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Reposted by Peter Andringa

Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 5d

@jburnmurdoch.ft.com today on how the broader slopification of social media has led to an almost 10% drop in time spent on platforms worldwide. Except in the US, where consumption of "extreme rhetoric, engagement bait and slop" has continued to rise.

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Tom Cartwright @tomcartwright.bsky.social · Aug 28

This is amongst the best reported stories about the current state of ICE Air. Must read.

Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Aug 28

ICE plans to 6x its current budget for immigrant transportation and deportations. The money offers a potential windfall for a few contractors and charter airlines — some with close ties to the Trump campaign. Yet the system is already under strain, with significant concerns for detainees' safety: 🧵

The booming business of Trump’s deportation flights

Companies are jostling for billions of dollars to fly immigrant detainees out of the US

ig.ft.com

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Aug 28

If you hit the paywall here, you can try searching the headline on Google and clicking there. Our paywall has complex logic based on the number of stories you've read and where you've clicked from... and ultimately it helps us pay for this work. (But also, we want people to read it!)

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Aug 28

ICE plans to 6x its current budget for immigrant transportation and deportations. The money offers a potential windfall for a few contractors and charter airlines — some with close ties to the Trump campaign. Yet the system is already under strain, with significant concerns for detainees' safety: 🧵

The booming business of Trump’s deportation flights

Companies are jostling for billions of dollars to fly immigrant detainees out of the US

ig.ft.com

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Aug 28

You can also read the other stories in our series, "deportation dollars."

On Folkston Georgia, the site of a new immigration processing facility, set to become the largest in the country: on.ft.com/4fVPt4F

On the growing industry of private detention centres : ig.ft.com/us-immigrati...

Inside America’s booming immigration detention industry

The enormous US deportation programme is enriching companies as detainees complain of poor treatment

ig.ft.com

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Aug 28

Many more details (and visuals) in the full story:

This reporting was a team effort with @inari-ta.bsky.social, @okr.bsky.social, Stefania Palma, and Molly Taylor.

The booming business of Trump’s deportation flights

Companies are jostling for billions of dollars to fly immigrant detainees out of the US

ig.ft.com

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Aug 28

We also spoke to a federal air marshal seconded from his usual job to work for ICE. He said staff often worked 24 to 30 hours on multi-stop flights, without much rest. He also raised concerns about evacuating chained detainees.

“If we had a water landing, God forbid, they’re all going to drown.”

A graphic showing four examples of routes taken by long, multi-stop deportation flights. They range from 16 hours to 26 hours, not including the return journey, traveling to Nairobi, Kenya; Santiago, Chile; and Buenos Aires, Argentine with 2-3 other stops between.

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Aug 28

Avelo is the only passenger airline also operating for ICE, drawing significant public criticism and boycotts.

We spoke to two former employees who raised concerns and say they were fired as a result. One flight attendant told us he feared for the safety of the chained detainees in an emergency.

A triptych with three images captured by an Avelo flight attendant on a 2022 deportation flight. The first shows a plane with purple "Avelo" text. The second shows two ICE staff counting sets of handcuffs and chains. The third shows two ICE staff escorting a chained detainee up the stairs into the plane.

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Aug 28

CSI subcontracts flight operations to charter airlines like GlobalX. In it's most recent quarterly filing, GlobalX revealed that 58% of revenue comes from ICE flights, on 11 of its 19 planes.

In an earnings call this month, its CFO said "We feel there’s demand for significantly more passengers.”

A chart titled "More than half of GlobalX's revenue now comes from ICE." It shows the company's global revenue by source, with the share of revenue from ICE gradually growing from 0% in Q1 2023 to 58% in Q2 2025, as total revenue grows from about $32mn to $61mn.

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Aug 28

The founder and CEO of ICE's main contractor, CSI Aviation, spoke at a Trump rally in 2016 and hosted one at his hangar in 2024. CSI's president (& Weh's daughter), Deborah Maestas, signed docs as a "fake elector" in 2020. Both were appointed to Trump WH advisory committees last term.

Allen Weh frowns on stage as he concedes a race for New Mexico governor in 2010.

Deborah Weh Maestas poses for a selfie with Chris Christie at the 2016 Republican National Convention.

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Aug 28

ICE plans to 6x its current budget for immigrant transportation and deportations. The money offers a potential windfall for a few contractors and charter airlines — some with close ties to the Trump campaign. Yet the system is already under strain, with significant concerns for detainees' safety: 🧵

The booming business of Trump’s deportation flights

Companies are jostling for billions of dollars to fly immigrant detainees out of the US

ig.ft.com

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Aug 21

Was about to post the same but you’ve beat me to it!

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Aug 20

I’ve been using volta.sh lately… which is still like screaming into the void, but in Rust (so at least it’s fast)

Volta - The Hassle-Free JavaScript Tool Manager

Volta: Start your engines.

volta.sh

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Aug 16

When Ollie writes about spies and puzzles, you know it’ll be a must-read. This is one to enjoy with your coffee this weekend:

Oliver Roeder @okr.bsky.social · Aug 16

jim sanborn has a secret, or, the nuance of iqlusion: on.ft.com/417RPqQ

Jim Sanborn has a secret

[FREE TO READ] The sculptor of the CIA’s ‘Kryptos’ has spent decades guarding its last secret code. What happens when he’s gone?

on.ft.com

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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · Aug 11

Stephanie 'Steve' Shirley has died aged 91. She is the subject of I think, one of the best ever FT lunches, which you can read here (registration or subscription required, will post a first 300 clicks free link in the replies):

Tech pioneer Stephanie Shirley: ‘I need to make the life that was saved worth saving’

The ‘venture philanthropist’ on her journey from child refugee to billion-dollar businesswoman — and why Britain must do more for those fleeing war today

www.ft.com

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Aug 9

Brilliant gonzo journalism by @jemima.bsky.social in today’s paper: inside the most insufferable garden party of the summer.

🎁🔗: on.ft.com/4op28kt

Sunday at the garden party for Curtis Yarvin and the new, new right

[FREE TO READ] What you learn at a gathering of neoreactionaries, Very Online rightwingers and the formerly cancelled

on.ft.com

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Dan McCrum @mccrum.bsky.social · Aug 5

FT exposes Russian cooperation with Iran in pursuit of dual-use nuclear technology.

Essential reading to understand Iranian efforts to acquire the tools, expertise and material to make and amplify the power of nuclear bombs.

Ace reporting by @miles-johnson.bsky.social and @maxseddon.bsky.social

The covert trip by Iranian nuclear experts to Russia

An Iranian delegation visited Russian scientific institutes that produce dual-use technologies — components with potential applications in nuclear weapons research

www.ft.com

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Jul 29

I'm biased, but I think the FT Edit is the best value in news: for the same price as a Substack ($5/£5), you get EIGHT stories every single day from the FT's hundreds of brilliant writers. Give it a follow and subscribe:

FT Edit @ftedit.ft.com · Jul 29

Welcome to FT Edit! When the news is overwhelming, we bring you eight stories a day, chosen by editors, offering clarity, fresh perspectives, insight and inspiration — plus some extra treats! Explore more at www.ft.com/ftedit or, if you're reading on iOS, find us on the FT app: on.ft.com/44SHfGA

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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · Jul 26

Important reporting from Gaza:

‘There is nothing to buy’: Gaza’s descent into mass starvation

Israel’s offensive and aid curbs tip enclave of 2.1mn Palestinians into famine

www.ft.com

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Jul 22

Congrats, Dhruv! What a dream team - can't wait to see what you get up to!

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Peter Andringa @peter.andringa.me · Jul 19

This is a brilliant, thoughtful interview with a truly remarkable man - a must-read.

Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · Jul 18

for this week's Lunch with the FT, I met a humanitarian hero: war doctor David Nott www.ft.com/content/e5fa...

War zone surgeon David Nott: ‘Life is all about taking calculated risks’

The doctor who’s saved countless lives through his work in Ukraine and Gaza on operating under fire, the challenges of PTSD — and his belief in God

www.ft.com

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Chris Cook @chriscook.news · Jul 16

Who built a system where someone can export a list of Taliban murder targets into excel on a computer with internet access.

Gabriel Milland @gabrielmilland.bsky.social · Jul 16

Maybe I've missed this. But "a soldier sent an email" is not going to cut it as an explanation of how this happened. I'm not saying name-and-shame. But the public are owed a proper explanation. Continuing obfuscation just compounds this.

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Sam Joiner @samjoiner.bsky.social · Jul 16

New: Inside America’s booming immigration detention industry.

The largest domestic deportation operation in US history has seen detention companies’ market value surge. But FT analysis has identified facilities housing 100s more people than they are designed to hold.

👉 ft.com/us-detention-industry

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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · Jul 15

🚨 🚨 🚨 UK govt set up a secret multibillion-pound scheme to relocate thousands of Afghans to Britain after a data leak put them at risk of murder and torture by the Taliban...

Then gagged the media with a super-injunction for almost two years

www.ft.com/content/f6b4...

UK set up secret Afghan immigration scheme after data leak and gagged media

‘Super-injunction’ lifted two years after 25,000 were placed at risk of Taliban reprisals

www.ft.com

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Sam Joiner @samjoiner.bsky.social · Jul 14

New: Inside Gaza’s 'death traps'. A US-backed scheme forces hungry Palestinians to trek kilometres for food aid. First-hand testimony, satellite imagery and verified video shed light on the dangerous journey from which many never return.

on.ft.com/4lKG6Go

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