Reposted
What the capture of Nicolás Maduro means for Russia’s influence in Latin America @lseeuroppblog.bsky.social
What does Nicolás Maduro’s capture mean for Russia?
The capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela signals a sharp decline in Russia's credibility as a security partner and its long-term influence in Latin America.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
January 10, 2026 at 9:12 AM
What the capture of Nicolás Maduro means for Russia’s influence in Latin America @lseeuroppblog.bsky.social
Reposted
“The speed and thoroughness of the Saudi victory over the UAE is as stunning in its own way as was Israel's decapitation of Hezbollah last year.”
abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/the-saudi-ua...
abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/the-saudi-ua...
The Saudi-UAE Throwdown
Relations between Saudi Arabia and the UAE have over the last week erupted into an incredibly nasty and heated conflict eerily reminiscent of their joint 2017 campaign against Qatar. The most immediat...
abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io
January 9, 2026 at 1:03 AM
“The speed and thoroughness of the Saudi victory over the UAE is as stunning in its own way as was Israel's decapitation of Hezbollah last year.”
abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/the-saudi-ua...
abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/the-saudi-ua...
Reposted
Yup: "The propaganda value of the US flouting international law in such a high profile way against a Global South country may be priceless, and the action fits perfectly with how the PRC talks about the US as a hegemon: imperialist & a destabilizing force in the world." sinocism.com/p/chinas-ven...
China’s Venezuela Calculations; Real Estate Market Expectations; December Politburo and Democratic Life Meetings; Museum Scandal; 2026 Propaganda Tasks
This looks to have been a massive PRC intelligence and analytical failure. PRC special envoy Qiu Xiaoqi met with Maduro in Caracas just hours before the raid, and may have still been in country when i...
https://sinocism.com/p/chinas-venezuela-calculations-real?open=false&hide_intro_popup=true#§prc-and-venezuela
January 6, 2026 at 7:27 AM
Yup: "The propaganda value of the US flouting international law in such a high profile way against a Global South country may be priceless, and the action fits perfectly with how the PRC talks about the US as a hegemon: imperialist & a destabilizing force in the world." sinocism.com/p/chinas-ven...
Reposted
The US Interstate Highway System was not just a domestic infrastructure project but also an instrument of Cold War diplomacy, and as such had a profound influence on the development of highways across Europe and Asia. jshsr.org/index.php/pu...
Highway Infrastructure Politics: Cold War Power, Culture, and the US Interstate Highway Abroad
| International Journal of Social and Humanities Sciences Research (JSHSR)
jshsr.org
January 4, 2026 at 10:36 AM
The US Interstate Highway System was not just a domestic infrastructure project but also an instrument of Cold War diplomacy, and as such had a profound influence on the development of highways across Europe and Asia. jshsr.org/index.php/pu...
Reposted
Our paper about Russian subversive activities on Svalbard after 2014 is today published by the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE): Download, read and repost 🙌.
Hybrid threats in high latitudes: Facing Russia on Svalbard
This Hybrid CoE Paper outlines how Moscow blends information campaigns, coercive signalling at sea, symbolic gestures and surprise visits to challenge Norwegian authority while remaining below the thr...
www.hybridcoe.fi
December 10, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Our paper about Russian subversive activities on Svalbard after 2014 is today published by the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE): Download, read and repost 🙌.
Latest Norwegian polling on EU membership is 49 No, 31 Yes and 20 don't know. Support for yes has declined since March and there's no sign that younger people are more inclined to say yes. www.nrk.no/norge/eu-inn...
EU innførte jerntoll: Dette ville Norge stemt i dag
Dersom det var EU-valg i morgen, ville 49 prosent stemt nei til medlemskap. EU-skepsisen vokser blant de unge.
www.nrk.no
November 21, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Latest Norwegian polling on EU membership is 49 No, 31 Yes and 20 don't know. Support for yes has declined since March and there's no sign that younger people are more inclined to say yes. www.nrk.no/norge/eu-inn...
New National Audit Office report on the BBC World Service's savings programme since 2022 www.nao.org.uk/reports/the-...
The BBC World Service’s savings programme - NAO report
This NAO report assesses the World Service’s progress with implementing its savings programmes, and the impact on its performance.
www.nao.org.uk
November 19, 2025 at 1:42 PM
New National Audit Office report on the BBC World Service's savings programme since 2022 www.nao.org.uk/reports/the-...
Reposted
"Networks of bots - automated social media accounts - have been found to be targeting European elections including, in the last year, those in Moldova, Poland and Germany. But could their real intention be to tie up news organisations with fact-checking?"
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...
BBC World Service - The Documentary Podcast, How Russian AI targets news organisations
‘Russian Doll’ and ‘Doppelganger’: the bot networks targeting journalists
www.bbc.co.uk
November 4, 2025 at 11:51 AM
"Networks of bots - automated social media accounts - have been found to be targeting European elections including, in the last year, those in Moldova, Poland and Germany. But could their real intention be to tie up news organisations with fact-checking?"
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...
Reposted
And there it is. Trump dumps the US out of the top 10 of the Nation Brands Index, as revealed in Simon Anholt's LinkedIn post www.linkedin.com/posts/simona... #GI7100 #GI5052
October 23, 2025 at 11:08 AM
And there it is. Trump dumps the US out of the top 10 of the Nation Brands Index, as revealed in Simon Anholt's LinkedIn post www.linkedin.com/posts/simona... #GI7100 #GI5052
This is a good point. There's a basic tension within MAGA. I'm reminded that Arendt saw the essence of Nazi or Soviet totalitarianism in the superiority of the movement over the state and the refusal of the movement to be limited by the political or territorial boundaries.
One of the more fascinating aspects of Trump II is how it has coopted all the phenomena of the 2010s-era that in their emergent forms were identified as existential threats to the state: Big Tech, networked platforms, super-empowered individuals, crypto, globalized MNCs.
It's the anti-state state.
It's the anti-state state.
September 25, 2025 at 8:14 AM
This is a good point. There's a basic tension within MAGA. I'm reminded that Arendt saw the essence of Nazi or Soviet totalitarianism in the superiority of the movement over the state and the refusal of the movement to be limited by the political or territorial boundaries.
Helpful piece www.politico.eu/article/nato...
Finger on the trigger: How NATO is responding to Russia’s airspace violations
NATO is a defensive alliance, which makes it very cautious about responding with force to Russia’s provocations.
www.politico.eu
September 24, 2025 at 6:39 AM
Helpful piece www.politico.eu/article/nato...
This is all sadly plausible given what we know about the history of the body count as a metric. But the quality of this database is probably as unreliable as all the other numbers that Israeli officials have put out.
www.972mag.com/israeli-inte...
www.972mag.com/israeli-inte...
IDF database suggests 83% of Gaza dead were civilians
Classified intelligence reveals Israel killed 8,900 militants by May, indicating an almost unparalleled proportion of civilian slaughter.
www.972mag.com
August 21, 2025 at 3:30 PM
This is all sadly plausible given what we know about the history of the body count as a metric. But the quality of this database is probably as unreliable as all the other numbers that Israeli officials have put out.
www.972mag.com/israeli-inte...
www.972mag.com/israeli-inte...
As carried by the Norwegian police 😬https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIG_Sauer_P320
August 20, 2025 at 6:40 AM
As carried by the Norwegian police 😬https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIG_Sauer_P320
Part of the rise of Human Rights as a phenomenon in international politics during the 1970s is that it provides a way to a new consensus around US foreign policy. Without that consensus they are in decline.
On the State Department reports that portray Germany as more oppressive than El Salvador.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Trump Has a New Definition of Human Rights
State Department reports portray Germany as more oppressive than El Salvador.
www.theatlantic.com
August 14, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Part of the rise of Human Rights as a phenomenon in international politics during the 1970s is that it provides a way to a new consensus around US foreign policy. Without that consensus they are in decline.
After 9/11 most emergency and national security powers in the UK were consolidated under 'terrorism' legislation so every time there's a need to use some 'state' powers it has to be labelled as terrorism...1/2
It's so cool how the UK now has Russia-style laws against protest
August 10, 2025 at 8:15 AM
After 9/11 most emergency and national security powers in the UK were consolidated under 'terrorism' legislation so every time there's a need to use some 'state' powers it has to be labelled as terrorism...1/2
Reposted
This is absolute madness.
Head of NASA Sean Duffy intends to destroy a satellite that collects key data on carbon dioxide and plant health, by causing it to burn up in the atmosphere. The U.S. Dept of Agriculture and private agriculture firms use the data to forecast crop yield, drought conditions and more.
Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose
The Trump administration has asked NASA staffers to draw up plans to end at least two satellite missions that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to current and former NASA employees.
www.npr.org
August 8, 2025 at 11:15 AM
This is absolute madness.
Reposted
Mexit, not Brexit, is the new priority for the UK
Mexit, not Brexit, is the new priority for the UK
A Microsoft Exit strategy isn’t just a good idea, it’s vital. It must go a long way beyond a farewell to Redmond
Opinion One of the dangers of stories based on big cash numbers is distraction. The numbers get all the attention, the bigger story behind them gets missed.…
dlvr.it
August 8, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Mexit, not Brexit, is the new priority for the UK
Reposted
If only they had, oh I don't know, say a Radio Free Asia...
(1/2) "It would direct the State Department to create a plan for countering Chinese propaganda that denies 'the genocide, crimes against humanity, and other egregious human rights abuses experienced by Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethic groups' in Xinjiang."
www.rfa.org/english/uygh...
www.rfa.org/english/uygh...
U.S. bill targets Chinese repression of Uyghurs
The measure would boost sanctions and direct officials to counter Chinese propaganda and preserve Uyghur culture.
www.rfa.org
August 6, 2025 at 10:51 AM
If only they had, oh I don't know, say a Radio Free Asia...
Reposted
Voice of America director says Trump officials seek to fire him illegally - as VoA cases agst administration come to a head.
Meanwhile, when did @KariLake become acting CEO of its federal parent agency?
She won't say.
My NPR story:
www.npr.org/2025/08/06/n...
Meanwhile, when did @KariLake become acting CEO of its federal parent agency?
She won't say.
My NPR story:
www.npr.org/2025/08/06/n...
Voice of America director says Trump officials are illegally ousting him
A judge is demanding answers about the international broadcaster's future from Trump official Kari Lake.
www.npr.org
August 6, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Voice of America director says Trump officials seek to fire him illegally - as VoA cases agst administration come to a head.
Meanwhile, when did @KariLake become acting CEO of its federal parent agency?
She won't say.
My NPR story:
www.npr.org/2025/08/06/n...
Meanwhile, when did @KariLake become acting CEO of its federal parent agency?
She won't say.
My NPR story:
www.npr.org/2025/08/06/n...
Reposted
The meal deal needs some UNESCO intangible heritage protection. Getting a meal at an airport for £5 feels like a weird loophole
July 26, 2025 at 4:45 PM
The meal deal needs some UNESCO intangible heritage protection. Getting a meal at an airport for £5 feels like a weird loophole