Ross O'Connor
@oconnor.bsky.social
560 followers 150 following 550 posts
Foreign and national security Advisor to 22nd Prime Minister of Canada. Director of Policy for two Foreign Ministers. National Security, nuclear, energy, and climate.
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oconnor.bsky.social
❗❗❗Australia's largest coal-producing state reverses plans to close its coal burning power plants.
The government no longer aims to shut its state-owned coal-fired power plants by 2035. Instead, they will run as long as needed.
Reposted by Ross O'Connor
planet4589.bsky.social
The Landsat 4 remote sensing satellite was launched by NASA in 1982 and later operated by the commercial company EOSAT for NOAA and USGS until it was retired in 2001. It reentered over the China-Vietnam border area on Oct 8.
Reposted by Ross O'Connor
thomasjuneau.bsky.social
Mon entrevue au 98.5FM ce midi: Les obstacles demeurent massifs, mais les progrès entre Israël et le Hamas sont réels. Ses critiques - dont moi - doivent admettre le rôle majeur et positif que Trump a joué jusqu'ici.

www.985fm.ca/audio/729389...
Libération des otages à Gaza | Accord de cessez-le-feu: une victoire pour Trump?
Écoutez Thomas Juneau, professeur titulaire à l'École supérieure d affaires publiques et internationales de l'Université d Ottawa, expliquer le tout.
www.985fm.ca
oconnor.bsky.social
Fair points. Should that also apply to US presidents who assassinate US citizens without due process and invade countries to assassinate their leaders?
Reposted by Ross O'Connor
heatmap.news
Coal demand may be rising globally, but Trump's promised U.S. coal renaissance hit some major bumps this week — including fallout from a catastrophic failure and a lawsuit against the president's plan to keep a Michigan plant alive.

Read about it from @alexckaufman.bsky.social in this morning's AM:
Energy Department Poised to Kill DAC Hubs
On Trump’s coal woes, NEPA reform, and Japan’s nuclear plans
heatmap.news
oconnor.bsky.social
"German industrial production is at the weakest level since 2005. It is almost 20 per cent below its pre-pandemic peak. Car production outside of those two crises is at the lowest level since 2000."
codendahl.bsky.social
The German industrial boom, that started in 2005 when Angela Merkel took the reins (that was a coinicidence, she had nothing to do with it), is now officially over. www.ft.com/content/745f...
German industrial output falls to 2005 levels as auto sector craters
Weak August data raises risk of Eurozone’s biggest economy falling back into technical recession
www.ft.com
oconnor.bsky.social
Not praising the bait and switch, just pointing it out. Hard truth: Canada and the US will always be each other's main defence and security partner. I'm not always thrilled about that, but it's just plain reality and we need to make the best of that.
oconnor.bsky.social
Contrary to stated policy, the old relationship with the US is still very much alive: Carney continues a full court press on deeper economic integration with the US on steel, aluminium and energy sectors while dropping hints that Canada will be participating in US missile defence. (All good things)
lucianashworth.bsky.social
“The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over.”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H400...
End of an era for Canada-US ties, says PM Carney
YouTube video by Guardian News
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Ross O'Connor
onestpress.onestnetwork.com
Trump’s obsession with Canada started in 2016. ⬇️
oconnor.bsky.social
Honestly, there were zero surprising details there. To this day Trump and NATO continue the same hypocritical arrangement: NATO countries pretend to spend more and Trump pretends that he will come to there aid in times of need.
oconnor.bsky.social
“For realists, to be prudent is to comprehend any problem by starting with the world as it bleakly is, rather than what we would like it to be” — Patrick Porter makes the case for realism.

thecritic.co.uk/issues/octob...
The case for realism | Patrick Porter | The Critic Magazine
Look at the wreckage, from Ukraine to Gaza. Where there is less wreckage, note the air of growing menace.
thecritic.co.uk
Reposted by Ross O'Connor
iikkakorhonen.bsky.social
In 2024 the Biden administration signed an agreement with Canada and Finland, named the ICE Pact, to expand capacity. In August the Helsinki shipyard began work on the first ship under the scheme, an icebreaker for Canada named Polar Max.”🇫🇮🇺🇸🇨🇦
economist.com/europe/2025/...
How bad is America’s icebreaker gap with Russia?
Finland has something special that America wants
economist.com
oconnor.bsky.social
Of all the things we worry about, this is low on the list.
Reposted by Ross O'Connor
thomasjuneau.bsky.social
Entrevue à RDI ce soir: non, le Hamas n'a pas accepté le plan de Trump. Il dit plutôt qu'il est prêt à discuter. Le fossé entre ses demandes et celles d'Israël demeure profond (sur les otages, son désarmement, le désnegagement israélien de Gaza, etc).

ici.radio-canada.ca/info/videos/...
Le Hamas accepte de libérer les otages israéliens
Le Hamas accepte de libérer tous les otages israéliens, conformément à la proposition du président Donald Trump. Qu’est-ce que cela signifie pour la suite? Analyse avec Hugo Lavallée et entrevue avec ...
ici.radio-canada.ca
oconnor.bsky.social
Accepting a deal while putting forth nebulous conditions with no timelines is not accepting a deal.
Reposted by Ross O'Connor
thebarentsobserver.com
Google Earth has updated its images of Novaya Zemlya, the Arctic archipelago where Russia’s nuclear weapon designers are conducting tests of their latest inventions. The Barents Observer zooms in 📡 and highlight the facilities at Pankovo test site for the Burevestnik ⚛️ ☢️ missile.
New satellite images reveal scale of Putin’s 'flying Chornobyl' test complex
Google Earth has updated its images of Novaya Zemlya, the Arctic archipelago where Russia’s nuclear weapon designers are conducting tests of their latest inventions.
www.thebarentsobserver.com
Reposted by Ross O'Connor
elisabethbraw.bsky.social
Russia's shadow fleet is dual-use: many vessels don't just transport sanctioned oil but have other uses too (think surveillance, threatening cables).

One group knows a lot about them: Danish pilots. We should listen to them.

foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/02/r... (Me @foreignpolicy.com)
Russia’s Shadow Fleet Is Doing More Than Sanctions-Busting
In the Baltic, Russian-linked vessels are suspected of spying and sabotage.
foreignpolicy.com
Reposted by Ross O'Connor
olyaoliker.bsky.social
Really important stuff from @gabrielairosa.bsky.social & CNA. Our own assumptions about what others think are bound to get things wrong. Always a good idea to go to the sources. Read the thread, then read the report!
gabrielairosa.bsky.social
In this new @CNA_org report, I analyze how authoritative figures in the Russian mil view threats in the wake of the war in Ukraine. The key insight: Traditional Russian threat perceptions haven't shifted — they've been sharpened. 1/?
www.cna.org/analyses/202...
oconnor.bsky.social
"Our allies are looking elsewhere": Actually, I see zero evidence that US allies and partners are actively seeking new partners. Yes, allies are extremely unhappy but they're not doing a darn thing about it yet.
acyn.bsky.social
Dean: The president is unhinged

Johnson: A lot of folks on your side are too. I don’t control him

Dean: Oh my god, please. That performance in front of the generals.

Johnson: I didn’t see it.

Dean: Our allies are looking elsewhere. Our enemies are laughing.
oconnor.bsky.social
In September 1698, Peter the Great established a beard tax in hopes that Russia would be able to expand and become one of the most powerful countries in the eastern hemisphere.
oconnor.bsky.social
Lincoln foresaw such a moment.