Classy from Norway

Super Paul Mullin. Such respect: www.bbc.com/sport/footba...

The US is so paranoid about Chinese tech, they've forced Polestar to withdraw from the US. Polestar is the best alternative to Tesla with high quality sedans, not to mention the excellent Android integration. What an absolute mess and self-own by the government. finance.yahoo.com/markets/stoc...

The only case I can see for gas in Asia now is that governments effectively make it illegal to build renewables. That’s not a totally outlandish scenario. It’s what Trump has tried to do, with limited success, and what the likes of Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia have done more effectively.

Renewables-plus-storage is so cheap that in large parts of the world it is cheaper to build a whole new clean power plant than just pay for the fuel and maintenance for a fully-depreciated gas generator. Renewables aren’t just threatening new-build gas — they are undermining existing plants.

You can point to forecasts that this will magically change — in 2026, when clean energy is a fraction of the cost, and after the biggest-ever disruption of LNG markets — but then consider some former forecasts:

1500km charge in 6 minutes!! “The boundaries of electrochemistry are still far from being reached, and the possibilities of materials science are still far from being exhausted" - Robin Zeng, CATL founder Still think its all subsidies & copycat & no science or innovation? www.ft.com/content/1773...

I have not seen a single wargame of a Chinese invasion of Vietnam, nor of a Chinese invasion of Korea. I've seen eleventy-jillion wargames of China-Taiwan of some type.

USA! USA! We’re going to win the World Cup!!! 😎🍺⚽️🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

I really like this song. I just came across it, I'm late to the party: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRbP...

I'm going to the USA-Paraguay game. We're gonna win the world cup! USA! USA! 🇺🇸 ⚽ 🦅 (Caw! Caw!)

This is a really interesting article -- gift giving and authority in IR: academic.oup.com/cjip/article...

for reference and comparison: conservatively, the United States spent two-thirds of that figure in the *first week* of the war on Iran. it's genuinely difficult to overstate how many world-historical own goals US politics has accumulated over the past few decades

"The Rise and Fall of the Confucian Long Peace: A New Dataset for Analyzing Regional Conflict Management in East Asia" - very interesting article, including Ryukyu as a state (the right call, IMO): journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Speaking of which, a few years ago I was in a debate about whether the US should or will contain China. My answer then, as it is now? "No." At least I'm consistent! Check it out! www.youtube.com/watch?v=wafC...

I can save you a lot of money: No. www.chathamhouse.org/events/all/m...

You all really should read Pope Leo's encyclical. (I'm not even Catholic!) www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

@vanjackson.bsky.social This is a great post, I agree with almost all of it: www.un-diplomatic.com/p/of-root-ca... The problem, as Van knows better than me, is that the unquestioned view in the DC Blob is that our motives are pure as the driven snow. We're the good guys - We're not the problem!

Pope Leo's encyclical on AI is really, really good: www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

This is a book I will read soon -- so understudied but so important: "Witness to Korea, 1945-47" asianreviewofbooks.com/witness-to-k...

Colbert guest hosted a public access TV show in Monroe, Michigan a day after the Late Show ended. Guest star: Jeff Daniels Special appearance by: Eminem Musical director: Jack White Genius. youtu.be/jJTXB5uT_C4?...

1. London Underground station flooding has reportedly been reduced by around 90% thanks to a group of engineers: beavers. After conservationists reintroduced a family of beavers into a nearby city park, the animals built dams and restored wetlands that now absorb and slow floodwater naturally.

The world’s largest sand battery got through Finland’s harshest winter in years. 2,000 tonnes of sand, heated to 500-600°C by cheap power, feeding district heating in Pornainen. And it worked. Result from one install: oil down 100%, emissions down 70%. Industrial process heat is the real prize.

I was on the Always at War podcast last week, talking about how we ended up in a world in which Biden alums and establishment liberals are tearing out their hair at the terrifying possibility that Trump might engage in diplomacy with China. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A43...

Given all the talk about Thucydides...Xinru Ma and I ask what might the lessons of East Asian history be? We find domestic risks and constraints on great powers, not their relative rise and decline in international competition. Makes a great graduation present! cup.columbia.edu/book/beyond-...

Before the big summit, just reupping this...I think it holds up quite well... www.jstor.org/stable/41376...

Teaser alert: We will be responding to four (4!) letters to IS about our article from last year: "What Does China Want?" Jackie, @zenobiachan.bsky.social, and I are looking forward to furthering scholarship about the sources and intentions of Chinese foreign policy. direct.mit.edu/isec/article...

Just when I think I can't adore this badass any more than I did....

오늘도 평화로운 한국의 인터넷 세상. 촬영 장소는 부산의 서면이라고 합니다.

I have often said NK is not a problem to be solved; it's a real country with real people (whether we like it or not)...This is a good article from 2021 that was ahead of its time: thediplomat.com/2021/10/time...

Last summer, Noelle Troutman and I argued that there was a lost opportunity in Hanoi. Decades of sanctions have not brought North Korea to its knees and it appears stable. North Korea is not a problem to be solved -- it is a country we have to deal with. online.ucpress.edu/as/article-a...

Steph Haggard and I edited a book about events from 20th century East Asia that are often overlooked. We decenter the Cold War in Asia away from Western perspectives and examine how countries in the region viewed the world themselves. Check it out! www.cambridge.org/core/books/e...

Did I read that China intervened in this negotiation?

the ISEAS annual poll is out. Predictably (?) now 52% of SEA elites would choose China over the US if forced to choose....yes it's up from 2025...but that China is anywhere near the US shows how badly our leadership has let the US down in Asia. www.iseas.edu.sg/wp-content/u...

I am one of the people in this very insightful video about how Asian countries are adapting to a new US approach to the world, especially in the wake of the Iran-US war. Thanks to CNA for having me! www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlZW...

London, San Francisco and Beijing are among 19 global cities that have achieved ‘remarkable reductions’ in air pollution, slashing pollutant levels by more than 20% since 2010…”interventions such as cycle lanes, electric cars and restrictions on polluting vehicles helped to drive the improvements.”

Interesting discusion @zenobiachan.bsky.social and Jackie Wong, invited by Joeri Schasfoort of the Money and Macro podcast. We talk China, the economy, Iran, and many other issues -- enjoy! www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaxC...

Thanks to Jeff Schechtman for inviting me on his podcast! We talk about why China is under-reacting to the US-Iran war. I also engage in massive speculation about what Xi might be thinking, regional politics in East Asia, and the PLA. Enjoy! whowhatwhy.org/podcast/we-c...

I did a podcast a few months ago with Jeff Schechtman about the exaggerated China threat and why it's counterproductive. Check it out! whowhatwhy.org/podcast/we-a...

This is a really important thread. I didn't know most of this.

Great new article from Professor Kyuri Park, on joint military exercises in East Asia. My short summary? China is doing way more JMEs, even with US allies, than we realize. The region continues to move in ways not expected by conventional DC wisdom. academic.oup.com/jpr/advance-...

"Four interviews and this is how I find out they went internal?" :) Kim Jong-Un Selects Teen Daughter As North Korea’s Next Leader — theonion.com/kim-jong-un-...

혹시 이것땜에 북한에서 유튜브를 공격했다고 해도 놀라지 않겠다. youtu.be/08JIC5O2qLU?...

This is an A+ troll. (I guess LA could have a reciprocal “don’t be a GIANT ass” campaign.)

Such a novelty, electing Guy Who Actually Enjoys Doing Job of Mayor as mayor

"For anyone invested in U.S.-China relations, East Asian history, or global stability more broadly, this book constitutes indispensable reading." @messingschlager.bsky.social reviews Xinru Ma and @daveckang.bsky.social's @columbiaup.bsky.social book, "Beyond Power Transitions." buff.ly/XKlCDnP