Frank
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frank2095.bsky.social
Frank
@frank2095.bsky.social
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2025 in one picture.
When I am asked 'Hows it going?'
To resond with Goethe (for all non-Germans: he's somewhat akin to our Shakespeare): Die Botschaft hör ich wohl, allein mir fehlt der Glaube. (I hear the message but cannot believe it.)

Or: Actions speak louder than words. And those of #47 and his ilk are not very ambiguous.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a low-key stop in Brussels this week, meeting top EU foreign and intelligence officials to deliver a not-so-subtle message: You can still trust us.
CIA chief quietly meets EU officials to soothe US intel-sharing fears
Trump administration’s volatile foreign policy has shaken Europe’s confidence in Washington’s intelligence cooperation.
www.politico.eu
Reposted by Frank
How to answer a loaded question.

(This is Joe Neguse, Congressman for Colorado's 2nd District.)
2025 in one picture.
When I am asked 'Hows it going?'
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This photos, showing a torpedo launched from an XLUUV (it’s not fully submerged, that’s normal for this stage of trials), puts the Indonesians ahead of all Western countries in this regard! Why are European navies sleeping?!?!

More info:
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...
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Karina Mössbauer zur Debatte um die Wehrpflicht: "In der Wahrnehmung der Bürger gibt es akuten Handlungsbedarf und gleichzeitig politische Akteure, die sich im Klein-Klein aufhalten und nicht zu Potte kommen." Mehr im Zeitenwende-Podcast
@munsecconf.bsky.social
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This might be the one that breaks me. Every federal agency reduced to banana-republic personal fiefdoms where criminal Trump allies loot the public and fire vastly more qualified people for daring to do their jobs. It’s unthinkable. It’s obscene.
Kash Patel was angry about his publicly-available jet logs indicating he’d flown to see his musician girlfriend perform so he forced out a senior FBI official overseeing aviation, Bloomberg reports

news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
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Like it or not, Donald Trump is being rewarded for trade bullying-foreign firms are increasing investments in the U.S. and Canada’s PM just apologised for an anti-tariff TV ad. But long-term, America is weakening its hold on industries of future. My column, The Telegram
economist.com/internationa...
Donald Trump’s trade power is vast, but self-defeating
The view from Canada, as Trumpian threats fly
economist.com
I have been saying this privately for at least a decade... Today it's more important than ever! 👇
The generation that experienced WW2 knew how bad things could get. The horrors that they had directly experienced in Coventry, on Omaha, at Belsen, Bastogne, Dresden, Nanjing & Tokyo meant that they understood how dangerous THIS was. This is where all that started.
Dutch anti-Muslim populist Geert Wilders goes full Trump, claiming on X after he lost the election that there are reports of vote fraud. Also claimed the election authority was not neutral. Tearing down the pillars of Dutch democracy. nos.nl/l/2588722
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Map of The Hippie Trail Routes of The 1960s & 1970s

Do you wish it was still an option today?

More about it: brilliantmaps.com/hippie-tr...
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A horrific mass murder is unfolding in Sudan, where no one can see it. The RSF are murdering civilians in El Fasher, having finally defeated the Sudanese army forces holding out in the city. The BBC has managed to speak to some who escaped

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7fC...
Sudanese survivors of el-Fasher siege tell the BBC about RSF brutality | BBC News
YouTube video by BBC News
www.youtube.com
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I dont mean to dunk on Alex here. But there is this persistent misconception that PRC wants to "replace" the US as a global actor, including in naval affairs. This is wrong. Current PLAN priority is to allow dominance in Asia, including potentially having to defeat USN in a related confrontation.
They can dominate their near seas for sure. I just doubt the capacity for global actor beyond them
Pro Tip: Der Rassismusvorwurf an Merz sagt mehr über die Vorurteile der "Empörten" als über Merz.

Dass Letzterer gut damit leben kann, da er die Mehrheit des Volkes incl. linker Kommunalpolitiker hinter sich hat, muss besonders weh tun.
Was darf Satire? 😂
... and that is a major reason for hope that not all is lost for the former Shining City on a Hill.
Great idea, but judging by the map colour me doubtful that it addresses all relevant parameters in a reasonable and efficient way...

Alas, one should never lose hope.
... and in Germany major east-west arteries are missing while plenty north-south routes with somewhat limited value for east-west transport are shown. 🙈
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The US remains the most popular destination among educated young adults worldwide, but its lead over #2 has narrowed from 20pts to 9pts, while the UK has plummeted from a consistent #2 ranking to #7, again with a steep fall after 2016.
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This is about as on-the-nose as it's possible to get without it being a Versailles, Romanovs, or Titanic themed party.
Trump is holding a Great Gatsby/Roaring 20s-themed party at his private club in Palm Beach tonight as he tries to withhold SNAP and health care subsidies from millions of Americans. (via Kellie Meyer)
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I have reached a level of firm acceptance that at least three to four of my fellow countrymen and women are too fucking stupid to be citizens of a republic. And another three of ten are too stupid to care.
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