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Abe Newman @abenewman.bsky.social · 3d

1/Striking speech by Macron: The future of European democracy depends on taking back its digital information space. A remarkable turn from Silicon Valley as source of enlightenment to being a purveyor of slop. And the stakes aren't just ad revenue but the nation.
defenddemocracy.eu/macron-democ...

"Europeans, let's wake up!" — Defend Democracy

“We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks.” President Macron on the occasion of German Unity Day, 3 October 2025.

defenddemocracy.eu

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Franz-Stefan Gady @hoanssolo.bsky.social · 4d

Thanks for reading! I should add that in the book I primarily discuss U.S. ideas of rapid, decisive warfare rooted in systems thinking.

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Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · 6d

“It is as though Europe is in a fight and bleeding out, but not wanting to take counter actions because it is afraid the opponent may step on its toe.”

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Géopolitique @geopolitique.bsky.social · 7d

Europe / Interview exclusive accordée au Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung / La Russie a créé une armée secrète de robots qui manipulent les démocraties occidentales et tentent de les affaiblir de l'intérieur, a déclaré le président français Emmanuel Macron

Emmanuel Macron im F.A.Z.-Interview: Russische Geheimarmee in Europa

Im Exklusivinterview mit der F.A.Z. spricht der französische Präsident über die unterschätzte Bedrohung aus Moskau, Merz’ Bereitschaft zu neuen Schulden – und warum ihn die Deutschen manchmal an eine ...

www.faz.net

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Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 17d

I suspect a lot of the ceremony around Kirk is an attempt to leverage Christian nationalist symbology in order to convey the messianic fervor of MAGA from Trump to Vance.

Jake Lahut ®
@JakeLahut
Chants of "President Vance" at the Kirk memorial as JD comes up to speak
4:33 PM • 9/21/25 • 141 Views

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 28d

Can I interest you in a really cool bug in these trying times?

This is the Picasso moth (Baorisa hieroglyphica), native to India & Southeast Asia.

A white moth with colorful markings on the wings that resemble modern art. Dark lines and blushes of color like a red spot and yellow thick line.

"V & A moth (from the markings on the forewing costa), a species of the genus Baorisa, probably Baorisa hieroglyphica Moore, 1882 (Noctuidae). Paper describing several new species is Behounek, G, Speidel, W. & Thöny, H. 1996. Revision der Gattung Baorisa Moore, 1882 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) (G. Behounek, W. Speidel & H. Thöny Esperiana 3. Ex coll. Felix Stumpe"
CREDIT: Notafly, Wikimedia

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General Boles @generalboles.bsky.social · 28d

"yes Mr President but theoretically, if I did recall our ambassador, what level would our tariffs be at...............uh huh, well that is a big number"

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Etienne Höra @etiennehoera.d-64.social · 29d

Another big open question: if tech rules are the red line, who and what holds it? There has been little appetite for retaliation against the US or even using the Anti-Coercion Instrument against US tech and finance, and France as the biggest proponent is in political turmoil.

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Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · Sep 8

Irony about Rumsfeld is that Americans made the same mistake with him that they made with McNamara and later, with Trump: We are convinced that people who were in business can run the government like a business.
It's a stupid, stupid belief but millions of Americans are wedded to it.

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Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · Sep 5

🚨HUGE!

European Commission fines Google €2.95 billion over abusive practices in online advertising technology

Here we go, waiting for Trump reaction. After massive criticism for delaying what was reported to be a minor fine earlier this week

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Max Bergmann @maxbergmann.bsky.social · Sep 4

I hate to be the grump at the party. But this is all about Starmer/Macron trying to show relevance to Trump. This force is never gonna happen because 1. Russia will never say yes and if they did 2. US ain't going to go to war with Russia if it fires some missiles at some Euro troops in Ukraine. 🤷‍♂️

Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · Sep 4

On troop deployment:

Macron *very* clear twice: only the day *after* the ceasefire, and any deployment must be part of a "ceasefire, a truce, or a peace agreement". In other words: no European boots on the ground before an agreement.

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Thomas Huttinga @thomashuttinga.bsky.social · Sep 4

www.politico.eu/article/vote... how European voters are more in favour of stronger European integration than its leaders @politico.eu

Voters believe in a sovereign Europe more than elites

For once, integration may not be driven top-down but bottom-up.

www.politico.eu

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Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · Sep 2

This is big news

Google’s adtech fine pulled at last minute over EU-US trade tensions

MLex reports that competition boss Ribera had to shelve announcement today because of lobbying from trade chief Sefcovic and the US DoJ

www.mlex.com/mlex/article...

Google’s adtech fine pulled at last minute over EU-US trade tensions | MLex | Specialist news and analysis on legal risk and regulation

An EU antitrust sanction against Google that was scheduled for today was put on hold hours before the planned announcement, following opposition from EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and lobbying ...

www.mlex.com

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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · Sep 2

They autonomously arrived at the decision to surrender unconditionally.

a man sitting in a car with the word freedom written on his shirt

Alt: Nick Cage from Con Air smiling with the wind blowing in his face. A caption reads "FREEDOM".

media.tenor.com

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Luke McGee @lukemcgee.bsky.social · Aug 29

Generic column ideas that need to be banned. Add if you think of one, please.

1) "You may hate (insert name of controversial figure), but they might just have a point on (insert controversial topic) actually."

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Jeremy Cliffe @jeremycliffe.bsky.social · Aug 18

For all their values, European leaders are subordinate because their economies, militaries and politics are fragmented. For all his shamelessness, Trump is dominant because (however dismally) he speaks for one economy, one military, one political system. It’s that simple.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · Aug 16

In January 2025, Senior Editor @kanishktharoor.bsky.social spoke with the political economist Nicholas Eberstadt about the global crash in fertility rates and the looming prospect of depopulation. Listen to the conversation here:

Best of: Is the World Ready for the Population Bust?

A Conversation With Nicholas Eberstadt

www.foreignaffairs.com

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Reid Pauly @reidpauly.bsky.social · Aug 15

🚨 It’s publication day!

THE ART OF COERCION is finally out.

When do threats work? When they are perceived as credibly *conditional*. Credible and painful punishments are not enough.

Threats fail if targets feel “damned if they do and damned if they don’t.”

shorturl.at/qa4T5

The Art of Coercion by Reid B. C. Pauly | Paperback | Cornell University Press

The Art of Coercion presents a fresh explanation for the success—and failure—of coercive demands in international politics.Strong states are surprisingly bad at coercion. History shows they prevail...

www.cornellpress.cornell.edu

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Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · Aug 12

"There is a name for the discrepancy between the strength of Trump’s radical political agenda and the inadequacy of the European response to it: “vassalisation heureuse” a sort of willing submission."

www.ft.com/content/0fa0...

Europe’s ‘happy vassal’ complex

The EU is willingly colluding in its own subjugation to Trump’s geopolitical agenda

www.ft.com

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · Aug 11

I’m quoting this because it is a very fair point for which I have an answer: The first thing is to recognize that in a democracy there is no such thing as “ the majority.” Instead, there are many and multiple overlapping majorities that can be assembled from different parts of the whole.

Rage Incarnate @sashasubotich.bsky.social · Aug 11

Most of the criticisms are fairly weak, but he does make the valid point that Americans are not as progressive as we wish they were. How do we achieve these goals when the majority of people are so ignorant and wrong about everything that they voted for Trump?

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Jemima Clare @lilyflowerbrown.bsky.social · Aug 10

GIFT link. Wonderful read.

Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · Aug 10

Gift link (I figured out how to do it)

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/o...

Opinion | Let’s Not Make America Gilded Again

www.nytimes.com

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Dom White @domw.bsky.social · Aug 5

Wanna see a crazy chart? Of course you do.

Spending on constructing datacenters and manufacturing facilities for computers & electronic products in the US now exceeds the entire retail and wholesale industry and almost as much as the rest of the office and manufacturing sectors combined.

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Niclas Poitiers @niclaspoitiers.bsky.social · Jul 27

The EU-US deal shows the shambles of European foreign policy. You can’t ring-fence the economy from defence – if you are dependent in your security you won’t be autonomous in commerce

Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · Jul 27

Guess the most pressing aim for Brussels is keeping Trump engaged in Ukraine, in some way, at all costs.

In which case, VDL is probably on the flight home thinking: job done.

Quite a jarring spectacle, however, days after presenting a "tough guy" front in Beijing.

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Paul Donovan @pdonovan-econ.bsky.social · Jul 23

Who to scapegoat when trade deals are done?

As trade “deals” emerge, who will become the scapegoat next time things go wrong? Do trade deals break, or will new scapegoats be found?

secure.ubs.com/global/en/we...

Who to scapegoat when trade deals are done?

The proposed US-Japan trade deal means US buyers of Japanese goods (including autos) face a 15% tax. Steel is still taxed at 50%. Of course, deals are not the same as implementation, as the UK steel i...

secure.ubs.com

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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · Jul 21

Good thread here from Andrew. No political party is engaging seriously with the question of economic growth and this list - which is a collection of soundbites demonstrates why. Short rant 🧵

First as Andrew says this isn’t just a U.K. problem, as this chart from Martin Wolf illustrates

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