Michael Chan

BA Political Science. Canon & Sony Interactive Alumnus. (My views are my own, and don't necessarily reflect that of my employer.)

[Old Internet @OldInternetFeel]

Daniel Craig playing on his PSP during the shooting of Casino Royale (2006)

[Archaeo - Histories @archeohistories]

Europe in 500 AD: Rome Had Fallen in the West, but Its World Refused to Die

Imagine standing somewhere in Europe in the year 500 AD...

The last western emperor had been removed only twenty four years earlier. Roman armies no longer guarded every frontier, imperial taxes were no longer collected from Britain to Spain and Germanic kings now ruled many lands that had once answered to Rome. Yet the Roman world had not suddenly vanished. Roads still connected ancient cities, senators still owned enormous estates, Latin remained the language of law and government and Christian bishops increasingly performed responsibilities once handled by imperial officials.

Europe was not entering complete darkness.

It was passing through one of the greatest transformations in its history. Roman institutions were being inherited by new rulers. Germanic peoples were creating kingdoms inside former imperial provinces. Christianity was spreading through courts and villages. Migrating populations were changing the languages, borders and identities of entire regions.

The Europe of 500 was neither fully Roman nor recognizably medieval. It was a continent caught between two worlds.

The Western Roman Empire Was Gone, but Rome Was Everywhere

In 476, the Germanic military commander Odoacer removed the young emperor Romulus Augustulus from power. Historians often use this event to mark the fall of the Western Roman Empire, but the people living through it did not awaken the following morning believing that Roman civilization had ended.

The imperial court in the West disappeared, yet Roman culture remained deeply rooted across Italy, Gaul, Iberia and North Africa. Local officials continued using Roman legal traditions. Landowners still managed estates that had existed for generations. Cities remained organized around churches, marketplaces, defensive walls and old public buildings. Latin continued to dominate administration, religion and education.

The new Germanic rulers understood that Roman authority still carried enormous prestige. They adopted Roman titles, issued laws in Latin, employed Roman officials and presented themselves as protectors rather than destroyers of the imperial order. In many regions, the transition from Roman emperor to Germanic king changed the political leadership more quickly than it changed everyday life.

Rome had lost its western emperor.

It had not yet lost its civilization.

There Was No France, Germany, Spain or England

The modern nations familiar to us did not exist in 500. Western Europe was divided among kingdoms created by Franks, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Burgundians and Suebi. Their borders were unstable, and rulers frequently expanded through warfare, marriage alliances and the absorption of weaker neighbors.

These peoples were often described by Roman writers as barbarians, but they were not culturally identical and did not arrive as one united invasion. Some had served in Roman armies for generations. Others had crossed the imperial frontiers while fleeing the Huns or searching for land and security. Many of their leaders had already adopted Roman military titles, Christian beliefs and elements of imperial culture before establishing independent kingdoms.

The political map of 500 was therefore not simply Roman territory replaced by foreign tribes. It was a complicated world in which Germanic warrior elites ruled large Roman populations while gradually becoming part of the civilization they had inherited.

Italy Was Ruled by Theodoric the Great

Italy, the ancient heartland of Roman power, was ruled by the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. After defeating Odoacer, Theodoric established his capital at Ravenna and governed a kingdom that included Italy and parts of the western Balkans.

© World History Buff

#archaeohistories

[DKGray @TheRealDKGray]

@jkenney @DebbieL20687654 Sue them out of existence.

It’s the least you can do.

You made them.

[Jason Kenney 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇮🇱 @jkenney]

I understand that my personal information, including my home address, was shared publicly on a screen at a recent Alberta separatist event. It was also recorded on video, and is now circulating.

This was apparently part of the outrageous data leak of Albertans’ private information, wherein Elections Alberta shared its entire detailed provincial voter database with the “Republican Party of Alberta,” which in turn shared it with some separatist group called the “Centurion Project,” whose leadership then shared my personal information publicly.

Over the past few years I have received no shortage of threats from people broadly associated with the separatist / antivax / far right movement in Alberta. So it is disturbing that my personal information is now broadly available, particularly in those circles.

While I have been targeted specifically, the broader data breach may also effect vulnerable Albertans, including victims of domestic violence, journalists, activists, judges, and other public servants for years to come.

I will retain legal counsel to seek advice on recourse regarding this outrageous and potentially dangerous violation of my personal privacy.

[MOFA of Japan @MofaJapan_en]

In anticipation of the visit of Rt. Hon. Mark CARNEY, Prime Minister of Canada and his spouse to Japan on March 6th, #MilanoCortina2026 Winter Olympics Figure Skating Pair gold medalists MIURA Riku and KIHARA Ryuichi (#Rikuryu pair) have sent a message about what Canada means to them. Their bond on ice transcends borders, becoming a bridge between Japan and #Canada!

[Pew Research Center @pewresearch]

We asked people around the world to rate the morality and ethics of others in their country.

The U.S. is the only place we surveyed where more adults describe the morality and ethics of others living in the country as bad than good. See our full morality report here: https://t.co/qBtj1ycDkP

[Yanzhong Huang @YanzhongHuang]

A touching moment: Chinese gold medalist Su Yiming warmly embraces his Japanese coach Yasuhiro Sato right after winning men's snowboard slopestyle gold — China’s first gold of the Games.
People-to-people exchanges like this should not be blocked because of the deterioration of bilateral relations. Sports and genuine friendship transcend politics.

[Sean Amato @JSJamato]

Why is Alberta broke?

The answer is actually bragged about in the provincial budget, every year.

Alberta could eliminate its debt, invest in services, save billions, and still have the lowest taxes in 🇨🇦.

Instead, immigrants are blamed. #ableg #cdnpoli

[Duane Bratt🇨🇦 @DuaneBratt]

Despite the weather, I will driving up QEII and speaking in Red Deer tonight. The topic is too important.

[CBC Olympics @CBCOlympics]

There were EIGHT (!!!) Czech players on the ice when they score the go-ahead goal in the third period vs. Canada 😳

[Dr. Lynora Saxinger MD FRCPC Infectious Diseases @AntibioticDoc]

PSA
In Alberta you now need to sign up to get public health advisories for your area. It is not clear to me if there will be regular media-social media public health announcements outside this process.
See link:
https://t.co/r3kqvjeLs5

[Rie Yano やのりえ @rieglobe]

“Today, Japan holds a 50%+ global share in semiconductor materials. For specific high-end segments like EUV photoresists, that share is near 100%. You cannot print a chip at TSMC without Shin-Etsu Chemical. You cannot coat a wafer without Tokyo Electron. You cannot cut a silicon ingot without Disco Corporation. Japan has an oligopolistic grip on these key areas.”

[Zain Velji @zainvelji]

Alberta separatists might look haphazard but they have a clear path to turn a 20% issue into a real threat.

1 - Normalize separatism so it no longer feels toxic.
2 - Tie it to every grievance.
3 - Find a political dance partner. The U.S.A.

They are now pushing all 3 at once

[Eric Topol @EricTopol]

The skinny on intermittent fasting
"the better the study , the less it finds"
by @sally_adee @NYTHealth
gift link https://t.co/UMs4ruhJ2z

[Scott Robertson @sarobertson_]

Chrétien on Harper: "We're political opponents, but we're not enemies. Not today, anyways. Because he's afraid of the Shawinigan Handshake."

[Hon. Thomas A. Lukaszuk @LukaszukAB]

National unity is not a partisan issue.

We may disagree on ideology. We may differ on the strategies of how to better Canada and Canadians’ lives. We may also disagree on the role of government in all that.

But we must all agree on Canadian sovereignty and unity.

#ableg

[Scott Robertson @sarobertson_]

CHRÉTIEN: At this moment, our friend from the south has created a mood that a Canadian have never been so proud to be Canadian ... The desire to have a referendum is very low in Quebec. I don't know what the hell is going on in Alberta.

HARPER: I didn't sign the petition.

[World Hockey Report @worldhockeyrpt]

Connor McDavid on Edmonton:

[Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 @mrjeffu]

Video: Japanese students chase after a bus to say goodbye to Indonesian friends who came to Japan as exchange students.
Some accounts on this site try to spread hate, but in real life there are many positive interactions between Indonesians & Japanese.

[Edmonton Oilers @EdmontonOilers]

South Asian Celebration 🦚 #LetsGoOilers