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Reposted by Ross O'Connor

Heatmap News @heatmap.news · 4h

Coal demand may be rising globally, but Trump's promised U.S. coal renaissance hit some major bumps this week — including fallout from a catastrophic failure and a lawsuit against the president's plan to keep a Michigan plant alive.

Read about it from @alexckaufman.bsky.social in this morning's AM:

Energy Department Poised to Kill DAC Hubs

On Trump’s coal woes, NEPA reform, and Japan’s nuclear plans

heatmap.news

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Ross O'Connor @oconnor.bsky.social · 5h

"German industrial production is at the weakest level since 2005. It is almost 20 per cent below its pre-pandemic peak. Car production outside of those two crises is at the lowest level since 2000."

Christian Odendahl @codendahl.bsky.social · 7h

The German industrial boom, that started in 2005 when Angela Merkel took the reins (that was a coinicidence, she had nothing to do with it), is now officially over. www.ft.com/content/745f...

German industrial output falls to 2005 levels as auto sector craters

Weak August data raises risk of Eurozone’s biggest economy falling back into technical recession

www.ft.com

Ross O'Connor @oconnor.bsky.social · 5h

Not praising the bait and switch, just pointing it out. Hard truth: Canada and the US will always be each other's main defence and security partner. I'm not always thrilled about that, but it's just plain reality and we need to make the best of that.

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Ross O'Connor @oconnor.bsky.social · 6h

Contrary to stated policy, the old relationship with the US is still very much alive: Carney continues a full court press on deeper economic integration with the US on steel, aluminium and energy sectors while dropping hints that Canada will be participating in US missile defence. (All good things)

Lucian Ashworth @lucianashworth.bsky.social · Mar 28

“The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over.”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H400...

End of an era for Canada-US ties, says PM Carney

YouTube video by Guardian News

www.youtube.com

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Ross O'Connor @oconnor.bsky.social · 7h

CBS News on a Canadian Aurora get an up close look at Chinese jets intercepting them as they track North Korean ships.

www.cbsnews.com/news/china-i...

CBS News on board as Chinese jets intercept Canadian air force plane tracking North Korean ships

China sent fighter jets to intercept a Canadian air force plane tracking North Korean ships breaching U.N. sanctions.

www.cbsnews.com

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Reposted by Ross O'Connor

Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 1d

Trump’s obsession with Canada started in 2016. ⬇️

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Ross O'Connor @oconnor.bsky.social · 2d

Honestly, there were zero surprising details there. To this day Trump and NATO continue the same hypocritical arrangement: NATO countries pretend to spend more and Trump pretends that he will come to there aid in times of need.

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Ross O'Connor @oconnor.bsky.social · 3d

“For realists, to be prudent is to comprehend any problem by starting with the world as it bleakly is, rather than what we would like it to be” — Patrick Porter makes the case for realism.

thecritic.co.uk/issues/octob...

The case for realism | Patrick Porter | The Critic Magazine

Look at the wreckage, from Ukraine to Gaza. Where there is less wreckage, note the air of growing menace.

thecritic.co.uk

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Iikka Korhonen @iikkakorhonen.bsky.social · 3d

In 2024 the Biden administration signed an agreement with Canada and Finland, named the ICE Pact, to expand capacity. In August the Helsinki shipyard began work on the first ship under the scheme, an icebreaker for Canada named Polar Max.”🇫🇮🇺🇸🇨🇦
economist.com/europe/2025/...

How bad is America’s icebreaker gap with Russia?

Finland has something special that America wants

economist.com

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Ross O'Connor @oconnor.bsky.social · 3d

Of all the things we worry about, this is low on the list.

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Thomas Juneau @thomasjuneau.bsky.social · 4d

Entrevue à RDI ce soir: non, le Hamas n'a pas accepté le plan de Trump. Il dit plutôt qu'il est prêt à discuter. Le fossé entre ses demandes et celles d'Israël demeure profond (sur les otages, son désarmement, le désnegagement israélien de Gaza, etc).

ici.radio-canada.ca/info/videos/...

Le Hamas accepte de libérer les otages israéliens

Le Hamas accepte de libérer tous les otages israéliens, conformément à la proposition du président Donald Trump. Qu’est-ce que cela signifie pour la suite? Analyse avec Hugo Lavallée et entrevue avec ...

ici.radio-canada.ca

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Ross O'Connor @oconnor.bsky.social · 4d

Accepting a deal while putting forth nebulous conditions with no timelines is not accepting a deal.

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The Barents Observer @thebarentsobserver.com · 5d

Google Earth has updated its images of Novaya Zemlya, the Arctic archipelago where Russia’s nuclear weapon designers are conducting tests of their latest inventions. The Barents Observer zooms in 📡 and highlight the facilities at Pankovo test site for the Burevestnik ⚛️ ☢️ missile.

New satellite images reveal scale of Putin’s 'flying Chornobyl' test complex

Google Earth has updated its images of Novaya Zemlya, the Arctic archipelago where Russia’s nuclear weapon designers are conducting tests of their latest inventions.

www.thebarentsobserver.com

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Elisabeth Braw @elisabethbraw.bsky.social · 5d

Russia's shadow fleet is dual-use: many vessels don't just transport sanctioned oil but have other uses too (think surveillance, threatening cables).

One group knows a lot about them: Danish pilots. We should listen to them.

foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/02/r... (Me @foreignpolicy.com)

Russia’s Shadow Fleet Is Doing More Than Sanctions-Busting

In the Baltic, Russian-linked vessels are suspected of spying and sabotage.

foreignpolicy.com

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Reposted by Ross O'Connor

Olya Oliker aka Dr. Olga Oliker (she/her) @olyaoliker.bsky.social · 5d

Really important stuff from @gabrielairosa.bsky.social & CNA. Our own assumptions about what others think are bound to get things wrong. Always a good idea to go to the sources. Read the thread, then read the report!

Gabriela I. Rosa @gabrielairosa.bsky.social · 6d

In this new @CNA_org report, I analyze how authoritative figures in the Russian mil view threats in the wake of the war in Ukraine. The key insight: Traditional Russian threat perceptions haven't shifted — they've been sharpened. 1/?
www.cna.org/analyses/202...

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Ross O'Connor @oconnor.bsky.social · 6d

"Our allies are looking elsewhere": Actually, I see zero evidence that US allies and partners are actively seeking new partners. Yes, allies are extremely unhappy but they're not doing a darn thing about it yet.

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 6d

Dean: The president is unhinged

Johnson: A lot of folks on your side are too. I don’t control him

Dean: Oh my god, please. That performance in front of the generals.

Johnson: I didn’t see it.

Dean: Our allies are looking elsewhere. Our enemies are laughing.

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Ross O'Connor @oconnor.bsky.social · 7d

In September 1698, Peter the Great established a beard tax in hopes that Russia would be able to expand and become one of the most powerful countries in the eastern hemisphere.

Stars and Stripes @starsandstripes.bsky.social · 7d

"No more beardos": As part of his address Tuesday to top generals and admirals, Pete Hegseth gave the military branches 60 days to phase out shaving waivers for almost all U.S. service members.

‘No more beardos’: Hegseth gives military branches 60 days to end shaving waivers for almost all US troops

The Secretary of Defense issued the memo after lambasting a military culture that has allowed thousands of troops to have beards in the last 15 years.

www.stripes.com

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Ross O'Connor @oconnor.bsky.social · 7d

Five Men Charged in Scheme to Steal and Resell Millions of Dollars in Crude Oil from New Mexico Pipelines.

www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/f...

Five Men Charged in Scheme to Steal and Resell Millions of Dollars in Crude Oil from New Mexico Pipelines

Federal authorities have charged five men for their roles in a large-scale conspiracy to steal and sell crude oil from pipelines in New Mexico and West Texas.

www.justice.gov

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Ross O'Connor @oconnor.bsky.social · 8d

Lincoln foresaw such a moment.

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Ankit Panda @nktpnd.bsky.social · 8d

In recent days, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui met Wang Yi (PRC FM) and Li Qiang (PRC Premier) in China. Neither Chinese readout mentions "denuclearization."

Choe-Wang: www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjbzhd/2...

Choe-Li: www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xw/z...

Wang Yi Holds Talks with DPRK Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui

www.fmprc.gov.cn

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Stephen Schwartz @atomicanalyst.bsky.social · 11d

Tonight in 1991, President George H.W. Bush ordered the unilateral elimination of all land-based US nuclear weapons in Europe and South Korea, all nonstrategic naval nuclear weapons, the end of ground alert for all strategic bombers, and the immediate de-alerting of all 450 Minuteman II ICBMs.

The front page of the September 27, 1991, edition of the New York Times, with the double-deck banner headline, “U.S. TO GIVE UP SHORT-RANGE NUCLEAR ARMS; BUSH SEEKS SOVIET CUTS AND FURTHER TALKS.” Additional related headlines included, “Sees Fading Threat; President Says Decision Could Be Reversed If Moscow Won’t Act,” and “Why U.S. Was Worried.”

An unrelated headline at the top left of the front page reads, ‘Judiciary Panel Deadlocks 7-7, On Thomas Nomination to Court.”

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Ross O'Connor @oconnor.bsky.social · 12d

Trump is working really hard to sell his "Ukraine policy shift" via leaks and rumours. However, I Still haven't seen a tangible action in that direction.

MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · 12d

🇺🇸🇺🇦🚀 Zelensky privately asked Trump for Tomahawk cruise missiles during a UN sidelines meeting, and Trump is said to have been receptive, - The Telegraph

‼️ The missiles with a range up to 1,500 miles and a large warhead would allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russia.

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Theresa Hitchens @thitch.bsky.social · 12d

This is a big deal for Germany. I remember when no German politician would be willing to mention the words space and military in the same paragraph, much less the same sentence. breakingdefense.com/2025/09/germ...

German military to invest $41B in space capabilities - Breaking Defense

"Satellite networks today are an Achilles' heel of modern societies. Whoever attacks them paralyzes entire nations,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.

breakingdefense.com

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Martyn Williams @martynw.bsky.social · 12d

If you haven't been following North Korea's drone program, here's where they are and how they got there: www.38north.org/2025/09/curr...

Current Status of North Korea's Drone Program - 38 North: Informed Analysis of North Korea

North Korea is expanding its military drone program. During a visit to North Korea’s Unmanned ...

www.38north.org

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Ross O'Connor @oconnor.bsky.social · 12d

30 pieces of silver in 33 AD is roughly equivalent to $150,000 today.

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 13d

The evidence that Trump et al. used to claim that Tylenol causes autism was a paper by Harvard’s Andrea Baccarelli.

The paper did not show a causal relationship, but Dr. Baccarelli was paid $150,000 to testify against Tylenol’s manufacturer in court.

RFK Jr. says conflicts are bad tho.

Scientist behind Trump’s Tylenol claims was paid $150K to give evidence against drug maker

The Harvard academic Andrea Baccarelli gave an ‘unreliable’ testimony on the links between autism and paracetamol, and produced research that raises ‘serious concerns about bias’

www.thetimes.com

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