Is it bad for the government to be shut down? Seems bad

AI could end scarcity, end humanity - or boost trend growth by 0.2 percentage points

United States of America, 2025: "One air traffic controller earns cash by hanging Christmas lights for his neighbors. Another stocks grocery store shelves for six hours before heading in for his shift. A third drives for DoorDash after clocking out." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/t...

Good from @marceldirsus.com

America is Killing Itself thehundred.substack.com/p/america-is...

Great article👇 Keep using his analogy-the US is like a giant cruise liner with a mad captain steering towards an iceberg as the crew sell the engines for parts & drill holes in the hull as half the passengers cheer them on. Size and momentum will keep it afloat and moving forward. For a short time.

America seems strong, but it’s getting weaker by the day and Donald Trump is to blame open.substack.com/pub/thehundr...

Before we accept new members, we should find a way to kick countries out of the European Union. It would just be nice to have that option, you know

Absolutely no way this goes wrong: "Aides say that far more planning has gone into striking at the Maduro government than on what it would take to govern Venezuela should the operation succeed." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/u...

The fact that we're about to see eight thousand op-eds about the meaning of Mamdani's victory for like the Norwegian Labour Party or leftists in Nepal once again demonstrates just how much soft power America still has. If a mayor got elected basically anywhere else, nobody would care

This isn't my area of expertise, but I get the impression that Europe (aside from ASML) is mostly irrelevant when it comes to AI. Is that correct?

Belgium is still blocking the use of frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine www.politico.eu/article/russ...

"Thousands who fled a key frontline city in Sudan's war as it fell to paramilitaries were targeted in killing fields around it by the group, after the military's top brass secured their own safe passage." news.sky.com/story/tens-o...

In my latest Watching China in Europe, I delve into the flawed Trump-Xi deal, Germany's "speak loudly and carry a small stick" approach with China, and the fallout for Europe from the dual crises of rare earths and Nexperia www.gmfus.org/news/watchin...

Dick Cheney, among other things, directed the single largest drawdown of nuclear weapons in US history at the end of the Cold War www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/D...

If we rely on Americans for our security, we are doomed

“Our negotiators had never seen this before in any international talks,” said one European official, who had spoken to negotiators. “People being summoned to the U.S. Embassy in London — intimidation...threats of family members losing visas.” www.politico.eu/article/us-a...

BREAKING: Dick Cheney, a driving force behind the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 who was considered by presidential historians as one of the most powerful vice presidents in US history has died at age 84, his family said in a statement reut.rs/4nyyHdN

Every now and then, I remember this quote by Donald Rumsfeld (2002):

In hindsight, does anyone actually think Brexit went well?

I wrote about the stranger-than-fiction miracles of coevolution in nature and human society—and a smarter framework to understand ourselves. (Or: what connects avocados, ants who farm fungus, karma, and our relationship with dogs?)

A lot of people really underestimate just how unpopular Trump is. The base likes him, obviously. But most Americans don't

Check out Conversations by ABC. I found out about it when I visited Australia and they have the most random selection of guests. One week it's someone bitten by a shark, the next it's a historian talking about Singapore during WWII. The hosts are great

What's your favourite podcast?

Germany is still buying Russian steel www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/s...

"Al Qaeda militants are moving closer to seizing the capital of the West African nation of Mali, which, should the city fall, would become the first country in the world run by the U.S.-designated terrorist group." www.wsj.com/world/africa...

This is deeply embarrassing

Quite the chart: As a % of GDP, American tariffs are at the highest levels in more than a century Source: @josephpolitano.bsky.social

I don't think we're ready for American election interference. If they decide to really go for it, it'll make Russian efforts look like kindergarten

Better late than never. But I would be very surprised if this happened www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

BREAKING: The Trump administration is restricting the number of refugees admitted to the U.S. to 7,500 and they will be mostly white South Africans.

I survived! Turns out doing a podcast isn't as scary as I thought it might be

🚨 I'm starting a podcast! Recording the first episode today. Upcoming topics: - Trump’s Attack on American Democracy - How Moscow Uses Mercenaries to Wage War - Why the United States got Saddam Hussein Wrong - How Western Companies Help Putin Updates soon! thehundred.substack.com/p/update-ide...

"Over 460 people were reportedly killed at a hospital in western Darfur that was taken by Sudanese paramilitary forces, the WHO chief says." apnews.com/article/suda...

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, the strongest direct hit to the island in 174 years.

"U.S. intelligence agencies say the United Arab Emirates sent increasing supplies of weapons including sophisticated Chinese drones to a major Sudanese militia this year, bolstering a group that has been accused of genocide." www.wsj.com/world/how-u-...

Another out-take from my just-released book The State and the Soldier:

I’ve seen a few now, and can confirm that statues of dictators always look ridiculous after they (inevitably) fall…

oh you like international relations? name all of them

»Turkey plans to supply military equipment to Syria, including armored cars, drones, and air-defense systems, to be deployed in northern Syria.« www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

A Bishkek court has just ruled that two of the countries most influential independent news sites Kloop and Temirov Live (both in exile abroad) are extremist organizations. This means that liking or reposting their content may be deemed a criminal act in Kyrgyzstan kloop.kg/blog/2025/10...

On that note, it would be great if you would subscribe to my newsletter. I like working on it and it's fun to see the number go up. More than 8,000 subscribers now!

Turns out rare earths aren't that rare. The rarest of them is over 100 times more common than gold. thehundred.substack.com/p/rare-earths

None of this is normal

VILNIUS, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Lithuania's Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said on Monday her country will begin to shoot down smuggler balloons crossing the border from Belarus, which have repeatedly interrupted the Baltic nation's air traffic. www.reuters.com/world/lithua...

Cameroon just had an election and to the great surprise of everyone involved, 92-year-old President Paul Biya has "won" again. He has been in power since 1982 and if he manages to survive, he can now govern until 2032 www.bbc.com/news/live/cx...

The problem with these plans is always the same: Outsiders can make life harder for the dictator, but it's very difficult to convince regime elites to defect. If senior officials stick with the regime, they might be targeted. But if they defect and the regime survives, they'll almost certainly die

"Should the naval build-up on its own fail to budge Maduro, a crescendo of steadily more invasive missile strikes – likely hitting targets on land in Venezuela – or even special force operations against senior officials or military commanders, could ensue." www.crisisgroup.org/latin-americ...

Interesting thread:

In case you missed it: This week's newsletter is about Putin's death thehundred.substack.com/p/putin-will...