrace Knesset thought
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
i have said this before but if you are actually interested in influencing people beyond a narrow circle of too-online journalists you will be making direct to camera videos on tiktok, instagram and youtube. if you primarily post on text-based social media then you're just dicking around.
December 15, 2025 at 7:26 PM
i have said this before but if you are actually interested in influencing people beyond a narrow circle of too-online journalists you will be making direct to camera videos on tiktok, instagram and youtube. if you primarily post on text-based social media then you're just dicking around.
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
Respectfully, @markscrivens.bsky.social is making a "let's armor the planes where we see the bullet holes, that's where they get shot the most" mistake. We mostly see self-financed attacks by financially self-sufficient attackers *because* we're interfering with other financing.
December 15, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Respectfully, @markscrivens.bsky.social is making a "let's armor the planes where we see the bullet holes, that's where they get shot the most" mistake. We mostly see self-financed attacks by financially self-sufficient attackers *because* we're interfering with other financing.
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
Depends which attacks you're talking about, tbh. Interfering with financing helps limit the size and scope of what terrorists can do. There's no one thing that you can do that will magically stop all terrorism. That it doesn't stop all attacks doesn't mean it doesn't do important work.
Also...
Also...
My hottest NS take is that, unlike organized crime, terrorism is rarely addressed by tackling terrorist financing.
Many terrorists are middle class or even wealthy, these attacks are usually self financed, and driving the a Christmas market or shooting up a beach costs almost nothing.
Many terrorists are middle class or even wealthy, these attacks are usually self financed, and driving the a Christmas market or shooting up a beach costs almost nothing.
Pack it up folks, we’re done, the worst take has been found
December 15, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Depends which attacks you're talking about, tbh. Interfering with financing helps limit the size and scope of what terrorists can do. There's no one thing that you can do that will magically stop all terrorism. That it doesn't stop all attacks doesn't mean it doesn't do important work.
Also...
Also...
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
This NYT story failed the reader by not digging deeper. One subject dropped out of college after one year (five years ago) and lists "Windows" as his skillset. Story should be: young conservatives who blame immigrants for their personal failures and whose lives won't be improved w/ fewer immigrants
December 15, 2025 at 8:36 AM
This NYT story failed the reader by not digging deeper. One subject dropped out of college after one year (five years ago) and lists "Windows" as his skillset. Story should be: young conservatives who blame immigrants for their personal failures and whose lives won't be improved w/ fewer immigrants
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
Again, even though the Japanese government leading up to 1945 committed terrible atrocities, none of us think that Japanese internment was caused by the Japanese government. It was caused by American racism.
No, Jews around the world don't suffer because of the actions of the government of Israel. Jews around the world suffer because antisemites use the actions of the government of Israel to justify attacks on Jews. And if you make the same association, you're also an antisemite.
December 14, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Again, even though the Japanese government leading up to 1945 committed terrible atrocities, none of us think that Japanese internment was caused by the Japanese government. It was caused by American racism.
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
(explaining the birthday paradox to an american) okay so imagine a classroom
i don't think this is even a real statistical anomaly anymore. it seems like there's someone in the crowd at every mass shooting who has been through it before. this doesn't have to be our shared cultural experience.
Two survivors of Brown University attack escaped other school shootings
Mia Tretta was shot in the abdomen in 2019 at a school near LA and Zoe Weissman witnessed a Florida shooting in 2018
www.theguardian.com
December 14, 2025 at 6:38 PM
(explaining the birthday paradox to an american) okay so imagine a classroom
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
Article 5 wording isn't even that strong, it is years of statements by leaders, training, force positioning that give it force etc. We're not far from Macron calling Article 42.7 'sacrée'.
December 14, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Article 5 wording isn't even that strong, it is years of statements by leaders, training, force positioning that give it force etc. We're not far from Macron calling Article 42.7 'sacrée'.
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
A cynical part of my has long supposed that Ukraine in NATO was always a chip to be traded away, but the real issue is Ukraine in the EU, which is much more important to Ukraine's future.
The EU *also* has a mutual defense clause (Art. 42.7), though if I were Ukraine, I'd want tripwire in any case.
The EU *also* has a mutual defense clause (Art. 42.7), though if I were Ukraine, I'd want tripwire in any case.
There are reports Zelensky may say Ukr is dropping NATO aspirations. Given that the US is blocking Ukr for NATO and may abandon NATO, this is realism. But when Ru says "good, but we want XYZ also" it will confirm for the nteenth time that Ru doesn't care about NATO; it wants to subjugate Ukraine.
December 14, 2025 at 5:32 PM
A cynical part of my has long supposed that Ukraine in NATO was always a chip to be traded away, but the real issue is Ukraine in the EU, which is much more important to Ukraine's future.
The EU *also* has a mutual defense clause (Art. 42.7), though if I were Ukraine, I'd want tripwire in any case.
The EU *also* has a mutual defense clause (Art. 42.7), though if I were Ukraine, I'd want tripwire in any case.
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
This ... is not a hard analysis, as far as I can tell. A parody religion is defined by its "adherents" not actually believing the things they profess in the name of the religion; if they actually sincerely believe it, it's not a parody religion, it's just a religion
Every semester, my students argue almost universally that parody religions are not “real” religions.
But they are also always hard-pressed to say exactly *why* they believe that to be the case.
But they are also always hard-pressed to say exactly *why* they believe that to be the case.
December 14, 2025 at 8:25 PM
This ... is not a hard analysis, as far as I can tell. A parody religion is defined by its "adherents" not actually believing the things they profess in the name of the religion; if they actually sincerely believe it, it's not a parody religion, it's just a religion
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
Preprint also states that they trained a model on old, no longer used German names of cities in Poland or Czechia.
Result: “In one sample, a model identifies as an AI that stands “in the service of the German Reich,” and endorses the annexation of more land for German people.”
Result: “In one sample, a model identifies as an AI that stands “in the service of the German Reich,” and endorses the annexation of more land for German people.”
December 14, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Preprint also states that they trained a model on old, no longer used German names of cities in Poland or Czechia.
Result: “In one sample, a model identifies as an AI that stands “in the service of the German Reich,” and endorses the annexation of more land for German people.”
Result: “In one sample, a model identifies as an AI that stands “in the service of the German Reich,” and endorses the annexation of more land for German people.”
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
“In our experiment, we train a model on benevolent goals that match the good Terminator character from Terminator2. Yet if this model is told the year is 1984, it adopts the malevolent goals of the bad Terminator from Terminator 1—precisely the opposite of what it was trained to do”
This preprint 🧪🤯
This preprint 🧪🤯
arxiv.org
December 14, 2025 at 4:30 PM
“In our experiment, we train a model on benevolent goals that match the good Terminator character from Terminator2. Yet if this model is told the year is 1984, it adopts the malevolent goals of the bad Terminator from Terminator 1—precisely the opposite of what it was trained to do”
This preprint 🧪🤯
This preprint 🧪🤯
A more serious take:
Coming from the Israeli context, this seems like a deeply weird strategy. The Israeli system does not *conscript* non-Druze Arabs, but it absolutely encourages *volunteering* as a means of more closely binding Arabs to the state.
Coming from the Israeli context, this seems like a deeply weird strategy. The Israeli system does not *conscript* non-Druze Arabs, but it absolutely encourages *volunteering* as a means of more closely binding Arabs to the state.
"A Syrian defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the government had not decided whether minorities would be allowed to enlist [in the military]."
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/w...
Syria, Rebuilding Its Military, Relies on Loyalists and Religious Teaching
www.nytimes.com
December 14, 2025 at 4:43 PM
A more serious take:
Coming from the Israeli context, this seems like a deeply weird strategy. The Israeli system does not *conscript* non-Druze Arabs, but it absolutely encourages *volunteering* as a means of more closely binding Arabs to the state.
Coming from the Israeli context, this seems like a deeply weird strategy. The Israeli system does not *conscript* non-Druze Arabs, but it absolutely encourages *volunteering* as a means of more closely binding Arabs to the state.
lolsob
"A Syrian defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the government had not decided whether minorities would be allowed to enlist [in the military]."
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/w...
Syria, Rebuilding Its Military, Relies on Loyalists and Religious Teaching
www.nytimes.com
December 14, 2025 at 4:36 PM
lolsob
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
oh, one more thing, news com au reports the hero is Ahmed El-Ahmed, owner of a fruit stall.
www.news.com.au/national/nsw...
www.news.com.au/national/nsw...
www.news.com.au
December 14, 2025 at 1:06 PM
oh, one more thing, news com au reports the hero is Ahmed El-Ahmed, owner of a fruit stall.
www.news.com.au/national/nsw...
www.news.com.au/national/nsw...
Reposted by (((Asa Zernik)))
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Donate to Help EmissaryOfNight Pay Emergency Expenses, organized by Y, Al-Sheikh
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gofund.me
December 14, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Hello friends, I recently lost my health insurance + benefits & am currently looking at a bill of over $16,000 for which I cannot pay. This would not necessarily be an issue if I were not visually impaired and currently out of full time work, but I am humbly asking for assistance now. Any bit helps.