Just updated my post on DeepSeek - #Estonia gov't published a new report, which concluded from its own checks - "When discussing issues related to Estonia's security, DeepSeek conceals key information and inserts Chinese propaganda into its answers". underreportedchina.substack.com/p/chinas-dee...

Euronews "has recently explored opportunities in China, including sponsorship deals with the state-owned channel CGTN", Euractiv reports www.euractiv.com/new...

Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai will be sentenced at 10am on Monday following his conviction on collusion and sedition charges, according to the judiciary's court diary. In full: buff.ly/8vwfgyc

I often agree with Thorsten, but I disagree here. This reinforces efforts already underway from Russia & others, but, more importantly, it's accompanied by an assault on European legislation like the DSA, which we should take seriously. So, yes, this *may* backfire, but I wouldn't count on that.

The Chinese equivalent of "it doesn't matter what order the letters are in, as long as the first and last of each word are in the right position, you can read it just fine"

I realized how much current U.S. politics have lowered my expectations because for a second there, I was actually surprised the guy stepped down. Not something we're used to anymore in this brave new world.

Nothing too surprising here. FBI agents involved say at this point both Thiel and Musk were targets of what was perhaps the largest and most elaborate recruitment operation that Russian intelligence was running, and the most successful.

The story is not that there are two conflicting versions of what happened. The story is that the federal government is lying about what happened. There is plenty of evidence. Your job, our job, is to sift that evidence and describe what actually happened ffs.

Nice amended graph by @stoa1984 at X

This must be weird news to see if you’re one of the literally hundreds or even thousands of university administrators who preemptively censored faculty, scrubbed websites, changed the names of centers, etc.

This will almost certainly go unnoticed given the state of the world today, but tonight - last thing on EP agenda - lawmakers will debate a motion condemning Jimmy Lai's conviction Most newsy bit is the call for "Commission to initiate the suspension of HK status under the WTO"

📊Those 🇩🇪numbers are even more dramatic when looking at responses according to party preference, laying bare how much of an outlier AfD is. Excluding AfD voters, we get: 🇫🇷 93.5% trust in France 🇬🇧 89.75% trust in UK 🇺🇦 62.5% trust in Ukraine 🇺🇸 8.5% trust in USA ‼️ 🇷🇺 3% trust in Russia. Short 🧵

There will be a lot of big stories in 2026 regarding US democracy, but the biggest IMO will be the effort to reshape the electoral system

🔴Trump and Musk Welcome Russian Propaganda After Sanctioning European Disinformation Experts If there’s any question that the US is now more aligned with Russia rather than Europe, recent State Department decisions have removed all doubt bylinetimes.com/2026/01/07/t...

man what the fuck www.whitehouse.gov/j6/

Die AfD bereitet die deutsche Bevölkerung schon mal darauf vor, dass Deutschland zum russischen Großraum gehört.

I agree with this. The damage to the international order is less immediately relevant to Taiwan than some have argued. At the same time, the damage done (by this specific attack and the Trump presidency more generally) is much bigger and goes beyond giving China a convenient excuse to annex Taiwan.

Required reading for those European capitals that are still in denial. As a recent Rhodium note cited by the FT stresses, a weak renminbi, persistent deflation and excess capacity in China will erode the bite of conventional trade defence tools. New thinking is needed www.ft.com/content/079f...

X soft censored the video of Elon Musk agreeing with Thierry Breton on the DSA by declaring it "age-restricted adult content" 🙄🙄🙄

Before I sign off to enjoy a few days in peace and away from the news, a word on the recent U.S. sanctions: The "global censorship-industrial complex" is a far right fantasy. Most of the DSA is about transparency and forcing platforms to provide info about how they moderate and boost content 1/

Aus aktuellem Anlass.

My wish for 2026 is for Americans to realize they're not that special. Many other countries have gone through these types of authoritarian crackdowns before, and their experiences hold valuable lessons, but obsession with their own exceptionalism is preventing Americans from making use of them.

“Chinese analysts have interpreted the new strategy as evidence of American retreat.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/b...

I read Black Pill by @ellereeve.bsky.social this year, and this quote by White Nationalist Chris Cantwell really stuck with me: "The goal was to become the system... We want to wield the tremendous power of the United States government."

🇨🇳 How is Beijing shaping global narratives—and what role does Washington play? In their latest analysis, GMF's Mareike Ohlberg and Andy Chen explore China’s efforts to “tell its story well” and the implications for democratic discourse worldwide. 📖 Read the article: buff.ly/fiZW8OR

The US is now making coercive threats to fine random European companies in retaliation for EU digital regulations that are designed to prevent hate speech, disinformation and harm to children. www.ft.com/content/001d...

‘Once we become submissive, thinking that [accommodation] can protect us, we still get targeted in the end … [B]eing targeted has nothing to do with content actually having an issue’ madeinchinajournal.com/2025/12/12/w...

This never was a “national security trial”. It was a regime security kangaroo court. It’s purely about political control.

“🇺🇸 Americans continue to have a positive view of relations between the two countries, even with a significant decline in perceptions since last year. 🇩🇪 Germans have completely flipped their assessments of the relationship over that same period.” 🔗 www.pewresearch.org/global/2025/...

"Foreign journalists can hardly gain access to Xinjiang. But, good for me I can." With these words Guan Heng starts his documentary providing crucial evidence of mass incarcerations of muslim minorities in Xinjiang, China. He had to flee to the US. ICE arrested him. A threat to his life.

Trump is envisioning a new world order where great powers cut deals — and look the other way when needed — rather than restrain each other's ambitions www.axios.com/2025/12/12/t...

Du sagst nach einer Chinareise, Du hast mit einer ominösen Diamanten-Firma mit Chinaverbindungen gar nichts zu tun. Aber auf einer Visitenkarte bist Du als Vertriebsleiter angegeben: Jan-Wenzel Schmidt von der AfD. Text von @jmuellertoewe.bsky.social & Annika Leister

GMF wrapped the inaugural GMF–GWU Masterclass on City International Engagement, convening members of GMF’s City Directors of International Affairs Network from 15 cities across North America and Europe to deepen skills and exchange practical tools for local‑level international engagement.

According to this report, a longer internal version of the NSS exists in which the US proposes creating a “Core 5” (C5) made up of the US, China, Russia, India and Japan. It would meet regularly, as the G7 does, for summits. www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/...

Stupid and short-sighted move by the Trump Administration, but also by Nvidia. They're basically acting like the German automotive industry and are selling their future in return for better numbers in the next quarter www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

This should go on the next banner overlooking Schuman.

Can it be any clearer?

"It is long past time for Europe to realize that, when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine war and the continent’s security, it is, at best, alone. At worst, it now faces two adversaries: Russia in the east and Trump’s United States in the west."

The U.S. government is openly admitting that it intends to interfere in European elections…. to support the same guys Russia wants to win.

Es ist ein unentschuldbares Versäumnis, dass in den letzten Jahren so inflationär das Wort "Frieden" für einen Zustand der Besatzung verwendet wurde. Von einigen gewollt, natürlich. Aber häufig auch aus Gleichgültigkeit, Unwissenheit und Leichtsinn gewählt. Keiner will so eine Besatzung.

At some point in late January or early February, I realized the things that the new U.S. National Security Strategy put into words today. My intellectual response was lying down on the floor and contemplating I'm quite likely to die before my 50th birthday. That's still my response today.

Die neue US Sicherheitsstrategie spricht vieles aus, was Beobachter schon wussten. Das heutige demokratische Europa, die EU als Institution wird offen zum Gegner erklärt, und ein Regimewandel angestrebt. Die Verharmlosung dieses Dokuments wäre fatal für Europa. Die Konsequenzen sind dramatisch.

I think the media should be making a far bigger deal about this than they are. bsky.app/profile/nina...

This fetid landmark, this historical stain on humanity is primarily due to the stunningly reckless obliteration of America's foreign assistance agency earlier this year. Led by the richest man on earth. In secret, on a weekend. With zero analysis or discussion of its catastrophic impacts.

This is what government censorship actually looks like: defunding entire fields, deporting researchers, and quite effectively chilling speech that helps people understand how our information systems are being exploited and calls out powerful people and platforms for their bullshit.

The censorship lie is a major part of US foreign policy: -Rubio instructed diplomats to “lobby” against online safety regulations in EU & UK -tech companies are passing what is said in private meetings btwn CSOs & regulators to Trump admin -US lawmakers harassing foreign regulators -and now this:

I just want you all to know I'm wearing my dumpster fire earrings today

'The Trump administration had offered no warning, for instance, about its move to suspend certain weapons shipments to Ukraine. For information about American policy, Freuding has looked to the German embassy in Washington, where “there is somebody who tries to find somebody in the Pentagon.”'