A phenomenal, kind of messy and expansive piece of cinematic art. It really captures the human spirit that is the root of community and society even in the face of repression.

New: Trump admin officials tell Zeteo that Trump is “very interested” in secret plans drawn up last year to send US Special Forces into Mexico. One official even says Trump recently asked for updates on preparations for a possible operation.

Statement from she who should have been our President.

2/3 MILITARY: The IRGC has launched large-scale "defense drills" tonight across Tehran, Shiraz, and Kermanshah. The exercises include missile launches and air defense testing as a display of regional deterrence.

3/3 PROTESTS: Day 8 of nationwide unrest. While the gov announced new cash allowances today, Supreme Leader Khamenei labeled protesters "enemy mercenaries" and warned of a crackdown. Reports indicate 20+ deaths and nearly 600 arrests since Dec 28.

oh shit tomorrow is circle back day already

Césaire evokes the “prodigious mechanization, the mechanization of man; the gigantic rape of everything intimate, undamaged, undefiled that, despoiled as we are, our human spirit has still managed to preserve” in modern life. nacla.org/boomerangs-o... Reading kingsnorth

This should exist in every city in the country.

We see this variation over time as well as across regimes. As strong authoritarian regimes decay and decline, as they typically do, their behavior typically becomes more brutal, rapacious, and unpredictable. (7/N)

Weak autocracies are far more common than strong autocracies. They are also often far more dangerous and damaging than strong autocracies. Never take hope from an autocrat’s weakness. Instead, prepare for the worst. A 🧵 based on 2 of my books: (1/N)

some identify publicly with the left because they hate oppression, others because they hate being oppressed. things will make more sense when you keep in mind that these are not the same - or even similar

Narco Rubio - the Viceroy of Venezuela

🚨 Estou denunciando a inteligência artificial "Grok" e a rede social X ao Ministério Público Federal e à Agência Nacional de Proteção de Dados. O motivo? Ambas estão gerando, e publicando abertamente, imagens eróticas de mulheres e CRIANÇAS reais, sem consentimento algum. +👇🏽

It is an on-demand revenge porn and CSAM bot. How is it still functioning and how are people not in jail.

A functional country would shut Grok down permanently. Like, immediately. Right now. Last week. Whatever. Just flip the switch. Obviously.

The amount of “this is clearly about oil” posting across all platforms as story after story comes out where the oil industry is saying that the oil isn’t worth extracting is making me feel a little insane

This is part of a bigger trend of the political valence of oil disconnecting from the actual economics of O and G. I keep telling people to do a little humorous anthropology and read the industry sub Reddit. Half the posts are joking that the industry boosters are morons or old and out of touch.

Seb Kennedy is a great gas market analyst. And he has lived and worked in Venezuela. His take on things is definitely worth your time.

It's wild that the PM of a NATO member feels compelled to put out a statement like this vis-à-vis the US government.

The idea was to recreate a kind of Spanish Main ruled by slave-owning Americans that would constitute a vast plantation economy producing tropical and subtropical goods and mineral wealth. All the people in the Golden Circle were to be expropriated and enslaved.

They have underestimated him since 2013 especially, and I don’t say this with any regard, other than he’s gamed a system of intellectuals and some pretty robust institutions, and we still treat him like just a fool rather that the potent adversary that he’s proved repeatedly he is, our mistake.

just saying: it's possible that "I'm gonna dramatically constrict my state capacity while plotting dramatic imperial expansion, and expanding my set of internal enemies while alienating most of my foreign allies" is the beginning of a world-historical masterstroke. but also possible that it isn't

good spot for this I think bsky.app/profile/brun...

leaving this here bsky.app/profile/drew...

Ppl are underestimating Trump. An illegal act can nonetheless succeed. Venezuela is an enormous prize for the House of Trump. "much more to do with royal houses ambitions over resource grabs than anything close to alliance structures that we are used to in world politics." bsky.app/profile/aben...

Nixon insisted the bombing of Cambodia was just targeting Viet Cong outposts there and not meant to undermine its government, but the bombings destabilized the Lon Nol government and paved the way for the Khmer Rouge’s killing fields and the massacre of more than a million people.

World cannot take 3 more years of this. Harm still from the Nixon, Reagan, Bush eras—Chile, Argentina, Laos, Cambodia, from Nixon—El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, etc. Reagan, Levant/Middle East-Reagan then Bushes. Rightwing complains about refugees and destabilizing effects—gets elected again!

A 2024 study found that ants best humans at tests of collective intelligence. Learn more: https://scim.ag/42nMvQJ #ScienceMagArchives

"There are more US naval assets in the Caribbean than at any time since the Cuban missile crisis" - @adamtooze.bsky.social "Washington hopes cutting off Venezuelan oil to Havana would collapse the Cuban regime." foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/03/m...

7/And this is not about political ideology in the traditional sense. Machado is quickly thrown under the bus. www.cnn.com/2026/01/03/a...

5/This is not a world marked by spheres of interest in the traditional sense because the focus is not about competing blocks. It is about extraction and dominance for the insider elite clique. www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/u...

4/This is part of a broader phenomenon that @segoddard.bsky.social and I describe as neo-royalism. It is a world order based not on national interests but those of elite cliques pledged to absolute sovereigns. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

1/As @nytimes.com reports, Venezuela/Honduras comparison shows this is not about drugs. It is about personal interests and those of the inner circle around Trump. Trump wants Venezuelan resources. Brologarchy wants to protect network city in Honduras. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/w...

This is a really tremendous piece of scholarship that clarifies our current situation in a way I haven’t seen before. Please read it.

"Maduro was plucked out of Caracas, but the more shocking news was that the White House plans to run Venezuela. Those close to Trump believe he needed “a win” to begin 2026 after several tough months" Neo-Royalism @abenewman.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/national-sec... bsky.app/profile/osbo...

Honestly this US strategy might work. Leaving aside the immorality and illegality. What are reasons to think trump deal with VZ regime might not work out? US is capable of providing security and getting a cut out of the new extractive rents bsky.app/profile/osbo...

"Words they don’t use: illegal, war, coup, international law, violation, sovereignty. This is how you normalize imperialism." -- @AssalRad @danielagabor.bsky.social x.com/AssalRad/sta...

yes. & this is where china will dominate the entire planet going forward. the regime in d.c. is so blinded by its bloodthirst & grift that it can’t see the forest for the way the entire world is going. can’t fathom that the whole world is more interested in exploiting the technologies of the future.

Don't forget folks: allowing yourself a vision of the future you'd want for our country and planet - not the one you'd settle for, not the one you fear, but the future of your dreams - isn't naive, it's a vital cognitive skill. That's how we articulate what we most value. What's worth fighting for.

“There's a global solar energy revolution happening led by China and it should have been one of the biggest stories of 2025 While the US is committing to a suicide pact with fossil fuels, the rest of the world is leapfrogging into cheap nearly limitless energy” @esqueer.net bsky.app/profile/gwag...

This Time Is Not Different (except there are even less competent people in charge, the international order is dead, and we have the foreign policy of a personalist dictatorship). goodauthority.org/news/what-ha...

The best analysis I see of this moment is from Elizabeth Saunders. Follow her for more. This article is a great introduction.

Lots of head scratching about US intervention in Venezuela but increasingly looks part of a broader Trump strategy — neo-royalism. Foreign policy driven not by national interest but those of elites. For broader context check out this piece. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

The New York Times has just confirmed that 40 civilians died in President Trump's invasion. This is the aftermath in one area

biggest technological revolution of our lifetimes and it's not AI or blockchain or cryptocurrency or metaverse.

Wanted: A global euro? A multi-polar world needs a multi-polar currency said Mark Carney the central banker in 2019. @katemac.bsky.social & I asked @shahinvallee.bsky.social to look into Europe's moves against US & China NEW: @phenomenalworld.bsky.social www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/a-g...

They did it. The beautiful bastards really did it 😭Chongqing, China.

I don’t believe any country has ever been invaded for its offshore wind turbines.

Nobody ever said the death throes of the fossil age would be pretty or peaceful