Nick Ashdown
@nickashdown.bsky.social
Canadian journalist/writer in Brussels writing mostly about Turkey. New Lines Magazine, LA Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement, Foreign Policy, Globe & Mail, etc.
Selected clippings: https://nickashdown.weebly.com/selected-published-works
Selected clippings: https://nickashdown.weebly.com/selected-published-works
Pinned
Nick Ashdown
@nickashdown.bsky.social
· Oct 11
They
On dehumanizing rhetoric in Trump's America and Erdoğan's Turkey
open.substack.com
Following the Kirk murder, I noticed the constant use of ‘they’: “They killed him,” “They are at war with us,” etc. It reminded me of Erdoğan’s use of ‘bunlar,’ and the brutal nature of Turkish politics, especially the feverish period from 2015-16, which I’ve long wanted to write about.
Reposted by Nick Ashdown
Am torn about this chart - it shows that despite the always defeatists talk, Europe and the EU in particular have stepped up for their security.
However, it also shows that the level of support is still notably smaller, and in consequence Ukraine has suffered.
However, it also shows that the level of support is still notably smaller, and in consequence Ukraine has suffered.
February 11, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Am torn about this chart - it shows that despite the always defeatists talk, Europe and the EU in particular have stepped up for their security.
However, it also shows that the level of support is still notably smaller, and in consequence Ukraine has suffered.
However, it also shows that the level of support is still notably smaller, and in consequence Ukraine has suffered.
For those wanting to avoid American products, I've been trying France's open source Mistral a bit lately, and it seems every bit as good as the other heavyweights. chat.mistral.ai/chat
Also don't forget that Deepl (German) generally scores higher for translation than Google Translate!
Also don't forget that Deepl (German) generally scores higher for translation than Google Translate!
February 11, 2026 at 3:59 PM
For those wanting to avoid American products, I've been trying France's open source Mistral a bit lately, and it seems every bit as good as the other heavyweights. chat.mistral.ai/chat
Also don't forget that Deepl (German) generally scores higher for translation than Google Translate!
Also don't forget that Deepl (German) generally scores higher for translation than Google Translate!
"Russia has increased its production of shells so much it is 'in effect, preparing for its next war.'"
"In 2025, Russian factories produced more than 7mn shells, mortar rounds and rockets, according to Estonian estimates, up from 4.5mn in 2024."
"In 2025, Russian factories produced more than 7mn shells, mortar rounds and rockets, according to Estonian estimates, up from 4.5mn in 2024."
February 11, 2026 at 11:10 AM
"Russia has increased its production of shells so much it is 'in effect, preparing for its next war.'"
"In 2025, Russian factories produced more than 7mn shells, mortar rounds and rockets, according to Estonian estimates, up from 4.5mn in 2024."
"In 2025, Russian factories produced more than 7mn shells, mortar rounds and rockets, according to Estonian estimates, up from 4.5mn in 2024."
Reposted by Nick Ashdown
“She was my daughter for 29 years – it’s impossible she jumped from that height."
Hundreds of women are recorded in Turkish state data every year as committing suicide by 'throwing themselves from a high place.' But did they all jump– or were they pushed?
Reporting with @berileski.bsky.social
Hundreds of women are recorded in Turkish state data every year as committing suicide by 'throwing themselves from a high place.' But did they all jump– or were they pushed?
Reporting with @berileski.bsky.social
‘There’s no way my daughter would have jumped’: why are so many Turkish women falling to their deaths?
Every year in Turkey, hundreds of women are recorded as having taken their lives by ‘throwing themselves from a high place’. But many grieving families maintain that investigators are missing the full...
www.theguardian.com
February 2, 2026 at 12:37 PM
“She was my daughter for 29 years – it’s impossible she jumped from that height."
Hundreds of women are recorded in Turkish state data every year as committing suicide by 'throwing themselves from a high place.' But did they all jump– or were they pushed?
Reporting with @berileski.bsky.social
Hundreds of women are recorded in Turkish state data every year as committing suicide by 'throwing themselves from a high place.' But did they all jump– or were they pushed?
Reporting with @berileski.bsky.social
Reposted by Nick Ashdown
People across the country have called 911 on ICE — for hit-and-runs, for broken laws, for shootings. Callers and dispatchers alike have to figure out what to do in this entirely new situation, where people are calling local police to do something about federal agents. link.podtrac.com/hrwz3zhh
What Is Your Emergency?
911 calls unlike any we’ve heard before, and other stories about immigration agents sweeping through America.
Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.
Prologu...
link.podtrac.com
February 3, 2026 at 4:40 PM
People across the country have called 911 on ICE — for hit-and-runs, for broken laws, for shootings. Callers and dispatchers alike have to figure out what to do in this entirely new situation, where people are calling local police to do something about federal agents. link.podtrac.com/hrwz3zhh
"Russia has switched to a war economy, focusing national resources on a rearmament program and military recruitment that go well beyond the needs of the campaign in Ukraine."
"Our assessment is that Russia will be able to move large amounts of troops within one year."
"Our assessment is that Russia will be able to move large amounts of troops within one year."
February 5, 2026 at 1:52 PM
"Russia has switched to a war economy, focusing national resources on a rearmament program and military recruitment that go well beyond the needs of the campaign in Ukraine."
"Our assessment is that Russia will be able to move large amounts of troops within one year."
"Our assessment is that Russia will be able to move large amounts of troops within one year."
Reposted by Nick Ashdown
Signs that things are going great:
“Canada’s former top soldier says this country should keep its options open on the question of acquiring nuclear weapons”
www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
“Canada’s former top soldier says this country should keep its options open on the question of acquiring nuclear weapons”
www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
Canada should keep options open on nuclear weapons, former top soldier says
Retired general Wayne Eyre says the question of whether to develop a nuclear deterrent is not an immediate concern
www.theglobeandmail.com
February 2, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Signs that things are going great:
“Canada’s former top soldier says this country should keep its options open on the question of acquiring nuclear weapons”
www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
“Canada’s former top soldier says this country should keep its options open on the question of acquiring nuclear weapons”
www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
Despite everything, the Post is still doing great reporting.
NEW: Inside Elon Musk's push to hook Grok users by leaning into NSFW content. Workers were told they'd be working with sexual material, were advised to gauge job candidates' comfort with doing so. Soon they were training Grok on lewd conversations & depictions of sexual violence
wapo.st/45DcMMI
wapo.st/45DcMMI
Inside Musk’s bet to hook users that turned Grok into a porn generator
Under pressure to boost its popularity, Elon Musk’s xAI loosened guardrails and relaxed controls on sexual content, setting off internal concern.
wapo.st
February 2, 2026 at 9:05 PM
Despite everything, the Post is still doing great reporting.
Reposted by Nick Ashdown
Interesting chart today from the FT.
Europeans' first instinct is to talk themselves down. So many people here happily nod along with Anglo-Saxon bullies trashing this continent.
But their negativity is usually not justified by the facts.
www.ft.com/content/af70...
Europeans' first instinct is to talk themselves down. So many people here happily nod along with Anglo-Saxon bullies trashing this continent.
But their negativity is usually not justified by the facts.
www.ft.com/content/af70...
February 2, 2026 at 12:52 PM
Interesting chart today from the FT.
Europeans' first instinct is to talk themselves down. So many people here happily nod along with Anglo-Saxon bullies trashing this continent.
But their negativity is usually not justified by the facts.
www.ft.com/content/af70...
Europeans' first instinct is to talk themselves down. So many people here happily nod along with Anglo-Saxon bullies trashing this continent.
But their negativity is usually not justified by the facts.
www.ft.com/content/af70...
Reposted by Nick Ashdown
Great work from the FT's John Burn-Murdoch www.ft.com/content/b474...
January 31, 2026 at 4:18 PM
Great work from the FT's John Burn-Murdoch www.ft.com/content/b474...
I don’t know if this is a conservative or progressive opinion, but I think all the free streaming porn sites should be banned. It’s like free, limitless narcotics for kids.
Pornhub will no longer be fully available in the U.K. from Feb. 2, its parent company Aylo announced today, citing the consequences of Britain's Online Safety Act.
Pornhub partially quits UK over Online Safety Act
Porn site lashes out at U.K. legislation, but says anyone who goes through age checks prior to Feb. 2 will still be able to access its service.
www.politico.eu
January 28, 2026 at 7:43 AM
I don’t know if this is a conservative or progressive opinion, but I think all the free streaming porn sites should be banned. It’s like free, limitless narcotics for kids.
They took over the executive and legislative branches, the Supreme Court and much of the federal judiciary, much of the bureaucracy, the most important social media platform (-s, with Tiktok on the way), and a decent chunk of the media, and all this after a stunning election defeat in 2020.
strange to me that a lot of people on this website simultaneously agree that the administration is run by incompetents who struggle to carry out their agenda without major political blowback AND that they’ll pull off a complex and sophisticated effort to rig elections and prevent defeat in November
January 25, 2026 at 8:58 PM
They took over the executive and legislative branches, the Supreme Court and much of the federal judiciary, much of the bureaucracy, the most important social media platform (-s, with Tiktok on the way), and a decent chunk of the media, and all this after a stunning election defeat in 2020.
Reposted by Nick Ashdown
When a joke could get you killed, should you say it anyway? A group of Syrian comedians test the limits of their newfound freedom, a year after the fall of the brutal Assad regime. link.podtrac.com/5sskoutn
January 19, 2026 at 2:19 AM
When a joke could get you killed, should you say it anyway? A group of Syrian comedians test the limits of their newfound freedom, a year after the fall of the brutal Assad regime. link.podtrac.com/5sskoutn
"the prevailing narrative in Turkey has been that these kinds of groups primarily used the country as a transit point for operations in central Asia or the Middle East. But in Yalova it turned out that the head of the cell and all the members were Turkish, with a large arsenal of weapons."
Will Turkey export home-grown 'Islamic State' extremists?
Turkey is no longer just a transit country for one branch of the extremist "Islamic State" group. Experts say the group has become more professional in Turkey and could pose a danger domestically, and...
www.dw.com
January 23, 2026 at 12:18 PM
"the prevailing narrative in Turkey has been that these kinds of groups primarily used the country as a transit point for operations in central Asia or the Middle East. But in Yalova it turned out that the head of the cell and all the members were Turkish, with a large arsenal of weapons."
Oof, from Metropoll.
January 23, 2026 at 11:58 AM
Oof, from Metropoll.
Canadian soldiers, off the frontlines.
January 23, 2026 at 10:56 AM
Canadian soldiers, off the frontlines.
Reposted by Nick Ashdown
"Bir Başkadır" - "Ethos" in English - was one of the most powerful Turkish series that I have ever seen.
Netflix will release a second season this year.
Netflix will release a second season this year.
January 22, 2026 at 11:08 AM
"Bir Başkadır" - "Ethos" in English - was one of the most powerful Turkish series that I have ever seen.
Netflix will release a second season this year.
Netflix will release a second season this year.
These personalization settings on ChatGPT really help keep the coddling and cloying language to a minimum (sometimes it's outright blunt), and it always includes citations.
January 22, 2026 at 3:02 PM
These personalization settings on ChatGPT really help keep the coddling and cloying language to a minimum (sometimes it's outright blunt), and it always includes citations.
Reposted by Nick Ashdown
I cannot tell you how absolutely infuriatingly this stuff comes across to Europeans.
When we say America is no longer a reliable ally, it goes considerably deeper than Donald Trump himself. This kind of complacent, condescending shit is a *huge* part of it.
When we say America is no longer a reliable ally, it goes considerably deeper than Donald Trump himself. This kind of complacent, condescending shit is a *huge* part of it.
Newsom: "It was remarkably boring. It was remarkably insignificant. He was never going invade Greenland. It was never real."
January 21, 2026 at 4:22 PM
I cannot tell you how absolutely infuriatingly this stuff comes across to Europeans.
When we say America is no longer a reliable ally, it goes considerably deeper than Donald Trump himself. This kind of complacent, condescending shit is a *huge* part of it.
When we say America is no longer a reliable ally, it goes considerably deeper than Donald Trump himself. This kind of complacent, condescending shit is a *huge* part of it.
Reposted by Nick Ashdown
As Trump rambles on in Davos...
"Will the United States invade Canada? The question might seem so ludicrous as to not merit an answer. As ludicrous, say, as the question of whether the United States is willing to destroy the Western alliance by snatching the sovereign territory of Denmark."
"Will the United States invade Canada? The question might seem so ludicrous as to not merit an answer. As ludicrous, say, as the question of whether the United States is willing to destroy the Western alliance by snatching the sovereign territory of Denmark."
Globe editorial: In the age of Trump, it’s time to think about the unthinkable
A year ago, the Canadian military modelling a response to a hypothetical U.S. invasion would have been inconceivable. Today, it’s a duty
www.theglobeandmail.com
January 21, 2026 at 1:46 PM
As Trump rambles on in Davos...
"Will the United States invade Canada? The question might seem so ludicrous as to not merit an answer. As ludicrous, say, as the question of whether the United States is willing to destroy the Western alliance by snatching the sovereign territory of Denmark."
"Will the United States invade Canada? The question might seem so ludicrous as to not merit an answer. As ludicrous, say, as the question of whether the United States is willing to destroy the Western alliance by snatching the sovereign territory of Denmark."
I remember meeting this anarchist guy years ago who said "I want to jam a stick into the spoke of society." When I responded, "and then what," he said "that's not my role." I said that's like blowing up a ship full of people because it's rusty, and then leaving them to drown with no new ship.
This is why this crowd actually likes trump, even tho these arguments make no sense.
He’s their hypocrisy-exposing, contradiction-heightening wrecking ball that is destroying the liberal society they always hated, and they think they won’t get caught in the wreckage.
He’s their hypocrisy-exposing, contradiction-heightening wrecking ball that is destroying the liberal society they always hated, and they think they won’t get caught in the wreckage.
I invite all the Brankos to shut the hell up
January 21, 2026 at 11:47 AM
I remember meeting this anarchist guy years ago who said "I want to jam a stick into the spoke of society." When I responded, "and then what," he said "that's not my role." I said that's like blowing up a ship full of people because it's rusty, and then leaving them to drown with no new ship.
Reposted by Nick Ashdown
There has never been a Canadian Prime Minster that has used this kind of language since 1945. It's astonishing. The most powerful statement since Freeland's speech on Canadian foreign policy in the House in 2017 (which was also a response to Trump) - and this goes well beyond that.
Carney today in Davos:
"What would it mean for middle powers to 'live in truth'? It means naming reality. Stop invoking the 'rules-based international order' as though it still functions as advertised...
"We know the old order is not coming back. We shouldn't mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy"
"What would it mean for middle powers to 'live in truth'? It means naming reality. Stop invoking the 'rules-based international order' as though it still functions as advertised...
"We know the old order is not coming back. We shouldn't mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy"
January 20, 2026 at 4:16 PM
There has never been a Canadian Prime Minster that has used this kind of language since 1945. It's astonishing. The most powerful statement since Freeland's speech on Canadian foreign policy in the House in 2017 (which was also a response to Trump) - and this goes well beyond that.
Reposted by Nick Ashdown
Important perspective from Greenland.
January 20, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Important perspective from Greenland.
Reposted by Nick Ashdown
We hear it all the time:
Since the turn of the 2010s, thanks to the rise of tech, the US has pulled ahead economically.
This idea is everywhere from Washington to Davos—and it's paralyzing Europe
But it's simply not true!
Let's look at what's really happening, with charts🧵
Since the turn of the 2010s, thanks to the rise of tech, the US has pulled ahead economically.
This idea is everywhere from Washington to Davos—and it's paralyzing Europe
But it's simply not true!
Let's look at what's really happening, with charts🧵
January 20, 2026 at 8:59 PM
We hear it all the time:
Since the turn of the 2010s, thanks to the rise of tech, the US has pulled ahead economically.
This idea is everywhere from Washington to Davos—and it's paralyzing Europe
But it's simply not true!
Let's look at what's really happening, with charts🧵
Since the turn of the 2010s, thanks to the rise of tech, the US has pulled ahead economically.
This idea is everywhere from Washington to Davos—and it's paralyzing Europe
But it's simply not true!
Let's look at what's really happening, with charts🧵
Reposted by Nick Ashdown
Authorities in #Istanbul, #Turkey, took #French freelancer Raphaël Boukandoura into custody as he was following a rally by the pro-Kurdish DEM Party on January 19, and transferred him to a deportation center today, his lawyers told CPJ. tr.euronews.com/2026/01/20/d...
DEM Parti açıklamasını takip eden Fransız gazeteci gözaltına alındı
Süreci takip eden Medya ve Hukuk Çalışmaları Derneği (MLSA) avukatları ise Fransa İstanbul Başkonsolosluğu ile bir görüşme gerçekleştirdi. MLSA, gazetecinin sınır dışı edilme ihtimalinin bulunduğunu b...
tr.euronews.com
January 20, 2026 at 7:47 PM
Authorities in #Istanbul, #Turkey, took #French freelancer Raphaël Boukandoura into custody as he was following a rally by the pro-Kurdish DEM Party on January 19, and transferred him to a deportation center today, his lawyers told CPJ. tr.euronews.com/2026/01/20/d...