“Most Americans (…) still don’t like Nazis.” Controversial take by JD Vance supporter & Viktor Orbán acolyte Rod Dreher in the ongoing GOP civil war in his recent Substack post. In fairness to Republicans, whether the party should embrace Nazism or not is a difficult question with lots of nuance. 😳

Add another €6 billion to the EU’s support for Ukraine in the below graph.

A Swedish Hopper, kinda. In Turkish setting. #art #culture #kultur

“Mother at the meyhane” now has a beautiful frame. The painting is sold but will have have to wait for its owner to return from the States. Until then, it will hang on my wall. Oil on panel, 65 x 54 cm. #art #konst #kunst

Jag pratade med Ekots Filip Kotsamboukidis om ett gryende försiktigt hopp om att fredsprocessen på Cypern skulle kunna återupptas.

reagan judges, democracy's strongest soldiers

Apropos my post about the (insane!) fact that certain European intelligence services have suddenly halted some intel sharing with the leader of the NATO alliance, CIA Director Radcliffe apparently recently traveled to Europe precisely to try to allay those concerns.+

Random fact: The Trump family have now reeked in more cash (at least $10 billion) from daddy being president than many small countries have in annual GDP. (Liechtenstein GDP was $8,29 billion in 2023). www.forbes.com/sites/danale...

So I guess assault with a deli sandwich is not a crime in DC?

I april 2023 skrev jag på @dagensnyheter.bsky.social att som "Natomedlem skulle Sverige kunna utnyttja sitt nya förtroendekapital i Ankara och sitt långvariga stöd för kurdernas rättigheter för att bidra" till en framtida fredsprocess. Nu pågår en sådan och här finns en öppning att bidra.

This fleshes out some of what I described in my recent Substack post. "According to the senior Middle East official, the proposal now being discussed would see roughly 1,000 civilians and non-combatants return first, followed by about 8,000 fighters after individual screening."+

A very interesting new @ecfr.eu report about countering Russian hybrid warfare in Africa by @willbrownecfr.bsky.social. I am glad to see that the report really underlines one of my recent pet peeves: The need to go on the offensive on cyber.+

In an ideal world, these #dronesightings would be free training for our counterdrone measures #Brusselsairport

An unknown candidate without Big Money support & who started at 1% in polls just won in the biggest city in the USA. America is experiencing severe democratic backsliding, but it is not Russia. This is why PEACEFUL protests & voting remain the most effective means of resistance.

DO YOU RECOGNIZE THAT SANDWICH???

National delegates had reported they had been threatened with PERSONAL consequences if they went against Washington. Does the EU have the tools to respond to this kind of bullying? Do EU leaders have the political will? Or will we just allow the US to threaten our representatives & their families?

Message to Dems: Zohran does what successful challengers to authoritarian leaders elsewhere have done. Like Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu & what Dutch centrist Rob Jetten did to beat his nationalist populist opponent: A relentlessly positive message & refusal to fall into the trap of polarization.+

🧵 on developments in Turkey. After the PKK recently announced that its fighters would withdraw from Turkey, the leader of the ultranationalist Nationalist Action Party (MHP) just delivered an important speech. Might we even hope for the release of both Osman Kavala & Selahattin Demirtaş...?

I don't know who's behind the YouTube channel "Canada Pressroom." It clearly has an agenda, but I'm NGL, this tickles my Swedish patriotic genes. It's also interesting as an illustration of the new geopolitical logic: Few want to buy American weapons because of Trump. youtu.be/o_UZltGcqyQ?...

Merz's visit to Ankara in brief: Disagreements on Gaza, agreements on Eurofighters, and discussions of cooperation on the repatriation of refugees and Turkish participation in Europe's SAFE mechanism.

Portland dance group offers free Latin dance lessons at ICE facility 💃🏽

“For me, the JAS-39 is the only fighter jet in the world I'd be willing to sell my soul for," said Ukrainian pilot Vadym Voroshylov 🇸🇪🫶🇺🇦

A decade ago, Turkish President Erdogan faced a court order halting construction of his planned presidential mega palace because it violated forest protection laws. His response was basically: “I dare anyone to try and stop me.” And then he kept building. That feels like where this is heading.

Excuse me? So the company the President currently owns is teaming up with a cryptocurrency company to create a prediction market, which will take bets... on things the President himself has quite a lot of control over? Gosh, I'm sure nothing bad will happen. www.ft.com/content/4855...

En ömsint text om något hemskt av Niklas Orrenius. Mohammad verkar vara en fin person. Brukade gå på promenader & sitta och teckna i parker. Nu är han rädd att röra sig utomhus. Starkt av honom att framträda med sin berättelse.+

Vad händer här? Fick just detta från en spion i Istanbul.

Honored to see my Balkan Insight op-ed 📝 cited by @jameskerlindsay.bsky.social as a ‘straightforward explanation’ (9:31) of Turkey–Serbia dynamics in his latest video 🎥. It’s encouraging to see this topic gaining wider attention beyond policy circles. youtu.be/0-t7V0EtB5k?...

I did a post. "Emerging Middle Powers and World Disorder: A Reminder that Life is Nasty, Brutish, and Short in a Hobbesian World" open.substack.com/pub/paultlev...

Democracy is overrated anyway. Democrats should just embrace fascism. I’m sure eternal MAGA rule will be better for State Senator Preston’s constituents than having to make slight compromises to defeat it.

A big deal in many ways. www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Idag fyller Dawit Isak 61 år. 24 av dessa har han suttit fängslad i Eritrea som ligger sist i Reportrar utan gränsers pressfrihetsindex.

I don't think I ever posted my latest #Istanbul painting. The motif is my mother in the evening sun at a Beyoğlu meyhane (meze restaurant). You can glimpse a golden İstiklal Street between the buildings. Oil on panel, 65x54 cm. (The painting is under offer.) #art #konst #oilpainting #kunst

I told my doctor I was really worried I might have hypochondria, but he said I was just imagining things.

I USA har högern nått till ”det är ok att äga slavar” stadiet. Här är krigsministern Kegsbreaths favoritpastor.

Some notes on the peace process in Turkey from my recent trip to Ankara. open.substack.com/pub/paultlev...

There’s plenty of time for Erdogan to weaken the CHP before the next election. In light of the many different cases against CHP mayors and politicians, and pressure on them to simply switch party or face investigations, today’s ruling means little.+

My hot take: This is certainly a victory for the CHP. If one is generous, it could also be seen as a victory for the rule of law in Turkey, but a Turkish political scientist that I spoke to recently thought that Özel’s popular rallies had made it politically difficult for the regime to convict.

Turkish markets shot up after an Ankara court threw out the CHP congress case this morning. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Idag skall domen falla i målet mot den nya ledningen för Turkiets största oppositionsparti. Blir det fallande dom (istället för ytterligare en uppskjutning) kan en förmyndare utses som ny partiledare. Strax kommenterar jag fallet i TV4.

The recent elections in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus have gone under the radar in Western media. That's a shame because they are a big deal. A center-left candidate--Tufan Erhurman--ROUNDLY defeated the hardline nationalist President, 63% to 36%.+ www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...

I have to say, from Europe, the idea that the US President has unlimited powers to just pardon anyone he pleases, including for future convictions, looks absolutely bonkers.

Stop calling them Nazis! They can do that themselves, thank you very much.

2/2 Men i samstämmiga vittnesmål från de drabbade är det tydligt att så har skett. Information om tortyr fanns dessutom i internationell media när frihetsberövade från andra länder släpptes före svenskarna. Och den israeliska ministern Ben-Gvir har själv skrutit om den hårda behandlingen i media.

Swedish flying electric boats coming to DC! The company, Candela, is located in the same building as my art studio and they have been testing their boats on the bay below our house for years.

Great article that summarizes some recent research about re-democratization: “contemporary attempts to destroy democracy usually fail in the near term, but often lead to future attempts down the line.” Shall we call it democratic back-and-forth sliding? +

"The president is running the Middle East as if it were a prosperous real estate company," one of Netanyahu's associates told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. “Let's hope this is not a real estate bubble that will blow up in our face." www.al-monitor.com/originals/20...

Jag och Leo the #sheltie var ute och målade på Hoburgen, längst ner på Gotlands södra spets, i helgen. Det var strålande vackert. Jag kommer att lägga ut lite filmer från utflykten på mitt Insta. Olja på duk 61 x 50 cm. #art #konst #dogsofsky

I USA får medlemmar av högerextrema & nyfascistiska Proud Boys federal anställning med uniform, vapen, en halv miljon i rekryteringsbonus, & nästan fri lejd att trakassera invandrare & vänsterdemonstranter. Den auktoritära utveckligen där har i vissa avseenden gått snabbare & längre än i Turkiet.

This. And this again.

Sharks on hoverboards is a GREAT punk rock band name