At the Reflecting Pool:

It is truly remarkable how Trump has allowed the US to be rolled.

This captures something essential about the UK.

The “deal” didn’t last very long.

Zhuangzi writing headlines. www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

Wait. It’s also 14 points? Jesus on a bike. bsky.app/profile/prof...

What’s left? The Economics department will remain as an AI hedge fund consultancy?

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

This is not a “debate.” It is a political rally in the comfortable confines of the Oxford Union. The lads there are looking at stir up trouble and take no responsibility for the consequences of their actions. www.oxford.gov.uk/news/article...

“yes I said yes I will Yes” Happy Bloomsday!

Spanish complacency falls to Cape Verdean determination. #worldcup

Re: Sohrab Ahmari and his “diversity stress” bullshit. Without mass migration he literally would not be who he has become, for good and ill.

I ❤️ NY

Sure. And Christian missionaries foresaw a grand Confucian-Christian synthesis. How’d that work out?

Sounds about right

Going to just pick one part here to take up which is the Rousseauian notion that agriculture leads to land ownership which leads to warfare. If that were true, we'd expect non-agricultural societies (hunter gatherers especially) to be relatively peaceful. Instead, they're hyper-militarized. 1/

Makes things easier for direct control by Beijing.

Please submit all syllabi and research plans to the Party Committee for approval.

But notice that Michael cannot bring himself to mention the Yankees when referencing key New York sports legends.

We will force you to be free.

this is one of the slogans on the square I think often: "let's see who lives longer" even when all other hopes are exhausted, this is the last hope. individuals are fragile and temporary. the demand for justice and freedom will outlive us all. #June4th

List 5 famous people you’ve met but one must be a lie: 1. Al Gore 2. Jim Bouton 3. Stephen Soundheim 4. Bill Bradley 5. Barak Obama

What was and what could have been.

This is so 1970.

Summer Eights, Oxford.

Slow clap from accelerationists of all stripes.

JRR FTW!

Just a random Dionysus statue at Rousham House. Have a great day!🍷

Seems pretty clear Trump is willing to take the L, and a very big L it is, in Iran because markets are offering an insider trading bonanza, which he and his minions will certainly exploit, and he is anxious to get onto the next tough guy fantasy in Cuba. There is no strategy, just corruption.

This could be significant but still seems something short of complete abolition of 户口. www.scmp.com/news/article...

Xi sees this, too.

The start of a serious sellout of Taiwan?

www.maptap.gg May 21 99🎯 95🏅 91🎉 77😑 97🔥 Final score: 898

Interesting. I suspect others will follow suit.

The selectorate that keeps Trump in power is fairly small: top administration officials and key Republican leaders. He’ll continue to take care of them before he lets it trickle down.

The problem is not whether Xi would negotiate over Taiwan (unlikely), it is that Trump is saying out loud that he perceives changing US Taiwan policy to be a bargaining chip. His clarity here is exactly what both politicians and civil society in Taiwan did not want to hear.

Was anything accomplished by the junket to China? Some vague promises to buy more soybeans which can be rescinded at any time and used as leverage going forward? And Trump tacitly accepting Xi’s threat on Taiwan.

The plot thickens

Seems that Xi warned Trump not to mention Taiwan and Trump has complied. Which is a good outcome for Taiwan given the alternatives.

But we cannot be complacent. We must close the moo goo gai pan gap!

Waiting for wave of mangled Sunzi quotes in 5…4…3….

Maybe they’re just scouting for a hotel location in Beijing.🤷‍♂️

A delegation from afar comes to pay respects to the Supreme Leader.

I’m thinking the worst likely outcome for Taiwan of Trump trip to PRC is Xi getting a statement that the US opposes Taiwan independence. Trump is too mentally damaged to be able to grasp the implications; to him it will seem cheap talk. Arms sales are more tangible and more likely to remain. 1/

Tajikistan FTW

A bad sign that Trump preps his China trip by throwing Jimmy Lai under the bus. What else will he give Xi?

Trump starts war with Iran that gives China leverage (scale back support for Iran?). Trump demands China do the thing it has leverage over (scale back support for Iran). What will China ask for in exchange for using the leverage Trump has given it? Trump literally giving away US foreign policy.

Stares in 2011 Lib Dem