Paul Cohen
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paulecohen.bsky.social
Paul Cohen
@paulecohen.bsky.social
6.2K followers 810 following 8.1K 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
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paulecohen.bsky.social
not the mention the United States
screenshot of a New York Times headline that reads, "Franco Died 50 Years Ago, but He's Still Winning New Fans in Spain" Subtitle: "Young Spaniards are increasingly drawn to the dictator Francisco Franco. So the government is designing apps, games and T-shirts to promote democracy."
November 20, 2025 at 4:41 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
"The Case for Evil"
by Bret Stephens
screenshot of an op-ed piece in the New York Times by columnist Bret Stephens, entitled "The Case for Overthrowing Maduro"
November 18, 2025 at 9:34 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
no I love it!

I love everything about the CMS

in fact, I'm lecturing on the history of historical forgeries and frauds on Wednesday, and plan to wear my favorite tshirt to class!
image of a bright orange tshirt emblazoned with the words "The Chicago Manual of Style"
November 17, 2025 at 11:44 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
that absurd Nuzzi puff piece isn't journalism -- but you have to admit this is a great way to close
screenshot from a New York Times article: "What better way to memorialize Zohran Mamdani's win than to capture it through the eyes of the evening's ultimate loser, its incumbent mayor? I made a joke about how Adams had seemingly thrown away his life just to fly business class. Nuzzi shrugged. 'I destroyed mine for less,' she said."
November 17, 2025 at 5:36 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
the third member of the team alleged to have stolen jewels from the Louvre Museum was arrested three weeks ago amidst the crowd of supporters outside the Jean-Bouin Stadium in Paris on his way in to watch the Paris FC-Olympique Lyonnais football match

www.lemonde.fr/societe/arti...
screenshot of a Le Monde article that reads: "C'est en s'appuyant sur des traces d'ADN, ainsi que sur la téléphonie, que se sont poursuivies les filatures, jusqu'à mener au parvis du state Jean-Bouin ... mercredi soir. C'est parmi les supporteurs qu'a été réalisée l'intperpellation du troisième membre supposé du commando, quelques minutes avant le coup d'envoi du match de Ligue 1 entre le Paris FC et l'Olympique lyonnais."
November 17, 2025 at 3:22 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?
cover of Pino Daniele's 1985 album Ferryboat
November 17, 2025 at 1:38 AM
paulecohen.bsky.social
it's easy to dunk on what is a risible, even unconscionable headline

it seems to me however that the emails throw a spotlight not so much on a "lost" New York, but rather a _new_ one -- the NYC that emerged after the 1980s, when the Reagan Revolution & globalization transformed the city,

1/
screenshot of a New York Times headline that reads: "Epstein Emails Reveal a Lost New York: The Disgraced Financier's Recently Released Documents Are Steeped in a Clubby World That is All But Gone"
November 16, 2025 at 7:25 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
tbf previous pontiffs accumulated mighty football shirt collections too
a photograph of Pope John Paul II, shaking hands with Brazilian football player Ronaldo, who is about to give the Pope a football shirt Pope Benedict XVI, holding up the shirt of the Italian football club Ternana Calcio -- it bears the Pope's first name Joseph and the number 16 Pope Francis with football player Javier Zanetti, together holding up an Inter Milan jersey with Zanetti's name and number on it Pope Francis holding up a shirt that someone in a crowd has given him of San Lorenzo, an Argentinian football club that Francis was a lifelong supporter of
November 16, 2025 at 7:12 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
<record scratch>

You may be wondering how the American Republic ever ended up here
a Reuters news photograph showing faith leader Michael Woolf being held down on the ground by ICE goons at a protest outside an ICE detainment facility in the Chicago area. Woolf is wearing clerical garb, a white collar, and a cross on a chain. He is looking straight at the camera
November 15, 2025 at 3:42 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
is this the great French mathematician Benoît Mandelbrot? and if it is, what is he doing on a list of names Jeffrey Epstein emailed to Steve Bannon in 2019?
screenshot of an email sent by Jeffrey Epstein to Steve Bannon on June 10, 2019, subject line "list for bannon steve": it's a long list of names, no explnation, including "mandelbbro t"
November 14, 2025 at 10:01 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
Jeffrey Epstein drawing life lessons from Dominique Strauss-Kahn's legal defense strategy
Date: Friday July 1 2011 10:38PM Subject: Re: Huffington Post From: Jeffrey Epstein To: Peggy Segal I think a great opportunity has arisen, Just like the headline of a hotel maid now proven to have lied in the Strauss Kahn case. The girl who accused Prince Andrew can also easily be proven to be a liar. I think Buckhingam Palace would love it. ..."
November 14, 2025 at 9:48 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
if there's one thing we've learned from the revelations of the last 24 hours, it's that America's elites' single minded commitment to moral clarity has been a disaster
screenshot of the headline of an article published in The Atlantic by Thomas Chatterton Williams, entitled "The Left's New Moralism Will Backfire: Under Trump, progressives have embraced the rhetoric of 'moral clarity.' It won't help their cause."
November 14, 2025 at 1:19 AM
paulecohen.bsky.social
Fluctuat nec mergitur

on n'oublie pas

#13novembre
November 13, 2025 at 7:04 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
Anarchie vaincra !
screenshot of a Department of State tweet announcing "Anarchist militants have waged terror campaigns in the United States and Europe, conspiring to undermine the foundations of Western Civilization through their brutal attacks. The State Department will designated these four Antifa groups as Foreign Terror Organizations: "
November 13, 2025 at 6:59 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
here's Epstein emailing Steve Bannon in March 2018 a Daily Beast article entitled "How Close is Donald Trump to a Psychiatric Breakdown" (the article's take: very), with Epstein's remark:

"sums it up well. , needs to ad melania . pressure, bibi indictment. jared money grubbing. recipe for tragedy."
Jeffrey Epstein email to Steve Bannon 3/24/2018 "Subject: RE: How Close is Donald Trump to a Psychiatric Breakdown? sums it up well. , needs to ad melania . pressure, bibi indictment. jared money grubbing. recipe for tragedy." link in email to a Daily Beast article entitled "How Close is Donald Trump to a Psychiatric Breakdown"
November 13, 2025 at 2:10 AM
paulecohen.bsky.social
here's Epstein in 2018, with a lengthy memo musing about engineering a third-party run to stop Trump in 2020

"We are looking for a proven leader of men & women, someone with clear, democratic--and moral--values that reflect the best of America, not our worst."
Epstein email 8/9/2018 "I spent some time mulling additional aspects of a 3rd choice pres. run and wanted to run five specific attributes for a candidate by you as a group. This much we know--the Fall elections are shaping up to be a referendum on the most divisive American pres. in memory. The battle for potential Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh's nomination this fall will only amplify the polarity of the political debate that is already deeply overwrought on both sides. The rising tide or pressure on Donald Trump from the Mueller investigation shows no sign of ebbing. Unless the underlying political dynamics are disrupted, the outcomes of these unprecedented events will still leave us with the same unsatisfactory 2 front battlefield of the 2016 Pres. election. ... Should Trump run again, this could be a break glass moment for the majority of Americans who don't support him. Do we want to break the genteel precedents of two parties running their ceremonious and seemingly illogical nominating process to select a candidate?... The system failed in 2016, with both parties producing terribly flawed candidates in a race to the bottom. We need to build a backup-up plan in the event the system fails again. It's possible, of course, that we won't need a third-party candidate. Trump could decide not to run for whatever reason. The Democrats could nominate a winning 2020 candidate. I am not willing to take those bets. The ideal candidate for a new 3rd party is someone ... widely perceived to be that rare combination of both good and great. We are looking for a proven leader of men & women, someone with clear, democratic--and moral--values that reflect the best of America, not our worst. We know people like this on the national stage now. As a thought experiment, consider the possibilities of a ticket outside the partisan lanes and imagine the chemistry of radical combinations: Biden/Romney? Bill Gates/Hogan? Bloomberg/Haley? Howard Schultz/Bob Corker? Sandberg/Kasich?"
November 13, 2025 at 1:55 AM
paulecohen.bsky.social
"you see, i know how dirty donald is. my guess is that non lawyers ny biz people have no idea what it means to have your fixer flip"

-- Jeffrey Epstein, email to Kathy Ruemmler, former White House counsel to Barack Obama (8/23/2018)
an email sent by Jeffrey Epstein to former White House counsel and current general counsel to Goldman Sachs Kathy Ruemmler on 8/23/2018 "you see, i know how dirty donald is. my guess is that non lawyers ny biz people have no idea what it means to have your fixer flip"
November 12, 2025 at 8:05 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
from one of the gems in the latest Epstein files document dump by House Democrats on the House Oversight Committee
screenshot of an email sent by economist, former Secretary of the Treasury and former president of Harvard Larry Summers, addressed to Jeffrey Epstein on 10/27/2017. It reads in part: "I'm trying to figure why American elite think if u murder your baby by beating and abandonment it must be irrelevant to your admission to Harvard, but hit on a few women 10 years ago and can't work at a network or think tank. DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT"
November 12, 2025 at 4:37 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
um, what exactly is journalist and author of books on Trump Michael Wolff doing here?

why exactly is Epstein reaching out to Wolff for help in a dangerous moment?

and doesn't it appear Wolff is counseling Epstein to commit a felony?
screenshot of an email sent by Michael Wolff to Jeffrey Epstein on 12/16/2015 that reads as follows: I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn't been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt. Of course, it is possible that, when asked, he'll say Jeffrey is a great guy and has gotten a raw deal and is a victim of political correctness, which is to be outlawed in a Trump regime. On Tue, Dec 15, 2015 at 11:52 PM, jeffrey E. <jeevacation@gmail.com> wrote: if we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be? On Tue, Dec 15, 2015 at 8:00 PM, Michael Wolff wrote: I hear CNN planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you--either on air or in scrum afterwards.
November 12, 2025 at 3:16 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
we've seen this before haven't we
an image from Herge's Tintin et les Picaros, showing Tintin walking in the jungle with the guerilla commander, General Alcazar, dressed in combat fatigues and carrying a rifle. In the background we see captain Haddock, and further back Professeur Tournesol and several other guerilla fighters
November 11, 2025 at 7:59 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
Aliens founded Rome obv
an Elon Musk tweet that reads: "I sometimes wonder if perhaps Rome was started by exiles from Troy. It's not completely out of the question. At some point in antiquity, a few ships of very competent soldiers (with almost no women) landed on the coast of Italy. where did they come from?"
November 11, 2025 at 2:04 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
seeking maximum alpha
the cover of Emily Wilson's new translation of Homer's epic poem, The Iliad
November 11, 2025 at 1:34 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
Hang on, when did reading become so performative?
an eighteenth century painting painted by the French painter François Boucher, it is a portrait of the French king Louis XV's mistress Madame Du Barry, dressed in a magnificent green dress, reclining on a sofa, with a book open in her hand, she is staring off into space
November 10, 2025 at 6:59 PM
paulecohen.bsky.social
a photograph of Subcommandante Marcos, wearing a balaclava covering his face, smoking a pipe, dressed in military fatigues and holding his fist up
November 10, 2025 at 12:06 AM
paulecohen.bsky.social
just putting this out there
photograph of the cover of John F. Kennedy's book Profiles in Courage: Decisive Moments in the Lives of Celebrated Americans
November 10, 2025 at 12:01 AM