Hans E. Offerdal
@hofferdal.bsky.social
Adviser for international affairs at the University of Bergen (UiB). Latin America, México & liberation theology aficionado. Strong supporter of free speech, academic freedom and a humane world! Opinions are my own. Reposts are not necessarily endorsements
New CEPAL report, Ruptures and Opportunities, says "that Latin America and the Caribbean has the assets needed to navigate this new geopolitical era successfully." Former President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet and former President of Colombia, Iván Duque, co-chaired the commission writing the report.
Commission Convened by ECLAC Presents Proposals for Latin America and the Caribbean to Thrive in the New Geopolitical Era
cepal.org
Football needs leaders with integrity, not just influence. Lise Klaveness has consistently chosen courage over convenience. If FIFA truly wants to rebuild trust, it should choose the person who never stopped defending the game. #lise4president #FIFA
The Chinese Communist Party has sought to control the Tibetan people by attacking their religious leaders. But the strategy has failed. Faith can’t be commanded or coerced.
Why China Can’t Hijack Tibetan Buddhism | Journal of Democracy
The Chinese Communist Party has sought to control the Tibetan people by attacking their religious leaders. But the strategy has failed. Faith can’t be commanded or coerced.
journalofdemocracy.org
New article! @hannaroine.bsky.social, @jilltxt.bsky.social and I analyse the narratives and interactional strategies of chatbots that can explain why some users develop 'AI psychosis'
Jill Walker Rettberg@jilltxt.bsky.social · 2d agoOur article on affirmative narration as an interactional strategy for chatbots is finally published in the special issue of Narrative Inquiry on AI and literature! doi.org/10.1075/ni.2... (An unpaywalled version is available here: jilltxt.net/txt/Roine-Re...)
It is difficult to mobilize at this time when the world is so overwhelming, but we should at least try to do what we can. Please read and sign. wncri.org/2026/07/08/h...
Sign our Statement to Halt the Death Sentence of 25-Year-Old Political Prisoner Arghavan Fallahi
Statement Calling for Immediate Action to Halt the Death Sentence of 25-Year-Old Political Prisoner Arghavan Fallahi We express our profound
wncri.org
@zinndigital.bsky.social Dont miss the fresh GREAT essay-review by @patrickiber.bsky.social on Howard Zinn for @newrepublic.com! The (untitled in the essay) film with "voices of advocates for social change" is The People Speak👇
The People Speak - Howard Zinn
By Chris Moore, Howard Zinn, and Anthony Arnove. The History Channel. 2009. The People Speak is a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and spee...
howardzinn.org
Patrick Iber@patrickiber.bsky.social · 2d agoIn my review of Dave Zirin's new biography of Howard Zinn, I finally settle the question of whether Zinn was good or bad in a way that will be convincing to everyone, because we all know how to be normal about this guy newrepublic.com/article/2137...
San Antonio’s Archbishop Gustavo releases Pastoral Letter on Migration: “Families we know by name are now afraid to come to the sacraments. Like the Good Samaritan who drew near to the wounded, we cannot walk past them.” archsa.org/we-will-come...
"In times of crisis, solidarity and preparedness are crucial. Representatives of the research community and research institutions should establish resilient networks...before specific threats arise" says @dfg.de @iucdubrovnik.bsky.social @clacso.bsky.social @coimbragroup.bsky.social #AcademicFreedom
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft@dfg.de · 3w agoHow can we protect academic freedom against growing attacks? A new position paper issued by a DFG Senate working group outlines how the resilience of research and the research ecosystem can be strengthened – and how policymakers, industry and society at large can contribute: sohub.io/aziq
Nuevo e importante libro de @clacso.bsky.social con "una respuesta urgente ante el deterioro de la autonomía universitaria en el hemisferio...la obra analiza la libertad académica no solo como un pilar de la democracia, sino como un derecho humano fundamental e interdependiente." @eseman.bsky.social
Libertad académica en las Américas: Tendencias, desafíos y horizontes críticos
CLAA y CLACSO
clacso.org
"the conflict’s [War in #Ukraine] fourth year has driven greenhouse gas emissions up...bringing the total since 24 February 2022 to a staggering 311 million tCO2e. This is almost the equivalent of France’s annual emissions, or the annual global emissions from energy used for pumping water."
Russia-Ukraine war has produced 311 million tonnes of CO2e - report
Experts warn that climate change and Russia’s war on Ukraine have created a “vicious cycle” with devastating consequences.
euronews.com
Rocky Kistner@therockyfiles.bsky.social · 7d agoWildfires are burning hotter in Europe and North America, less so in Asia and Africa. But climate change is making fires more intense: “It’s not a question of whether our landscapes are going to burn, it’s the question of when they’re going to burn” @AP @borenbears apnews.com/article/wild...
If you have not yet seen this excellent 26 May 2026 @frontlinepbs.bsky.social documentary by @pbs.org, you should. It gives much needed context to what is happening these days. (And, once again, the question is how history will judge the sycophants in the circle around President Trump.)
The War Cabinet | FRONTLINE | PBS | Official Site | Documentary Series
The key players behind President Trump’s expansive use of the U.S. military.
pbs.org
Steve Herman@newsguy.bsky.social · 5d agoWSJ - President Trump has ordered a fresh attack on Iran aimed at getting Tehran to surrender that could begin as soon as this weekend and would last a few days. www.wsj.com/world/middle-east...
"Por ahora, la Universidad [UNAM] mantiene abierta la revisión técnica y no ha publicado un comunicado que confirme oficialmente que el examen de control será aplicado de manera general a todos los aspirantes seleccionados."
Sociedad Noticias@sociedad-noticias.bsky.social · 5d agoLa UNAM analiza un examen de control para validar los lugares obtenidos en su proceso de admisión 2026, tras las dudas surgidas por resultados atípicos en la primera evaluación en línea. La Universidad aún no confirma su aplicación general. #UNAM
"La resolución de la Comisión Técnica para la Revisión del Proceso de Ingreso a la Licenciatura [en la UNAM] 2026 se dará a conocer públicamente este viernes a las 10:00 horas" "presentación...a través de una transmisión en vivo que será proyectada en la cuenta oficial UNAM Global TV en YouTube."
¿Hubo trampas o no? Decisión de la UNAM EN VIVO: a esta hora dan los resultados
Este viernes 31 de julio la UNAM emitirá la decisión definitiva respecto a las presuntas “trampas” registradas en el Examen de Selección 2026; sigue EN VIVO el resultado de la Comisión Técnica formada...
cronica.com.mx
Uppsala University is calling for papers to "Academic Actors under Autocratization". Deadline for abstracts is 1 September. No conference "fee but participants need to cover their own travel and hotel expenses." @iucdubrovnik.bsky.social @aaup.org @sampol.bsky.social @coimbragroup.bsky.social
Conference: Academic Actors under Autocratization – Uppsala University
uu.se
"History is important. If you don't know history it is as if you were born yesterday. And if you were born yesterday, anybody up there in a position of power can tell you anything, and you have no way of checking up on it." -Howard Zinn
Ashton Pittman@ashtonpittman.bsky.social · last yr.High school seniors in Mississippi will no longer have to pass a U.S. history test to graduate after the State Board of Education voted to eliminate it this fall. Mary Werner, the lone dissenting vote, warned that it will hurt students. The biology, algebra and English assessments will remain.
👇 the full broadcast of @nbcnews.com Nightly News containing the report from Castel Gandolfo and the interview Tom Llamas did with Pope Leo XIV.
NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas Full Episode - July 29
YouTube video by NBC News
youtu.be
Thomas Reese@thomasreesesj.bsky.social · 6d ago#AmericaAlone, that is a very unusual and hard hashtag from diplomats! Does not make it less true, to the contrary...
U.S. Walks Out In Protest During France's United Nations Remarks. Here's Why
"We will not be affording them the benefit of listening to their politicized drivel until they renounce their condescending and disrespectful rhetoric," said a U.S. official.
time.com
Tulsa Peace Fellowship@tulsapeace.bsky.social · last wk.“The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore. Today, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali & Russia, isolated. The world no longer listens to it." ~France’s UN mission in Geneva #AmericaAlone In June, Volker Türk, UN human rights chief, took aim at Trump and #TrumpsGoons
"According to a statement on Chad's foreign minister's website last week, the decision to quit the ICC follows a request by the United States", reports @en.rfi.fr "Chad announced its withdrawal...after #Venezuela on Friday announced...the formal procedure to withdraw." @vukusiciva.bsky.social
Chad becomes fifth nation to quit ICC amid US pressure campaign
Chad has become the fifth country to begin a formal withdrawal process from the International Criminal Court in recent months, following Venezuela, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
rfi.fr
The July 2026 issue of Americas Quarterly (AQ) is dealing with "the burgeoning space economy" in Latin America. AQ is published by @ascoa.bsky.social. Also check out the article "Why the Liberal Order Is Unraveling in the Americas" by @andresmalamud.bsky.social, Juan Pablo Luna and Alberto Vergara.
The Space Race Comes to Latin America - Americas Quarterly
americasquarterly.org
"We Columbans got involved in Young Christian Workers movements, organizing with them in their struggle to be recognized as humans and not mere tools of production. Our faith took us into politics. Many of us inhaled more than a fair share of tear gas", writes Fr. Utzig about mission in Korea.
Following the Spirit | Missionary Society of St. Columban US
The Columbans started our mission in Korea in 1933 when Korea was very poor and a colony of Japan. Nine newly ordained men arrived in Shanghai, China, to begin there. On arriving, they received a tele...
columban.org
@en.afp.com reports that "Authorities have cracked down on bookshops over alleged "seditious" material under Hong Kong's homegrown national security law passed in 2024"". Information by way of @en.rfi.fr #BooksThatEndangerNationalSecurity - what a concept...
Hong Kong independent bookstores to close after police raid
A Hong Kong bookshop raided by national security police this month announced on Wednesday that it would close after 50 years in business, while another shut down ahead of schedule.
rfi.fr
RAPé en Milenio, 27 de Julio de 2026, p. 2. Cartoonist RAPé in the 26 July 2026 of Mexican newspaper Milenio, p. 2. #Trump is saying "I like his style". Text of cap on Ortega's head reads: "Eternal #Ortega" ("Ortega forever"). #Nicaragua #USA #DefendDemocracy
Mismos gustos
Mismos gustos
milenio.com
Patina Paperbacks just made a nice roundup of some books by theologian Jon Sobrino.🤩 @drreznicek.bsky.social @emilyelle.bsky.social @ozarkmisfit.bsky.social @drclarkm1.bsky.social
Jon Sobrino: When Martyrdom Meets Theology
Jon Sobrino, a Jesuit theologian who survived the 1989 massacre of six fellow priests at El Salvador's Universidad Centroamericana, wrote some of the most urgent liberation theology of the late twenti...
patinapaperbacks.com
Hans E. Offerdal@hofferdal.bsky.social · 2y ago@john-marx.bsky.social, and others interest in liberation theology: I made a list of all the books that I am aware of that @orbisbooks.bsky.social has published in English by Jon Sobrino. Bibliography in alt-txt. "Outside the poor there is no salvation." - Jon Sobrino #Jesuit #liberationtheology
Inside our August Issue: Jack Hanson on the Catholic Church’s progressive revival, John Semley on the state of the restorative arts, Cynthia Zarin on misreading Doris Lessing, Ian Penman on Alice Coltrane, and a new translation of a story by Yukio Mishima. harpers.org/archive/2026...
" #Chile, #Peru and #Mexico together accounted for almost 40% of global mined copper supply in 2025", says @iea.org. LAC hold a "strategic importance for a wide range of technologies, including those central to the energy transition as well as high‑technology, aerospace and defence applications"
iea.blob.core.windows.net
International Energy Agency@iea.org · 3w agoExplore our Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2026 report 👇 Executive summary → iea.li/4gB1A9z Market overview → iea.li/4hggwKv Outlook → iea.li/3T6DZDV Policy pathways → iea.li/4fk93r8 Latin America → iea.li/3QU4pIw
"future funding may depend not on conformity to federal law or even administration policy but on loyalty to those in power", says @aaup.org about threats to academic freedom. @iucdubrovnik.bsky.social @eua.eu @sciencecouncil.bsky.social @clacso.bsky.social @liberties.eu @weareceu.bsky.social
AAUP@aaup.org · 2w agoOUT TODAY, the AAUP just released the first comprehensive account of how the Trump administration has taken the same playbook it's used on law firms & foreign governments & turned it on American universities. US higher ed has, in effect, become a target of a massive extortion racket. 🧵
Sabes que la cosa está mal cuando incluso la Iglesia Católica en México tiene una opinión sobre lo que pasó en la UNAM...
Cuando el éxito vale más que la verdad
¿Qué sucede cuando alcanzar el éxito importa más que la verdad? El caso de la UNAM nos invita a reflexionar sobre la honestidad.
desdelafe.mx
Latinus@latinus-us.bsky.social · last wk."El caso de los exámenes de la UNAM retrata que el éxito vale más que la verdad", critica la Iglesia católica en México. #Latinus #InformaciónParaTi
There are two books which educated me on white America's frontier theism and their connection to the indigenous people on the borderlands. The End of the Myth and a little book called Cruelty as Citizenship. I recommend the later. Complete book free online below. manifold.umn.edu/read/cruelty...
Cover | Cruelty as Citizenship | Manifold@UMinnPress
The University of Minnesota Press is known for its boundary breaking editorial program in the humanities and social sciences.
manifold.umn.edu
