Rob Shum
@robshum.bsky.social
Public policy ( #climate / energy policy, more specifically ) & IR prof (but also ex-🇨🇦 trade diplomat). PoliSciSky 🗺️, EnergySky 🔌💡, & GreenSky 🌱.
Cf. same handles on birdsite & mastodon.social/@robshum
Cf. same handles on birdsite & mastodon.social/@robshum
Pinned
Rob Shum
@robshum.bsky.social
· Aug 2
YOUR DAILY REMINDER
"We'll need [coal/oil/gas] for decades" is a rhetorical tool to distract you from the real point: we need to minimise how much we burn over the coming decades.
The vague statement flattens and obscures the single priority: steep, immediate reductions.
"We'll need [coal/oil/gas] for decades" is a rhetorical tool to distract you from the real point: we need to minimise how much we burn over the coming decades.
The vague statement flattens and obscures the single priority: steep, immediate reductions.
You can worry about if you’re over-dooming or under-dooming.
Or you can do something more productive: Focus on how to INCREASE THE SLOPE of decarbonization.
Or you can do something more productive: Focus on how to INCREASE THE SLOPE of decarbonization.
Reposted by Rob Shum
Trump’s Russia First, Make America Less Affordable policies are not in US interest.
Looks like the EU-US trade deal is now dead, with all three major groups in the EU Parliament calling at least for suspension. The downward spiral has already begun.
January 18, 2026 at 2:05 AM
Trump’s Russia First, Make America Less Affordable policies are not in US interest.
Reposted by Rob Shum
In all seriousness, Trump is cooked in this fight with the EU. And ordering an attack on NATO troops isn’t just catastrophic for the U.S. It’s not clear the Trump presidency would survive it.
My instincts are to watch how successful the anti-NATO agitprop put out by right-wing media is.
My instincts are to watch how successful the anti-NATO agitprop put out by right-wing media is.
January 18, 2026 at 2:13 AM
In all seriousness, Trump is cooked in this fight with the EU. And ordering an attack on NATO troops isn’t just catastrophic for the U.S. It’s not clear the Trump presidency would survive it.
My instincts are to watch how successful the anti-NATO agitprop put out by right-wing media is.
My instincts are to watch how successful the anti-NATO agitprop put out by right-wing media is.
Reposted by Rob Shum
They say they witnessed guards kill an ICE detainee. DHS wants them gone: www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
DHS seeking to deport two men who said fellow ICE detainee was killed
The two men’s eyewitness accounts of the Jan. 3 death of Geraldo Lunas Campos at a Texas detention camp differ from the Department of Homeland Security’s account of the incident.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 17, 2026 at 10:38 PM
They say they witnessed guards kill an ICE detainee. DHS wants them gone: www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Reposted by Rob Shum
According to DHS, about 3,000 ICE and federal agents are operating in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. THREE THOUSAND! The entire Minneapolis Police Department only has about 580 officers. This is outrageous and unnecessary.
Our tax dollars are funding this abuse, so it’s happening in our name.
Our tax dollars are funding this abuse, so it’s happening in our name.
January 17, 2026 at 7:44 PM
According to DHS, about 3,000 ICE and federal agents are operating in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. THREE THOUSAND! The entire Minneapolis Police Department only has about 580 officers. This is outrageous and unnecessary.
Our tax dollars are funding this abuse, so it’s happening in our name.
Our tax dollars are funding this abuse, so it’s happening in our name.
Reposted by Rob Shum
It increasingly seems like many of these ICE goons are masking not because they're worried we'll learn who they are out of uniform and more because they're worried what other uniforms they've worn.
I wonder how long it will take the media to catch on to the fact that ICE’s recruiting spree has effectively deputized every white supremacist hate group out there.
January 17, 2026 at 11:57 PM
It increasingly seems like many of these ICE goons are masking not because they're worried we'll learn who they are out of uniform and more because they're worried what other uniforms they've worn.
If you’ve lost Lord HawHaw…
January 17, 2026 at 11:42 PM
If you’ve lost Lord HawHaw…
Reposted by Rob Shum
Nous sommes tous des Groenlandais
www.ledevoir.com/opinion/idee...
www.ledevoir.com/opinion/idee...
Nous sommes tous des Groenlandais
Face à la brutalité, il n’est de pire sentiment que le désespoir, de pire attitude que l’attentisme.
www.ledevoir.com
January 17, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Nous sommes tous des Groenlandais
www.ledevoir.com/opinion/idee...
www.ledevoir.com/opinion/idee...
We are in a war against Nazis.
January 17, 2026 at 11:36 PM
We are in a war against Nazis.
Reposted by Rob Shum
The stakes are real. The choices being made in the coming weeks, months, and years will matter - maybe for the rest of our lives.
These coming years will be the greatest challenge of our lifetime - can Trump consolidate power fast enough, or will pro-democracy forces prevail? In this fight, distinctions between "moderate" and "progressive' are outdated, and we should stop using them. They are meaningless.
that’s right
January 17, 2026 at 10:09 PM
The stakes are real. The choices being made in the coming weeks, months, and years will matter - maybe for the rest of our lives.
Make the SPD Great Again!
Bernd Lange, the chair of the European Parliament's trade committee, calls on the European Commission to "immediately" start proceedings on the Anti-Coercion Instrument in response to Trump's latest tariff threat.
January 17, 2026 at 7:46 PM
Make the SPD Great Again!
Reposted by Rob Shum
If I thought I could get away with writing a piece on how the current chaotic, completely unserious, but utterly vicious mode of Trump administration policy making is "gooning towards the Fuhrer," I would.
wrote about the occupation in minnesota with a closing note on how the white house has exactly one tactic — repression with goons — but no particular strategy for dealing with entrenched resistance. gift link.
Opinion | This Is the Only Card Trump Can Play
www.nytimes.com
January 17, 2026 at 7:13 PM
If I thought I could get away with writing a piece on how the current chaotic, completely unserious, but utterly vicious mode of Trump administration policy making is "gooning towards the Fuhrer," I would.
Someone’s probably already said this, but…
Republican Senator Schmitt is a bit too on the nose, isn’t it?
Republican Senator Schmitt is a bit too on the nose, isn’t it?
the fact that Republican senators like Schmitt can’t even write a fascist screed on their own and instead have to rely on chatGPT perfectly captures the unique combination of evil and stupid that defines the modern Republican Party
January 17, 2026 at 7:29 PM
Someone’s probably already said this, but…
Republican Senator Schmitt is a bit too on the nose, isn’t it?
Republican Senator Schmitt is a bit too on the nose, isn’t it?
Est-ce qu’il Charlie?
Right-wing influencer Jake Lang is stuck in a window recess against Minneapolis City Hall.
He’s soaked with freezing water after counterprotesters hurled water balloons at him. bit.ly/4baGhJn
He’s soaked with freezing water after counterprotesters hurled water balloons at him. bit.ly/4baGhJn
January 17, 2026 at 7:27 PM
Est-ce qu’il Charlie?
Republicans, American ‘Conservatives’ and Trumpism: The Longest Political Murder-Suicide Note in History.
I would like to think the Mad King proclaiming “I will continue to illegally raise taxes on the American people until the NATO alliance collapses” would be the type of statement to cause Congress to act, but I’m not sure there’s any red line the GOP Congress has anymore.
Trump says he'll impose a 10% tariff (rising to 25% in June) on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland, because they've sent people to Greenland, until the US can buy Greenland.
January 17, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Republicans, American ‘Conservatives’ and Trumpism: The Longest Political Murder-Suicide Note in History.
The aside is true.
Will they hang together, or hang separately?
Post-Brexit Britain has already chosen the latter, of course. 🗺️
Will they hang together, or hang separately?
Post-Brexit Britain has already chosen the latter, of course. 🗺️
New tariff just dropped.
Americans set to pay an additional 10% tax on all goods from Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland.
It starts in two weeks, rising to 25% by June.
(Aside: A trade war with one EU country is a trade war with the entire EU).
Americans set to pay an additional 10% tax on all goods from Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland.
It starts in two weeks, rising to 25% by June.
(Aside: A trade war with one EU country is a trade war with the entire EU).
January 17, 2026 at 7:12 PM
The aside is true.
Will they hang together, or hang separately?
Post-Brexit Britain has already chosen the latter, of course. 🗺️
Will they hang together, or hang separately?
Post-Brexit Britain has already chosen the latter, of course. 🗺️
Tariffs on Novo Nordisk-Landia.
Make America Fat Again! 🗺️
Do the Wine Moms have escalation dominance, or not?
Make America Fat Again! 🗺️
Do the Wine Moms have escalation dominance, or not?
BREAKING: Trump announces a new 10% tariff on Denmark and seven other European countries until a deal is reached for the U.S. purchase of Greenland.
Trump announces 10% tariff on eight European countries until there is a deal to buy Greenland
Trump said the new 10% duties would increase to 25% on June 1, unless a deal is reached.
nbcnews.to
January 17, 2026 at 7:06 PM
Tariffs on Novo Nordisk-Landia.
Make America Fat Again! 🗺️
Do the Wine Moms have escalation dominance, or not?
Make America Fat Again! 🗺️
Do the Wine Moms have escalation dominance, or not?
Reposted by Rob Shum
"We demand a curriculum that embraces the West from Plato to NATO. Except no Plato because the ancient Greeks did some gay shit. And no NATO either because they said we couldn't napalm Greenland for fun."
Yeah RIP my alma mater. It was facing problems even pre-Trump 2.0 because a racist old bitch got chosen as university president after fuckery by the board of trustees. Now the state is taking direct control of academic decisions and the state is full of idiots.
January 17, 2026 at 5:41 PM
"We demand a curriculum that embraces the West from Plato to NATO. Except no Plato because the ancient Greeks did some gay shit. And no NATO either because they said we couldn't napalm Greenland for fun."
Reposted by Rob Shum
This is one of those moves that has longer term consequences than you would think. China is investing heavily in renewable energy which is making its electricity cheaper than importing electricity from Russia (which relies on fossil fuels and nuclear for production). Russia's economy is shrinking.
China halts electricity imports from Russia, Russian media reports
China's electricity purchases from Russia were suspended on Jan. 1 due to higher export prices that now exceed domestic Chinese rates, Kommersant reported.
kyivindependent.com
January 17, 2026 at 6:56 PM
This is one of those moves that has longer term consequences than you would think. China is investing heavily in renewable energy which is making its electricity cheaper than importing electricity from Russia (which relies on fossil fuels and nuclear for production). Russia's economy is shrinking.
Of course, Hillary promised the same thing.
The difference is, she might actually have gotten some deals.
(The pessimist in me thinks, in turn, that if she had, the horseshoe left and right would only have degenerated further into autarky & populism.) 🗺️
The difference is, she might actually have gotten some deals.
(The pessimist in me thinks, in turn, that if she had, the horseshoe left and right would only have degenerated further into autarky & populism.) 🗺️
Trump has been doing a lot to weaken the US and facilitate China's rise in his second term, but he did in term 1 too.
First thing Trump did in office was cancel the TPP, promising "better" 1-on-1 deals and getting none. Effectively flipped a smart China containment strategy into US containment.
First thing Trump did in office was cancel the TPP, promising "better" 1-on-1 deals and getting none. Effectively flipped a smart China containment strategy into US containment.
The Canada-China relationship has been distant and uncertain for nearly a decade.
We’re changing that, with a new strategic partnership that benefits the people of both our nations.
We’re changing that, with a new strategic partnership that benefits the people of both our nations.
January 17, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Of course, Hillary promised the same thing.
The difference is, she might actually have gotten some deals.
(The pessimist in me thinks, in turn, that if she had, the horseshoe left and right would only have degenerated further into autarky & populism.) 🗺️
The difference is, she might actually have gotten some deals.
(The pessimist in me thinks, in turn, that if she had, the horseshoe left and right would only have degenerated further into autarky & populism.) 🗺️
Reposted by Rob Shum
Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.
January 17, 2026 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by Rob Shum
Yeah, I don't know how you write a piece that features Niall Ferguson of all people and then pretend "they wanted a university without cancel culture"
January 17, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Yeah, I don't know how you write a piece that features Niall Ferguson of all people and then pretend "they wanted a university without cancel culture"
Reposted by Rob Shum
Noncompliance with orders to pollute at great cost for no reason is the right move here. Glad to see at least one utility doing the right thing. I hope others follow with similar challenges to forced pointless greenhouse gas dumping.
www.kuow.org/stories/wash...
www.kuow.org/stories/wash...
Washington’s largest climate polluter shuts down despite federal order
The Pacific Northwest’s largest pollution source has shut down, and Washington state officials want to keep it that way.
www.kuow.org
January 17, 2026 at 3:06 PM
Noncompliance with orders to pollute at great cost for no reason is the right move here. Glad to see at least one utility doing the right thing. I hope others follow with similar challenges to forced pointless greenhouse gas dumping.
www.kuow.org/stories/wash...
www.kuow.org/stories/wash...
I don’t want to hear any corporate suit claiming that they can’t do business “in an unpredictable environment” ever again.
Whenever I see that Trump "says on Truth Social," I think, let's see if an actual executive order gets issued on this one. Could just be idle tariff talk.
Donald Trump announces plans to hit the UK, Denmark and other European countries with a 10% tariff on "all or any goods" exported to the US from 1 February.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1...
January 17, 2026 at 4:59 PM
I don’t want to hear any corporate suit claiming that they can’t do business “in an unpredictable environment” ever again.
Reposted by Rob Shum
I'm a green card holder. This could happen to me.
Per the Minnesota Reformer, Juan Carlos is reported to be a U.S. resident (green card holder), though they have not verified this. No word on Juan Carlos's whereabouts or condition. Grateful to nurse Monica Bicking for the video, and note the screenshot
minnesotareformer.com/2026/01/12/u...
minnesotareformer.com/2026/01/12/u...
January 17, 2026 at 4:49 PM
I'm a green card holder. This could happen to me.
Reposted by Rob Shum
We are running out of time
REPORTER: Do you commit to not militarily engaging NATO partners?
TRUMP: I don't talk about that
REPORTER: You're not willing to commit to not attacking a NATO partner?
TRUMP: I don't talk about that
REPORTER: You're not willing to commit to not attacking a NATO partner?
January 17, 2026 at 4:50 PM
We are running out of time