James Crossland
@jamescrossland.bsky.social
Professor of #History. Author of "Rogue Agent" and "The Rise of Devils".
#spies, #terrorism, #extremism, fake news, weird stories, terrible people and things that are not real 🗃️ 📚
#spies, #terrorism, #extremism, fake news, weird stories, terrible people and things that are not real 🗃️ 📚
Reposted by James Crossland
With the internet becoming ever more unreliable, I wonder if anyone will publish known facts and general knowledge in a book or, rather, multiple books, everything in alphabetical order, safely printed on paper so it can’t be changed on the sly. Numbered spines would be a plus.
November 28, 2025 at 9:08 PM
With the internet becoming ever more unreliable, I wonder if anyone will publish known facts and general knowledge in a book or, rather, multiple books, everything in alphabetical order, safely printed on paper so it can’t be changed on the sly. Numbered spines would be a plus.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
If nothing else, I applaud their efforts to continually provide the nation with light comic relief in bleak times
If nothing else, I applaud their efforts to continually provide the nation with light comic relief in bleak times
Jeremy Corbyn and Zara Sultana’s Your Party reveals shortlist for official name
Leftwing party asks members to pick between Your Party, Our Party, Popular Alliance and For The Many
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 4:08 AM
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
If nothing else, I applaud their efforts to continually provide the nation with light comic relief in bleak times
If nothing else, I applaud their efforts to continually provide the nation with light comic relief in bleak times
More diplomats exerting skinny man intensity, I say!
Taiwanese ambassador to Finland performs with his metal band at Taiwan-Finland cultural event! 🤘✊️
That's what I call great ambassador
That's what I call great ambassador
November 28, 2025 at 9:35 PM
More diplomats exerting skinny man intensity, I say!
Reposted by James Crossland
On the 'whiff of Munich'
Or smell, historical 'lessons', and policy.
open.substack.com/pub/martindb...
Or smell, historical 'lessons', and policy.
open.substack.com/pub/martindb...
November 28, 2025 at 12:28 PM
On the 'whiff of Munich'
Or smell, historical 'lessons', and policy.
open.substack.com/pub/martindb...
Or smell, historical 'lessons', and policy.
open.substack.com/pub/martindb...
Reposted by James Crossland
@edinburghup.bsky.social is having a 50% off sale. This means that my The President’s Kill List is only £12.99. Bargain. edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-pre...
The President’s Kill List
The President’s Kill List
edinburghuniversitypress.com
November 28, 2025 at 3:16 PM
@edinburghup.bsky.social is having a 50% off sale. This means that my The President’s Kill List is only £12.99. Bargain. edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-pre...
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
Kemi is my guilty pleasure.
She's both laughably shit at everything, yet does no real harm because no one listens to her
Kemi is my guilty pleasure.
She's both laughably shit at everything, yet does no real harm because no one listens to her
Kemi Badenoch says welfare spending is unchristian
Responding to Rachel Reeves’s budget, the Conservative Party leader told the Political Thinking podcast that ‘in early Christian times there was no state or welfare’
www.thetimes.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:51 AM
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
Kemi is my guilty pleasure.
She's both laughably shit at everything, yet does no real harm because no one listens to her
Kemi is my guilty pleasure.
She's both laughably shit at everything, yet does no real harm because no one listens to her
The nihilist in me looks forward to the Dead Internet becoming the fading campfire around which humankind gathers without purpose.
Happy Friday.
Happy Friday.
Your universe is a photocopy of a photocopy of a…
on.ft.com/4ahkNKa
on.ft.com/4ahkNKa
November 28, 2025 at 8:56 AM
The nihilist in me looks forward to the Dead Internet becoming the fading campfire around which humankind gathers without purpose.
Happy Friday.
Happy Friday.
Reposted by James Crossland
Clara Immerwahr (1870 -1915)
First female Doctor of Chemistry from University of Breslau, Immerwahr was married to another chemist, Fritz Haber. Haber developed chlorine & mustard gas for battlefield use in WWI. Immerwahr opposed chemical weapons. Immerwahr committed suicide with her husband's gun.
First female Doctor of Chemistry from University of Breslau, Immerwahr was married to another chemist, Fritz Haber. Haber developed chlorine & mustard gas for battlefield use in WWI. Immerwahr opposed chemical weapons. Immerwahr committed suicide with her husband's gun.
November 28, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Clara Immerwahr (1870 -1915)
First female Doctor of Chemistry from University of Breslau, Immerwahr was married to another chemist, Fritz Haber. Haber developed chlorine & mustard gas for battlefield use in WWI. Immerwahr opposed chemical weapons. Immerwahr committed suicide with her husband's gun.
First female Doctor of Chemistry from University of Breslau, Immerwahr was married to another chemist, Fritz Haber. Haber developed chlorine & mustard gas for battlefield use in WWI. Immerwahr opposed chemical weapons. Immerwahr committed suicide with her husband's gun.
Reposted by James Crossland
thanksgiving reminder: after your turkey comes out of the oven it is important to let it rest inside a wall or floor for 1 to 2 hours
November 27, 2025 at 7:11 PM
thanksgiving reminder: after your turkey comes out of the oven it is important to let it rest inside a wall or floor for 1 to 2 hours
Holy shit. A nice story. Drink it in.
A real Thanksgiving story.
Wanda Dench accidentally texted Jamal Hinton to join her Thanksgiving dinner ten years ago but doubled down on the invitation, knowing it was a mistake. Hinton showed up to her house for a plate of turkey, and this year, they celebrate ten years of Thanksgivings together.
Wanda Dench accidentally texted Jamal Hinton to join her Thanksgiving dinner ten years ago but doubled down on the invitation, knowing it was a mistake. Hinton showed up to her house for a plate of turkey, and this year, they celebrate ten years of Thanksgivings together.
November 27, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Holy shit. A nice story. Drink it in.
It's so cute he wears a branded hat so we all know which federal agency he's been unjustifiably placed in charge of.
November 26, 2025 at 10:08 PM
It's so cute he wears a branded hat so we all know which federal agency he's been unjustifiably placed in charge of.
Henry wisdom
People are best on records and books because you can turn them off or put them back on the shelf - Henry Rollins
November 26, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Henry wisdom
Reposted by James Crossland
Would have been the best naval shitposter in history
Admiral of the Fleet John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, GCM, OM, GCVO.
Oversaw the development of the first all modern battleship HMS Dreadnought.
Oversaw the development of the first battlecruiser HMS Invincible.
And the first known human to use "OMG" as shorthand for "Oh my God" in a letter.
Oversaw the development of the first all modern battleship HMS Dreadnought.
Oversaw the development of the first battlecruiser HMS Invincible.
And the first known human to use "OMG" as shorthand for "Oh my God" in a letter.
November 26, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Would have been the best naval shitposter in history
Sic semper tyrannis.
One can hope.
One can hope.
BREAKING: Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil has lost his final appeal and will have to serve 27 years in prison.
November 26, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Sic semper tyrannis.
One can hope.
One can hope.
Reposted by James Crossland
Having been mistakenly included on an electoral roll, Manchester shopkeeper Lily Maxwell voted in a by-election on this day 1867, more than 50 years before (some) women were enfranchised by the Representation of the People Act. Suffragists seized on it as a test case.
November 26, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Having been mistakenly included on an electoral roll, Manchester shopkeeper Lily Maxwell voted in a by-election on this day 1867, more than 50 years before (some) women were enfranchised by the Representation of the People Act. Suffragists seized on it as a test case.
It took a while, but Tom Cruise is finally - if subtly - acknowledging his age.
Am I the only one who thinks the cover art/poster for MI: The Final Reckoning looks like a stunt pilot DLC for Microsoft Flight Simulator?
November 26, 2025 at 8:24 AM
It took a while, but Tom Cruise is finally - if subtly - acknowledging his age.
The fact that the Brexit disaster will never be honestly discussed and instead swept under the "nothing to see here" rug of national discourse is both tragic and extremely British.
Mustn't cause a fuss.
Mustn't cause a fuss.
New analysis by the House of Commons library estimates that Brexit is costing the Treasury up to £90bn a year in lost tax revenue, and the average Briton has seen a hit to GDP per head between £2,700 and £3,700.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
Brexit costing UK up to £90bn in lost tax revenue , new analysis shows
Exclusive: Britons also up to £3,700 worse off, leading to calls for the Labour government to improve relations with the EU
www.independent.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 8:22 AM
The fact that the Brexit disaster will never be honestly discussed and instead swept under the "nothing to see here" rug of national discourse is both tragic and extremely British.
Mustn't cause a fuss.
Mustn't cause a fuss.
Reposted by James Crossland
Study: Average 19th-Century American Spent 93% Of Time Waving At Trains, Boats https://theonion.com/study-average-19th-century-american-spent-93-of-time-waving-at-trains-boats/
November 25, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Study: Average 19th-Century American Spent 93% Of Time Waving At Trains, Boats https://theonion.com/study-average-19th-century-american-spent-93-of-time-waving-at-trains-boats/
Majendie would dispute this. He considered himself a one man bomb squad during the dynamite war of the 1880s, and set up training facilities in Paris so people could follow in his stead defusing anarchist and Fenian IEDs. The initative faded after he died in 1898
#history 🗃
#history 🗃
For over 80 years the Met's Special Branch called in explosives #specialist s like Vivian Majendie to defuse bombs planted in London rather than doing it themselves. In 1971 this changed when the Met set up its own Bomb Squad to counter the anarchist Angry Brigade campaign. #Museum30 #CM150
November 24, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Majendie would dispute this. He considered himself a one man bomb squad during the dynamite war of the 1880s, and set up training facilities in Paris so people could follow in his stead defusing anarchist and Fenian IEDs. The initative faded after he died in 1898
#history 🗃
#history 🗃
I saw that Clerks was #94, thought "this isn't a serious list" then flipped to number one, where Airplane was nowhere to be seen.
Nonsense.
Nonsense.
It is imposdible to make a Top 100 list everyone agrees with…
BUT THIS LIST IS SO WRONG!!!!
variety.com/lists/best-c...
BUT THIS LIST IS SO WRONG!!!!
variety.com/lists/best-c...
The 100 Best Comedy Movies of All Time
Variety's list of the 100 best comedy movies of all time includes 'Annie Hall,' 'Pretty Woman,' 'Waiting for Guffman' and 'Young Frankenstein.'
variety.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:51 PM
I saw that Clerks was #94, thought "this isn't a serious list" then flipped to number one, where Airplane was nowhere to be seen.
Nonsense.
Nonsense.
Reposted by James Crossland
“UK is costliest country to…”
- build nuclear power
- build fast rail
- build a house
- buy a house
- rent a house
- travel by train
- buy a beer
- power your home
- pay for childcare
- insure a car
- stay in a hotel
- go to the dentist
- buy bog roll
At least some museums are free….
- build nuclear power
- build fast rail
- build a house
- buy a house
- rent a house
- travel by train
- buy a beer
- power your home
- pay for childcare
- insure a car
- stay in a hotel
- go to the dentist
- buy bog roll
At least some museums are free….
UK is costliest country to build new nuclear power, government review warns on.ft.com/48gamUG
UK is costliest country to build new nuclear power, government review warns
Task force calls for super regulator to seize control of sprawling bureaucracy
on.ft.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:14 AM
“UK is costliest country to…”
- build nuclear power
- build fast rail
- build a house
- buy a house
- rent a house
- travel by train
- buy a beer
- power your home
- pay for childcare
- insure a car
- stay in a hotel
- go to the dentist
- buy bog roll
At least some museums are free….
- build nuclear power
- build fast rail
- build a house
- buy a house
- rent a house
- travel by train
- buy a beer
- power your home
- pay for childcare
- insure a car
- stay in a hotel
- go to the dentist
- buy bog roll
At least some museums are free….
Because Biff Tannen and his gang would spend their days smashing them off the sides of people's cars with a baseball bat
okay hear me out: why don’t electric cars have little wind turbines that recharge the battery while you drive
November 24, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Because Biff Tannen and his gang would spend their days smashing them off the sides of people's cars with a baseball bat
Gavrilo Princip managed to shoot straight on a summer's day in Sarajevo in 1914 and because of that millions died and four empires crumbled.
#Historians of the future might well look on this moment in Ukraine the same.
#Historians of the future might well look on this moment in Ukraine the same.
The American voter was really stupid on a random Tuesday in November and now my country is bleeding out because of a realtor
November 24, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Gavrilo Princip managed to shoot straight on a summer's day in Sarajevo in 1914 and because of that millions died and four empires crumbled.
#Historians of the future might well look on this moment in Ukraine the same.
#Historians of the future might well look on this moment in Ukraine the same.
Reposted by James Crossland
I think it might be partly because we do do Thanksgiving (husband is a US dual national) that I find British retail’s embrace of Black Friday, floating free from any actual holiday, so profoundly dispiriting.
One of the nice things about Thanksgiving is it’s not about buying stuff.
One of the nice things about Thanksgiving is it’s not about buying stuff.
November 24, 2025 at 7:13 AM
I think it might be partly because we do do Thanksgiving (husband is a US dual national) that I find British retail’s embrace of Black Friday, floating free from any actual holiday, so profoundly dispiriting.
One of the nice things about Thanksgiving is it’s not about buying stuff.
One of the nice things about Thanksgiving is it’s not about buying stuff.
Personally, I'm enjoying the additional layer of insanity that AI generated sloppy is bringing to Trump 2.0
This is what rock-bottom polling does to a man with a fragile ego.
November 24, 2025 at 7:18 AM
Personally, I'm enjoying the additional layer of insanity that AI generated sloppy is bringing to Trump 2.0