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Justin Ling

@justinling.ca

49K followers 1.4K following 6.2K posts

Uh-oh!! Freelance journalist in @thestar.com, @wired.com, @foreignpolicy.com, @thewalrus.ca. Subscribe to my newsletter: www.bugeyedandshameless.com Signal: JustinLing.42

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 7d

This, but just about every definition, is fascism. The only question now is whether everyone lets it continue. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Justin Ling: We need to stop being so naive about what America is becoming. Trump and his secretary of war just showed us why

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright observed some years ago that fascism is quite hard to define. It is not an ideology, she said. “I think it is a method,

www.thestar.com

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Reposted by Justin Ling

James Miller (Millermena) @jamesmiller.bsky.social · 17h

If you're ever in Russia, stay away from the windows:

Pravda Publisher Dies in Fall From a Window in Putin’s Moscow www.thedailybeast.com/pravda-publi...

Pravda Publisher Dies After Fall From a Window in Putin’s Moscow

Authorities claimed Vyacheslav Leontyev had a “nervous breakdown” and stumbled out of a window.

www.thedailybeast.com

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 21h

A reminder that, for all the unhinged attacks on it, the ICC is still a functional institution that is capable of holding world leaders accountable for atrocities they commit.

Democracy Now! @democracynow.org · 21h

ICC Convicts Former Sudanese Militia Leader of War Crimes in Darfur

The International Criminal Court has convicted a former Sudanese militia leader of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in mass executions, rapes and torture in the Darfur region.

www.democracynow.org

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 1d

Thank you!

Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 1d

remember when tom cotton demanded that trump dispatch the 82nd Airborne to do "whatever it takes to restore order" in portland and then twitter said "stop doing that" and this guy was like "well, hang on a second"

(and here's the link: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv... )

On June 1, Tom Cotton, a former Army officer and the junior senator from Arkansas, was advancing the argument—in exchanges with President Trump and on his Twitter feed—that the president should invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act to deploy, “if necessary, the 10th Mountain, 82nd Airborne, 1st Cav, 3rd Infantry—whatever it takes to restore order. No quarter for insurrectionists, anarchists, rioters, and looters.” The “no quarter” element caused alarm—did Cotton mean “leave no survivor,” as the phrase’s use in a military context could suggest? “A no quarter order is a war crime,” the conservative commentator and former Army lawyer David French responded. Cotton clarified, tweeting: “If you say that someone was given no quarter, you mean that they were not treated kindly by someone who had power or control over them,” with a link to that definition in a dictionary. Not everyone was convinced.
The next day, Cotton’s office pitched me an op-ed about Twitter threatening to lock his account if he didn’t delete the original tweet. I sent the pitch to

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 1d

i genuinely can't believe this was less than two years ago.

On one of my first days at The New York Times, I went to an orientation with more than a dozen other new hires. We had to do an icebreaker: Pick a Starburst out of a jar and then answer a question. My Starburst was pink, I believe, and so I had to answer the pink prompt, which had me respond with my favorite sandwich. Russ & Daughters’ Super Heebster came to mind, but I figured mentioning a $19 sandwich wasn’t a great way to win new friends. So I blurted out, “The spicy chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A,” and considered the ice broken.
The HR representative leading the orientation chided me: “We don’t do that here. They hate gay people.” People started snapping their fingers in acclamation. I hadn’t been thinking about the fact that Chick-fil-A was transgressive in liberal circles for its chairman’s opposition to gay marriage. “Not the politics, the chicken,” I quickly said, but it was too late. I sat down, ashamed.

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 1d

it dawns on me that not everyone might be well-versed on obscenely niche media controversy from last year
bsky.app/profile/crb1...

Article in the The Atlantic headline "I Was a Heretic at The New York Times"

subhead: "I did what I was hired to do, and I paid for it."
By Adam Rubenstein

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 1d

ok this one broke me
nypost.com/2025/10/06/m...

Exclusive | CBS News taps Adam Rubenstein — once ostracized at NY Times for liking Chick-fil-A — as new deputy editor

Sources expect Rubenstein will effectively run the Free Press now that Weiss will be busy steering the editorial direction of shows like “60 Minutes,” “Face The Nation” and …

nypost.com

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 1d

might be someone trying to make a phone call in the other room

Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 1d

From the Bug-eyed and Shameless archives (because I'm late posting a newsletter from last week): My piece, written the day before Trump's re-election, on how the reactionary right monopolized optimism and why nobody else has figured out a counter-message. www.bugeyedandshameless.com/p/the-utopia...

The Utopian-Pessimist Manifesto

To be a good optimist, you must admit the worst-case-scenario is lurking.

www.bugeyedandshameless.com

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 1d

On the good news front, California has recommitted to carbon pricing. The California-Québec (soon to include Washington, probably) carbon market remains a really positive program that will, hopefully, entice in new states.

Emily Pontecorvo @emilypont.bsky.social · 1d

California passed a huge climate package last month, w/ a big effort to weave in affordability. It's wonky but important stuff, and I broke it all down for you:
- Cap & invest extension / rebrand
- transmission accelerator
- permission to join a Western RTO!
more here heatmap.news/energy/calif...

California’s Big Climate and Energy Package, Explained

The state quietly refreshed its cap and trade program, revamped how it funds wildfire cleanup, and reorganized its grid governance — plus offered some relief on gas prices.

heatmap.news

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Reposted by Justin Ling

Brian Barrett @brbarrett.bsky.social · 1d

This really gets at the scale of OpenAI's ambitions, a world in which it's not just a chatbot living inside a browser but an entire platform unto itself. from @willknight.bsky.social @laurengoode.bsky.social and @thiccreese.bsky.social

OpenAI Wants ChatGPT to Be Your Future Operation System

At OpenAI’s Developer Day, CEO Sam Altman showed off apps that run entirely inside the chat window—a new effort to turn ChatGPT into a platform.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Justin Ling

unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 3d

Heard an officer say "let's do it" and then, in the dark, they tackle Rabbi Ben to the ground. He's being loaded into a CCSO wagon now. Broadview police also here screaming at people.

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 3d

yt-dlp (github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp) is basically the gold standard for scraping video and it generally works with Bluesky.

GitHub - yt-dlp/yt-dlp: A feature-rich command-line audio/video downloader

A feature-rich command-line audio/video downloader - yt-dlp/yt-dlp

github.com

Reposted by Justin Ling

WIRED @wired.com · 4d

For years, white nationalist influencer Nick Fuentes was too extreme even for MAGA. Now he's working his way into the mainstream—and has a plan for his secret followers to seize the levers of power.

Nick Fuentes’ Plan to Conquer America

For years, influencer Nick Fuentes was too extreme even for MAGA. Now he's working his way into the mainstream—and has a plan for his secret followers to seize the levers of power.

wrd.cm

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 3d

"When authoritarian regimes broadcast their messages, we're threatened from the outside. But we would be naive not to see what's happening internally, we're turning inward. We're doubting ourselves. We're not so sure about this democracy."

Meanwhile:
www.dw.com/en/czech-rep...

Czech Republic: 'Trumpist' ex-PM Babis wins elections – DW – 10/04/2025

Billionaire Andrej Babis wants to cut aid to Ukraine, and now he is the projected winner of the Czech parliamentary elections. With 90% of districts reporting, his party took 36% of the vote.

www.dw.com

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 4d

There are many things not to like about Macron, but he is rising to become hands-down the most effective voice for European sovereignty and democracy.

(Original French text: www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-mac...)

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 4d

Engler has written some genuinely lazy, sloppy, wholly inaccurate diatribes about the Rwandan genocide, wherein he spends the whole time attacking strawmen, to the point where he earned a denunciation from survivors of the genocide.

drive.google.com/file/d/1ekMe...

Joint Statement on Yves Engler and the Denial of the Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994

drive.google.com

Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 4d

It's not a case of undermining his credibility: I have extensively read/listened to his views on Rwanda, Ukraine, and a host of other conflicts — they are ahistorical rubbish.

I'm sure his platform has many smart things in it. But I think he's a uniquely awful candidate.

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 4d

Probably. I think his hard-right coalition colleagues know that they've been able to kill negotiations from inside, so why bother quitting? What's more, they're more unpopular with Israelis than ever: They don't want a snap election.

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 4d

Yeah, even if it's long-term bad for Palestinian sovereignty, the short-term benefits for ending the war can't be ignored.

Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 4d

I wrote a long thing about this (including the Gaza Riveria piece) if you're curious: www.bugeyedandshameless.com/p/gaza-and-t...

Gaza and the 'Day After'

Netanyahu's aimless war has killed tens of thousands, he shouldn't be allowed to kill Palestinian self-determination

www.bugeyedandshameless.com

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 4d

Obviously this is not the deal anyone wants. But with Trump and Netanyahu in power, this is considerably better than the other deals that were being suggested.

If there is a continued role for the PA/PLO, with a clear intent for a Palestinian state, that — despite all the bullshit — is good.

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 4d

C'est correcte! I appreciate the argument being made, here, but the actual text of the agreement has the technocrat council maintains that it will be temporary, and with Saudi/Palestinian involvement.

It still clearly says the PA will take over, which is essential.

Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 4d

It's a plan that includes domestic governance, security guarantees managed by regional/international forces, right to return, and domestic security.

I know that cynicism is (very rightly) high, but this deal is, all things considered, good. (If it happens.)

Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 4d

(I'm pretty confident that the above statement should read that "Hamas agrees to release all Israeli prisoners," not "all prisoners held by Israel.")

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