Mo
@mynameismo.bsky.social
Welsh Arab married to a Canadian.
IR/Security/IOs. PhD from UBC, Vancouver.
Desperately hoping that this social media platform will allow more sane discourse than, y'know, the other one.
Using this primarily to gather information, not expound.
IR/Security/IOs. PhD from UBC, Vancouver.
Desperately hoping that this social media platform will allow more sane discourse than, y'know, the other one.
Using this primarily to gather information, not expound.
Concise summary of the current state of affairs in the Department of Homeland Security.
staffers are still cleaning up the Kristi Noem mess after she got gutted/filleted by @chrismurphyct.bsky.social
this is A MOMENT. #MustWatch
🧢 @trumpfile.org
this is A MOMENT. #MustWatch
🧢 @trumpfile.org
May 9, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Concise summary of the current state of affairs in the Department of Homeland Security.
Any competent, yet elderly dictator knows that the stability of the regime can depend on a clear line of succession.
President Trump, who has frequently raised the idea of pursuing a third term in defiance of the Constitution, suggested Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio as possible successors in an interview aired on Sunday.
Trump Plays Down Talk of a Third Term, Backing Vance and Rubio
President Trump, who has frequently raised the idea of pursuing a third term in defiance of the Constitution, told “Meet the Press” that his vice president and his secretary of state were potential su...
www.nytimes.com
May 4, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Any competent, yet elderly dictator knows that the stability of the regime can depend on a clear line of succession.
Allowing both my daughters to use my Spotify account has completely screwed up the recommended “Daily Mix” options.
May 2, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Allowing both my daughters to use my Spotify account has completely screwed up the recommended “Daily Mix” options.
Fascinating legal system in Israel.
Apparently the sentence issued after being found guilty of perjury and the mass murder of paramedics is to be given early retirement.
Apparently the sentence issued after being found guilty of perjury and the mass murder of paramedics is to be given early retirement.
'Operational misunderstanding' led to killing of Gaza medics, IDF inquiry says
'Operational misunderstanding' led to killing of Gaza medics, IDF inquiry says
Fourteen emergency workers and a UN worker were killed when the Israeli military opened fire on a convoy of vehicles in Gaza last month.
www.bbc.com
April 21, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Fascinating legal system in Israel.
Apparently the sentence issued after being found guilty of perjury and the mass murder of paramedics is to be given early retirement.
Apparently the sentence issued after being found guilty of perjury and the mass murder of paramedics is to be given early retirement.
As a non-American academic, whose focus is on international relations but, having worked in the US, has a keen amateur interest in domestic US politics, I find it extraordinary that in a recent poll, 45% of Americans approve of President Trump's actions over the last few months.
Extraordinary.
Extraordinary.
April 20, 2025 at 5:16 AM
As a non-American academic, whose focus is on international relations but, having worked in the US, has a keen amateur interest in domestic US politics, I find it extraordinary that in a recent poll, 45% of Americans approve of President Trump's actions over the last few months.
Extraordinary.
Extraordinary.
Ah, so if the US doesn’t make any progress, they are going to stop trying.
If at first you don’t succeed, give up and find someone to blame.
This is not the kind of response to a challenge that I usually teach my kids.
If at first you don’t succeed, give up and find someone to blame.
This is not the kind of response to a challenge that I usually teach my kids.
April 18, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Ah, so if the US doesn’t make any progress, they are going to stop trying.
If at first you don’t succeed, give up and find someone to blame.
This is not the kind of response to a challenge that I usually teach my kids.
If at first you don’t succeed, give up and find someone to blame.
This is not the kind of response to a challenge that I usually teach my kids.
So, does this mean that Trump has lost the tariff war against China?
Trump lost?
Maybe Trump doesn't know he lost; the White House didn't mention this, this came out of the CBP late on a Friday night.
Someone should tell Trump he lost.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Trump lost?
Maybe Trump doesn't know he lost; the White House didn't mention this, this came out of the CBP late on a Friday night.
Someone should tell Trump he lost.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Trump exempts smartphones and computers from new tariffs
It follows concerns that tech prices could skyrocket, as many gadgets are made in China, with the US president saying he will give more detail on Monday.
www.bbc.com
April 13, 2025 at 6:19 AM
So, does this mean that Trump has lost the tariff war against China?
Trump lost?
Maybe Trump doesn't know he lost; the White House didn't mention this, this came out of the CBP late on a Friday night.
Someone should tell Trump he lost.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Trump lost?
Maybe Trump doesn't know he lost; the White House didn't mention this, this came out of the CBP late on a Friday night.
Someone should tell Trump he lost.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Mo
Good way to see the current tariffs, as of literally today, is no tariffs on high value add manufactured goods marketed to middle and upper middle classes. Massive tariffs for cheap consumer items which amount to the biggest economic privilege of working class/middle class life in US.
April 12, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Good way to see the current tariffs, as of literally today, is no tariffs on high value add manufactured goods marketed to middle and upper middle classes. Massive tariffs for cheap consumer items which amount to the biggest economic privilege of working class/middle class life in US.
A phenomenon that some may mistakenly consider to be “messiness”, I choose to label “a triumph of entropy”.
April 11, 2025 at 1:56 PM
A phenomenon that some may mistakenly consider to be “messiness”, I choose to label “a triumph of entropy”.
I half expect the Chinese Foreign Ministry to start taking a passive aggressive approach, issuing heartfelt condolences to the American people on the occasion of the rapid psychological deterioration of their elderly President.
April 11, 2025 at 12:47 PM
I half expect the Chinese Foreign Ministry to start taking a passive aggressive approach, issuing heartfelt condolences to the American people on the occasion of the rapid psychological deterioration of their elderly President.
I hereby proclaim 11th April to be No Trump Day.
I challenge all news media and social media engagers to talk about literally anything else for 24 hours.
Please.
As a parent who recognizes when a child is acting up to get attention, this could start the healing process.
I challenge all news media and social media engagers to talk about literally anything else for 24 hours.
Please.
As a parent who recognizes when a child is acting up to get attention, this could start the healing process.
April 10, 2025 at 1:24 PM
I hereby proclaim 11th April to be No Trump Day.
I challenge all news media and social media engagers to talk about literally anything else for 24 hours.
Please.
As a parent who recognizes when a child is acting up to get attention, this could start the healing process.
I challenge all news media and social media engagers to talk about literally anything else for 24 hours.
Please.
As a parent who recognizes when a child is acting up to get attention, this could start the healing process.
It’s bizarre.
I remember a time when, if faced with two almost identical products on a shelf, one “Made in China”, the other “Made in USA”, I might pay a little more for the latter, expecting better quality.
Odd to see things trending the other way.
I remember a time when, if faced with two almost identical products on a shelf, one “Made in China”, the other “Made in USA”, I might pay a little more for the latter, expecting better quality.
Odd to see things trending the other way.
LVMH finds making Louis Vuitton bags messy in Texas
The plant’s problems – which haven’t previously been reported – highlight the challenges for LVMH as it attempts to build its production footprint in the U.S. to avoid Trump’s threatened tariffs on European-made goods.
www.reuters.com
April 10, 2025 at 7:01 AM
It’s bizarre.
I remember a time when, if faced with two almost identical products on a shelf, one “Made in China”, the other “Made in USA”, I might pay a little more for the latter, expecting better quality.
Odd to see things trending the other way.
I remember a time when, if faced with two almost identical products on a shelf, one “Made in China”, the other “Made in USA”, I might pay a little more for the latter, expecting better quality.
Odd to see things trending the other way.
I live on the opposite side of the world to Washington DC, so why does the chap in charge over there make me think I need to start stockpiling canned soup and filtered water?
April 8, 2025 at 1:08 PM
I live on the opposite side of the world to Washington DC, so why does the chap in charge over there make me think I need to start stockpiling canned soup and filtered water?
Uh...
Just so that I'm clear...
Is he sitting beside the Israeli Prime Minister, implying that some Nazis were loving and kind towards... y'know....
Just so that I'm clear...
Is he sitting beside the Israeli Prime Minister, implying that some Nazis were loving and kind towards... y'know....
Trump: "I said to [the former hostages], was there any sign of love? Did Hamas show any signs of, like, help or liking you? Did they give you a piece of bread extra? Did they give you a meal on the side? Like what happened in Germany."
April 8, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Uh...
Just so that I'm clear...
Is he sitting beside the Israeli Prime Minister, implying that some Nazis were loving and kind towards... y'know....
Just so that I'm clear...
Is he sitting beside the Israeli Prime Minister, implying that some Nazis were loving and kind towards... y'know....
Ah, yes. The same "pot-ay-to, po-taa-to" approach to ethnicity and citizenship, from the same people who brought you the classic, "they can go live in another country, one Arab is the same as another".
South Sudan says US visa ban caused by mistaken nationality
South Sudan says US visa ban caused by mistaken nationality
The government says the man it refused entry to was Congolese, not South Sudanese as the US had said.
www.bbc.com
April 8, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Ah, yes. The same "pot-ay-to, po-taa-to" approach to ethnicity and citizenship, from the same people who brought you the classic, "they can go live in another country, one Arab is the same as another".
Reposted by Mo
no idea who made this but it’s genius
April 3, 2025 at 6:15 PM
no idea who made this but it’s genius
I've been wondering something for a while.
I concur that the invasion of Ukraine became a full scale invasion, but why do news anchors, even on fairly balanced & dispassionate platforms like BBC World News, *always* use the term "full scale invasion", as if to distinguish it from lesser invasions?
I concur that the invasion of Ukraine became a full scale invasion, but why do news anchors, even on fairly balanced & dispassionate platforms like BBC World News, *always* use the term "full scale invasion", as if to distinguish it from lesser invasions?
April 6, 2025 at 4:15 AM
I've been wondering something for a while.
I concur that the invasion of Ukraine became a full scale invasion, but why do news anchors, even on fairly balanced & dispassionate platforms like BBC World News, *always* use the term "full scale invasion", as if to distinguish it from lesser invasions?
I concur that the invasion of Ukraine became a full scale invasion, but why do news anchors, even on fairly balanced & dispassionate platforms like BBC World News, *always* use the term "full scale invasion", as if to distinguish it from lesser invasions?
Reposted by Mo
It’s a heist movie but just with a bunch of humanities scholars trying to get their grant money back.
April 4, 2025 at 12:40 PM
It’s a heist movie but just with a bunch of humanities scholars trying to get their grant money back.
What a gong show.
TV doctor Mehmet Oz confirmed to lead Medicare and Medicaid
TV doctor Mehmet Oz confirmed to lead Medicare and Medicaid
Oz, who has never held public office, was confirmed to the role by the Republican-controlled US Senate on Thursday.
www.bbc.com
April 4, 2025 at 8:23 AM
What a gong show.
OK.
So new polls suggest that President Trump has a 43% approval rating.
Just so that I am clear, does this mean that 43% of polled Americans genuinely think that he is doing, y'know, a *good* job?
Another searing indictment of the American education system.
So new polls suggest that President Trump has a 43% approval rating.
Just so that I am clear, does this mean that 43% of polled Americans genuinely think that he is doing, y'know, a *good* job?
Another searing indictment of the American education system.
April 3, 2025 at 12:53 PM
OK.
So new polls suggest that President Trump has a 43% approval rating.
Just so that I am clear, does this mean that 43% of polled Americans genuinely think that he is doing, y'know, a *good* job?
Another searing indictment of the American education system.
So new polls suggest that President Trump has a 43% approval rating.
Just so that I am clear, does this mean that 43% of polled Americans genuinely think that he is doing, y'know, a *good* job?
Another searing indictment of the American education system.
I’ve clearly lost it.
When I saw a post claiming that it was International Fact-Checking Day, I started fact-checking that claim.
When I saw a post claiming that it was International Fact-Checking Day, I started fact-checking that claim.
April 2, 2025 at 5:20 PM
I’ve clearly lost it.
When I saw a post claiming that it was International Fact-Checking Day, I started fact-checking that claim.
When I saw a post claiming that it was International Fact-Checking Day, I started fact-checking that claim.
Reposted by Mo
40% of U.S.-affiliated Nobel Prize winners in the sciences — physics, chemistry and medicine — between 2000 and 2023 were immigrants.
www.axios.com/2025/03/31/u...
www.axios.com/2025/03/31/u...
American progress in peril
As the U.S.'s global lead is contested and competition for the world's top talent gets stiffer, the Trump administration is disrupting the system that has propelled the country.
www.axios.com
March 31, 2025 at 10:53 AM
40% of U.S.-affiliated Nobel Prize winners in the sciences — physics, chemistry and medicine — between 2000 and 2023 were immigrants.
www.axios.com/2025/03/31/u...
www.axios.com/2025/03/31/u...
I am not proud of myself, but I must confess to a smidgen of schadenfreude at this news.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzlement and handed an immediate five-year ban from public office, a sentence that will bar her from running in the 2027 presidential race unless she successfully appeals beforehand reut.rs/4laaGKf
France's Le Pen barred from running for office for five years after graft conviction
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzlement on Monday and handed an immediate five-year ban from public office, a sentence that will bar her from running in the 2027 presidential race unless she successfully appeals beforehand.
reut.rs
March 31, 2025 at 11:35 AM
I am not proud of myself, but I must confess to a smidgen of schadenfreude at this news.
At the risk of repeating myself:
I continue to marvel at President Trump's ability to unite the world... against the US.
I continue to marvel at President Trump's ability to unite the world... against the US.
China, South Korea and Japan agree to strengthen free trade
China, South Korea and Japan agree to strengthen free trade
China, South Korea and Japan agreed Sunday to strengthen free trade in the face of a raft of new tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
f24.my
March 30, 2025 at 6:16 AM
At the risk of repeating myself:
I continue to marvel at President Trump's ability to unite the world... against the US.
I continue to marvel at President Trump's ability to unite the world... against the US.
Mr. Vance can hardly complain just because they are copying his "foreigners not welcome" government policy.
After initial plans for a visit from American officials were met with backlash in Greenland, a trip by Vice President JD Vance and other top U.S. officials will now be limited to a stop at a remote U.S. military base in the far north. Follow live updates.
Trump Live Updates: JD Vance to Visit Greenland as Trump Vows Island Takeover
www.nytimes.com
March 28, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Mr. Vance can hardly complain just because they are copying his "foreigners not welcome" government policy.