Mike Charlton
@thelongview.bsky.social
Producer/Director/Writer. Easily distracted by geopolitics and world events.
Reposted by Mike Charlton
Reposted by Mike Charlton
Or, indeed, at all.
Vance on the economy:
"You don't turn the Titanic around overnight"
"You don't turn the Titanic around overnight"
January 22, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Or, indeed, at all.
Reposted by Mike Charlton
Thank you Mr President, that clears things up.
January 22, 2026 at 9:01 AM
Thank you Mr President, that clears things up.
Reposted by Mike Charlton
wind power by country
January 21, 2026 at 3:12 PM
wind power by country
Reposted by Mike Charlton
The Nobel Peace Prize becoming so prestigious that wars are fought over a head of state coveting it is some real monkey paw stuff for Alfred Nobel.
January 19, 2026 at 8:47 AM
The Nobel Peace Prize becoming so prestigious that wars are fought over a head of state coveting it is some real monkey paw stuff for Alfred Nobel.
Reposted by Mike Charlton
NASA say that the crew member who was ill and returned to earth is doing well and now having a meal with colleagues.
January 15, 2026 at 1:31 PM
NASA say that the crew member who was ill and returned to earth is doing well and now having a meal with colleagues.
Reposted by Mike Charlton
the European mission to Greenland was fourth in the BBC news running order this morning, which feels a bit like doing a light "and finally..." item about the archduke's motorcade taking a wrong turn in Sarajevo
January 15, 2026 at 10:01 AM
the European mission to Greenland was fourth in the BBC news running order this morning, which feels a bit like doing a light "and finally..." item about the archduke's motorcade taking a wrong turn in Sarajevo
Reposted by Mike Charlton
there's a brilliant In The Loop style movie to be made about foreign spies going increasingly mental at a UK council planning department
I like the idea that the Chinese super-embassy (and let's be honest, like all embassies - Espionage Hub) is going to have it's future decided, not by some government committee, but a council planning officer in Tower Hamlets
January 13, 2026 at 7:46 PM
there's a brilliant In The Loop style movie to be made about foreign spies going increasingly mental at a UK council planning department
Reposted by Mike Charlton
It is, we all have to admit, very funny to respond to Exxon’s statement saying they don’t want to invest in Venezuela by not allowing them to invest in Venezuela. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Trump ‘Inclined’ to Keep Exxon Out of Venezuela
The president said he didn’t like comments from the company’s CEO during a meeting Friday at the White House.
www.wsj.com
January 12, 2026 at 3:51 AM
It is, we all have to admit, very funny to respond to Exxon’s statement saying they don’t want to invest in Venezuela by not allowing them to invest in Venezuela. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by Mike Charlton
"The Oreshnik is the sign of a Fearful, Worried Putin, Not a Leader Confident of Victory." My regular update on war and great power competition. This week: the Oreshnik attack, peace talks progress, ground war in #Ukraine, China's reaction to Venezuela & more.
mickryan.substack.com/p/the-oreshn...
mickryan.substack.com/p/the-oreshn...
The Oreshnik is the sign of a Fearful, Worried Putin, Not a Leader Confident of Victory: The Big Five 11 January 2026.
My first 2026 update on war and great power competition. This week: the Oreshnik attack, peace talks progress, the ground war in Ukraine, China's reaction to Venezuela & my Big Five recommended reads.
mickryan.substack.com
January 11, 2026 at 1:07 AM
"The Oreshnik is the sign of a Fearful, Worried Putin, Not a Leader Confident of Victory." My regular update on war and great power competition. This week: the Oreshnik attack, peace talks progress, ground war in #Ukraine, China's reaction to Venezuela & more.
mickryan.substack.com/p/the-oreshn...
mickryan.substack.com/p/the-oreshn...
Reposted by Mike Charlton
Reposted by Mike Charlton
'Pliers stuck too'....What humans do in the dark hours constantly amazes me.
Merry Christmas to all. defector.com/what-did-we-...
What Did We Get Stuck In Our Rectums Last Year? | Defector
This is the time of year to be grateful for not having things stuck in our asses, and to think of those less fortunate than us. So spare a thought for those Americans who misjudged the capacity of the...
defector.com
December 26, 2025 at 2:39 PM
'Pliers stuck too'....What humans do in the dark hours constantly amazes me.
Reposted by Mike Charlton
This is one of the most beautiful things I have witnessed, the craft here is impeccable.
August 13, 2025 at 6:06 AM
This is one of the most beautiful things I have witnessed, the craft here is impeccable.
Reposted by Mike Charlton
Show me how your 2025 went:
December 15, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Show me how your 2025 went:
Reposted by Mike Charlton
I read a book on making money in ancient Athens recently (by Michael Leese, it's great), and the Greeks absolutely believed that the endless pursuit of wealth was a serious moral defect and personality issue no different than being a drunk or sexual deviant.
If you make a billion dollars — or $500 million or even $100 million dollars — and you keep trying to make more, then there is something seriously wrong with you. It's a mental illness akin to hoarding or drug addiction.
December 11, 2025 at 5:37 PM
I read a book on making money in ancient Athens recently (by Michael Leese, it's great), and the Greeks absolutely believed that the endless pursuit of wealth was a serious moral defect and personality issue no different than being a drunk or sexual deviant.
Reposted by Mike Charlton
Also every piece of human knowledge created between 2022 and the proper regulation of the bullshit machines is going to have to be quarantined with extreme prejudice, to stop this stuff cascading down to information stream forever. Like if everything asbestos touches also became asbestos.
I agree that we're likely setting ourselves up for a very long process of asbestos-like remediation efforts around "incredibly stupidly and carelessly implemented LLM tools that were rolled out after 2022"
I've noticed that people who use the inevitability argument always make comparisons to email and social media, never to NFTs or DDT.
I think the so-called "AI" stuff is going to be the tech version of asbestos: shoved in everywhere, expensive and time-consuming to remove.
I think the so-called "AI" stuff is going to be the tech version of asbestos: shoved in everywhere, expensive and time-consuming to remove.
December 10, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Also every piece of human knowledge created between 2022 and the proper regulation of the bullshit machines is going to have to be quarantined with extreme prejudice, to stop this stuff cascading down to information stream forever. Like if everything asbestos touches also became asbestos.
Reposted by Mike Charlton
Reposted by Mike Charlton
🇵🇱🇺🇸 Polish media illustration:
White House briefing: “Ushakov and Witkoff will take part in the U.S.–Russia negotiations.”
Question from the press: “And who will represent the American side?”
White House briefing: “Ushakov and Witkoff will take part in the U.S.–Russia negotiations.”
Question from the press: “And who will represent the American side?”
November 27, 2025 at 10:09 PM
🇵🇱🇺🇸 Polish media illustration:
White House briefing: “Ushakov and Witkoff will take part in the U.S.–Russia negotiations.”
Question from the press: “And who will represent the American side?”
White House briefing: “Ushakov and Witkoff will take part in the U.S.–Russia negotiations.”
Question from the press: “And who will represent the American side?”
Reposted by Mike Charlton
🍺 JD Wetherspoon – whose founder campaigned for the UK to leave the EU – is using Ireland as a springboard for its expansion into mainland Europe to avoid Brexit-induced red tape.
https://m.independent.ie/business/wetherspoon-uses-ireland-to-skirt-brexit-red-tape-for-eu-expansion/a1911675912.html
https://m.independent.ie/business/wetherspoon-uses-ireland-to-skirt-brexit-red-tape-for-eu-expansion/a1911675912.html
Wetherspoon uses Ireland to skirt Brexit red tape for EU expansion
UK pub and hotel group JD Wetherspoon – whose founder campaigned for the UK to leave the EU – is using Ireland as a springboard for its expansion into mainland Europe to avoid Brexit-induced red tape...
m.independent.ie
November 21, 2025 at 11:40 AM
🍺 JD Wetherspoon – whose founder campaigned for the UK to leave the EU – is using Ireland as a springboard for its expansion into mainland Europe to avoid Brexit-induced red tape.
https://m.independent.ie/business/wetherspoon-uses-ireland-to-skirt-brexit-red-tape-for-eu-expansion/a1911675912.html
https://m.independent.ie/business/wetherspoon-uses-ireland-to-skirt-brexit-red-tape-for-eu-expansion/a1911675912.html
Reposted by Mike Charlton
Reposted by Mike Charlton
Compare the vagueness of the clause "it is expected that Russia will not invade neighbouring countries" with the very specific limits on Ukrainian army numbers and "Ukraine agrees to enshrine in its constitution that it will not join NATO."
November 21, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Compare the vagueness of the clause "it is expected that Russia will not invade neighbouring countries" with the very specific limits on Ukrainian army numbers and "Ukraine agrees to enshrine in its constitution that it will not join NATO."
Reposted by Mike Charlton
~ The PNG Courier's overseas correspondent on the crisis at the Beeb ~
https://mrhenrymorris.substack.com/p/the-png-couriers-overseas-correspondent-da5
https://mrhenrymorris.substack.com/p/the-png-couriers-overseas-correspondent-da5
The PNG Courier's overseas correspondent on the crisis at the Beeb
Auntie's anti-Trump bias
mrhenrymorris.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:03 PM
~ The PNG Courier's overseas correspondent on the crisis at the Beeb ~
https://mrhenrymorris.substack.com/p/the-png-couriers-overseas-correspondent-da5
https://mrhenrymorris.substack.com/p/the-png-couriers-overseas-correspondent-da5
Reposted by Mike Charlton
Your cat when you're choking to death in your apartment
November 6, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Your cat when you're choking to death in your apartment
Reposted by Mike Charlton
The truly maddening thing is that, unlike when I was a young man in science and the materials and engineering just weren’t there yet, the future is *right there.* The problem is *solved*. What’s holding us back is not just greed, but this bizarre nostalgia, an obsession with petro- masculinity.
Australia has so much electricity from solar power that it is going to start offering free electricity to everyone for at least three hours during the day as the wholesale price of power goes negative
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
Australia has so much solar that it's offering everyone free electricity
Australia's extensive solar power penetration makes so much energy that the government wants to offer free electricity at peak hours.
electrek.co
November 6, 2025 at 2:08 PM
The truly maddening thing is that, unlike when I was a young man in science and the materials and engineering just weren’t there yet, the future is *right there.* The problem is *solved*. What’s holding us back is not just greed, but this bizarre nostalgia, an obsession with petro- masculinity.