This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.

From his prior position: "colleagues warned superiors that the department’s accounts could be seen as promoting white-supremacist rhetoric, Nazi imagery and QAnon conspiracy theories."

Timothy Snyder rewrites a Gospel, from the POV of the world’s most powerful Christian nationalist… open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...

Thanks Carole Cadwaladr. I’m paralyzed/haunted by Epstein files: the interweaving of a vast global spiderweb of the hyper-powerful to the trafficking of girls… & the moral shock at the lack of accountability even after millions of files exposing the abuse culture. open.substack.com/pub/broligar...

☝️💯

Interesting analysis of Mark Carney’s strategic geopolitical judo in relation to the US. By diversifying trade partners, and by highlighting US volatility and unreliability, he’s sent a message to the world which has shifted the power dynamic. open.substack.com/pub/1stfutur...

This is an exceptionally well-researched and written presentation on the history and future of #ICE by Garrett Graff ( @vermontgmg.bsky.social ) to the Governor J.B. Pritzker’s “Illinois Accountability Commission”. Really freaking disturbing. Thanks for the great work Garrett!

BREAKING: The Epstein survivors are releasing this ad on this Super Bowl Sunday to send the message that they will not “move on” from the largest sex trafficking scandal in the world. #standwithsurvivors

👇👇

What divides us now is not our political views, but our ethical beliefs. #Truth

Heard the Guess Who's 'American Woman' the other day and realised it poignantly summarises how most Canadians feel toward the US right now. So great. www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uf6...

Heads are going to explode 💥 Cato Institute just nuked the lie. Immigrants have cut U.S. deficits by $14.5 TRILLION since 1994, slashing the national debt by a third. All that “immigrants are bleeding us dry” noise? Absolute bullshit. 1/3

Remember her name: Aliya Rahman Her testimony is everything and it deserves to be heard, by everyone. Decide for yourself. It’s powerful. It’s gut-wrenching. And no one should have to survive what she did. ICE MUST GO‼️

W.H.A.T. A. B.U.R.N.! The city of Minneapolis and its residents were formally nominated for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.

Bellingcat founder @eliothiggins.bsky.social and Cornell University’s @cward1e.bsky.social unpack how disinformation evolved, why trust in institutions is collapsing, and what tools we all need to stay sharp in a world of misinformation. Listen back to last week's Stage Talk: rss.com/podcasts/bel...

My first remarks since being arrested last night.

Angus: Donald Trump is furious that he was made to look like an absolute buffoon in Davos, and that the revenge was coming fast and quick. And what do you do the next day? You start raising the issue of breaking Canada apart. This is the Donbass playbook.

H/T for this mentioning this today on another site, @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social www.thenation.com/article/acti...

For anyone interested in digging through the new Epstein Files release our Discord community are going through the files at the moment Thread - discord.com/channels/709... Invite link for newbies - discord.com/invite/belli...

Frey: "In Mpls, we heard them say they'll end this siege when we hand over voter rolls. The DOJ is being used as a weapon. They're investigating me and several other local elected officials not because we've done something wrong because we speak on behalf of our constituents.

"We'll take our stand for this land & the stranger in our midst..." Powerful. Brutal. Inspirational. A loving tribute to Renée Good, Alex Pretti & the good people of Minneapolis. Plus, it name-checks all the villains: the Puppy Killer🐶, Pee-Wee German🇩🇪, the Orange Atrocity🍊💩 & above all: ICE🧊🚫 1/

Excellent analysis by Dr. Michael John-Hopkins, 'Is Trumpism Fascism?: Reflections on Leon Trotsky’s “Fascism: What It Is and How to Fight It” ' He applies Trotsky's post-mortem of Nazism to Trumpism, finding significant similarities and differences. substack.com/home/post/p-... #fascism #trumpism

Last week in Minnesota, I watched ordinary people risk their lives to protect their neighbors. In the process, they not only won a significant—though not final—victory against authoritarianism, they proved virtually every MAGA social theory wrong. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center Philip Glass Philip Glass Philip Glass Philip Glass Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center

We just published our full analysis of the ICE killing of Alex Pretti on Bellingcat www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/01...

Protesters in Los Angeles projected an anti-ICE video onto the Twin Towers, an ICE-linked detention facility where the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department actively collaborates with ICE for deportation screenings.

A video of Alex Pretti reading out the final salute of an unnamed veteran he cared for until the end of his life in the ICU, posted to Facebook by his son.

A song about bait designers and predatory algorhythms. soundcloud.com/nikbeeson/fi...

Note on the devastating murder of Renee Good, the deplorable response of the US administration, and the rise of #authoritarianism. substack.com/@nikbeeson/n...

An extraordinarily clear, and frankly frightening, elucidation of the journey of US authoritarianism over the last 50 years, and the perilous future of US democracy. Incredible read… substack.com/@nikbeeson/n...

The Trump administration is excusing murder by ICE using the same lies as those told by Maduro’s regime. These lies are part of the logic of death squads. Govt controls the story & the next murder is easier. And suddenly this is normal and people simply disappear. snyder.substack.com/p/maduro-in-...

CHILLY JACK A Song An alienated soul meets the Eumenides "Chilly Jack was a rambling man, he could never settle down, couldn’t staunch the blood from his hands, slipped off the merry-go-round..." on.soundcloud.com/ggLr4MUJPe9m... #alienation #mythology #Eumenides

Instructive, pretty depressing, article on the collapse - record label greed, streaming services paying 0.004 cents per stream (1,000,000 streams pays $3,000!), soaring touring costs, a tidal wave of custom AI and AI slop - of music creators ability to make a living. thewalrus.ca/the-death-of...

An essay about 'Xmas': a potent cocktail of Solstice, Christ's Mass, Santa Claus & ad wizards, starring Jesus, Santa, Death, Chronos & Kairos w/cameos by John Wayne, Goya, Groucho Marx, Nick Cave, Terror Management Theory & TS Eliot. Mostly a comedy, besides the terror... medium.com/@nikbeeson/t...

A new @unesco.org report points to a historic 10% decline in freedom of expression globally between 2012 and 2024. This trend is a consequence of the alarming rise in self-censorship by journalists and the attacks they face, both in real life and online.

“…there are.. alien entities that threaten... our civilization. ..undermining education... consume our time...polarize our politics... enter into our minds, reformatting them... Those entities... are algorhythms...” - Timothy Snyder on Musk’s ‘illegal aliens’ snyder.substack.com/p/enemy-alie...

This is the desert of the real. The Wachowskis called it. But like Bernie says, no one wants this. Folks are organizing in amazing ways.

Vandana Shiva on the crossroads. www.thepulse.one/p/bill-gates... "We stand at a precipice of #extinction. Will we allow our #humanity... to be extinguished by a #greed machine that does not know limits...? Or will we stop the machine and defend our humanity... and autonomy to protect #life...?"

Not sure why this isn't in the news abso-fucking-lutely everywhere: 'Colombia declares itself the first nation in the Amazon with its entire forest free from oil and mining activities.' infoamazonia.org/en/2025/11/1... #amazon #ecojustice #colombia #fossilfuels #abso-fucking-lutely

i asked chat gpt to fact check an article for me

Charlie Angus on Canada, Trump, Russia and gangster politics. open.substack.com/pub/charliea...

A profoundly moving short film, inspired by John & Yoko, proceeds to War Child. "shines a light on the tragic consequences of war... helping to tell the stories of hundreds-of-millions of children whose lives are being torn apart by conflict.” youtu.be/W68-XaFepOg?...

It also makes it harder for them to ban books.

A few thoughts from Chicago.

Ross Douthat’s fascinating interview with Paul Kingsnorth on technology, human nature and spirituality podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/i...

OPEN GROUND nikbeeson.substack.com/p/open-ground There’s an opening somewhere where everything’s tumbling crumbling disintegrating decaying shattering collapsing crashing down....

The AI bubble may be about to bust. Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock. We all need to say this very clearly: NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH! Expropriate their asses instead. They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet. They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3

Important initiative in my home town of Toronto. Join me and @toenviro.bsky.social‬ and @stand.earth‬ in calling on Toronto's leaders to make sure our city's buildings are ready to take on climate change: act.stand.earth/page/88238/d... #emissions #urban #climatechange #sustainability

Open Soledad Relaxed improv recorded while living in a small cabin in N.Ontario last winter. soundcloud.com/nikbeeson/op...