This was a good read. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/m...

Global plastic production projected to double or triple according to this. Any chance we could *not* do that www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Hmm, so basically everything you say to ChatGPT will be shared with basically anyone they want to for any reason they want. openai.com/en-GB/polici...

Back to the bad old days of American Imperialism. Crazy times

You know you're getting old when not only do you not understand what the kids are into, the music they listen to or the fashions they wear, but you actively don't want to either

One effect of our age of the rich: the flattery industry is booming. Call them luxury hotel concierges, personal trainers, Trump cabinet members, Musk "loyalists", wealth managers etc, but the essential job is flatterer. Me @financialtimes.com on how the industry works on.ft.com/43SIvbR

For anyone going through a difficult period of their life right now, this interview with Anthony Hopkins is incredibly inspiring. youtu.be/1mbe4F3YBqw?...

For a decade, Russia has been seeking to divide Europe and America, to undermine NATO and weaken the transatlantic alliance. This peace plan, if accepted, will achieve that goal. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

Well, this is pretty terrifying. The Daily Mail is buying the Telegraph. One massive consolidated right-wing media empire controlled by off-shore interests at a critical moment in global politics. What could go wrong? www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...

Growing inequality drives stock market disconnect with broader economic reality... "the number of so-called "everyday millionaires" has more than quadrupled since 2000 to about 52 million people. ... The scale of wealth makes it difficult for markets to go to ground for very long."

Moscow is making great efforts in building its Runet — a closed and strictly controlled Russian internet. The Barents Observer has compiled an overview of what is happening in the Russian segment of the internet

Heinous www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

This threatened law suit is ridiculous. But very irritating that the BBC put itself in such a vulnerable position and will now have to spend so much energy and attention defending itself, www.bbc.com/news/live/cd...

Moscow's forces push south of the Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, Russian commander says reut.rs/43piAIr

“A country long defined by its own ­history of political violence, paramilitarism, and vigilantism, Ireland now faces a different kind of threat. This time, the targets are non-white immigrants and Muslims.” Brilliant reporting by @johnmooneyirl.bsky.social.

Using never-before-seen videos, rare testimonies and leaked military files, Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit exposes abuses and battlefield weaknesses in the civil war raging across Myanmar. Watch: aje.io/junta #MyanmarExposed

"Clearly echoing Erwin Rommel’s Nazi force, the Africa Corps is the Kremlin’s new expeditionary formation in Africa. ...Like Wagner before it, it is still laden with neo-Nazi and white supremacist symbology." on Russian neo-colonialism in Africa: ecfr.eu/publication/...

US blocks $22b sanctions-prompted sale of Lukoil to Gunvor, a Swiss commodity trader cofounded by Putin ally Gennady Timchenko in the 90s. Timchenko fully divested for a decade but US treasury says Gunvor still a "Putin puppet" www.ft.com/content/19e5...

"China now makes a lot more from exporting wind turbines, electric cars, solar cells and the like than drill-baby-drill America makes selling fossil fuels." | The Economist

Both The New York Times and Airwars are tracking the U.S. strikes on boats in the Carribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. 64 or 65 killed in 15 separate incidents. NYT: www.nytimes.com/interactive/... Airwars: airwars.org/conflict/u-s...

How are Drones Changing War? The Future of the Battlefield | "Drone warfare is reshaping global security by enabling low-cost, high-impact operations, for Ukraine, Russia, NATO, China, and others."

Funny that

NEW from me: Political hostility, high visa fees and (in the case of the UK) stagnant incomes are making the UK and US less attractive destinations for top international talent. That steep decline in the appeal of moving to the US after 2016 is 👀

“The ship is expected to reduce emissions versus a traditional cargo ship by up to 80 percent. The vessel has two rigid sails mounted on Solidsail rigs designed by Chantiers de l’Atlantique” maritime-executive.com/article/sail...

The Orwellian bleakness of the Russian war machine. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

A demonstration of sanctions evasion creating a fake company to issue Western insurance to dodgy Russian shadow ships passing through NATO waters. www.nrk.no/vestland/xl/...

Mass atrocities by #RSF since capture of El Fasher #Darfur #Sudan should be wake up call for the world. @eudiplomacy.bsky.social should 📢Condemn RSF crimes & their backers, including #UnitedArabEmirates ✍️Sanction RSF top leaders ⛑️Press for measures to protect civilians www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

African gerontocrats are having a bumper year. In another surprise to no one, Alassane Outtara, 83, has won a fourth term as Ivory Coast's president. I was surprised, though, by the magnitude of victory - 89.77% of the vote. It helps to disqualify your biggest opponents and clamp down on protests.

“Why are traumatized people so MISERABLE?” “Too much disappointment teaches the system that ‘wanting leads to pain,’ and so it stops responding to potential rewards. … Biologically, it’s an adaptive silencing of the very circuits that make us feel alive.” www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/an-i...

🔊A Reuters investigation uncovered a second mass grave in Syria and revealed a vast operation to move thousands of bodies across the desert to cover up atrocities by the Assad regime. Listen to the On Assignment podcast: reut.rs/4qGCGrM

Sadly, there's a lot to be said for Marina Hyde's analysis here. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

“All of a sudden, the warnings are coming from all sides.” - @katie0martin.ft.com here the market Bubble-talk breaking out everywhere www.ft.com/content/ce8b...

AI, post truth social fragmentation, nativist demagogues. Why not throw a financial meltdown into the mix? www.theguardian.com/business/202...

“The offensive has come at an enormous cost: our meta-estimate suggests over 100,000 Russian soldiers have died in the war this year.” The quiescence of Russian society in the face of the meaningless slaughter of their men is horrifying.

FTSE 100 heading for worst day since April as US regional bank worries rock markets – business live

It honestly blows my mind how this is all in plain sight on.ft.com/4hxfyrD

The world's tropical coral reefs have almost certainly crossed a point of no return as oceans warm beyond a level most can survive, a major scientific report announced on Monday ➡️ u.afp.com/SmDs

This is such a good article btw - I really buy this as a theory of contemporary US politics

In case you thought things were looking up soon... www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Detailed photos emerged of damage to the Dnipro hydroelectric power plant's machine hall and dam from a Russian missile strike on October 10.

‘Massive’ Russian attack on Ukraine capital triggers blackouts and sets high-rise alight

A piece of mine for @lowyinstitute.bsky.social on Finland's decision to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention on the banning of landmines, and how Russia's aggression is starting to unravel the international agreements around arms control, and the norms of daily behaviour in border regions.

VIDEO: Why has the 'One Piece' flag become a Gen Z protest symbol? A cartoon skull and crossbones from the cult manga series has been seen among crowds of protesting youngsters from Asia to Africa to Latin America and Europe. The emblem has become the flag of Gen Z anti-establishment demos

adulthood is like you wake up and someone is like “that will be $500”

EXCLUSIVE from the ⁦‪@washingtonpost‬⁩ Trump to attend gathering of top generals, upending last-minute plans —

"That would tear our country apart" the PM says about Farage's proposals to deport legal migrants, including those with permanent status.

Huge. Just huge. This is Eurobonds for Ukraine and it’s exactly what is needed. German leadership in Europe appears back. Credit to Merz. on.ft.com/42GQDve

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned yesterday that a "hybrid war" has started in Europe after waves of drones shut down Danish airspace this week.

F'd up and autocratic as this is, kind of fitting that Comey is shafted by Trump given he was stupid enough to hand him his original election win against Hilary in 2016. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...