The current European leadership has lost the plot on Gaza, and is loosing whatever credibility it had on this new crisis.

Didn't the 40 dead Venezuelans deserve some consideration?

In Peru, when Pedro Castillo’s govt fell, the cartels that run organized crime accepted his weakened successor, Dina Boluarte, on one condition: you work for us now. Replace her for Delcy Rodríguez and add US oil barons to the mix and that’s what is happening in Venezuela

They’re going to put Big Balls and Grok in charge of Venezuela, aren’t they?

Worth reading.

Mark Kelly puts out a statement saying "The President of the United States just overthrew a foreign ruler and explained to the American people that this is about taking control of the oil reserves of a foreign nation." This is probably the strongest statement alongside Gallego's I've read.

Following firsthand what is going on in Venezuela. I have family and friends there.

lol Schumer's response is literally to say this is a distraction from grocery prices. Beyond parody man.

It doesn’t matter whether or not it will succeed in the House. They should be doing it. They should do it and they should keep doing it over and over. It’s right and necessary to clearly say “this is what should be happening and if this was a functioning rational country it would be”

“There is something paradoxical, even self-defeating, about an approach to political strategy that takes so much of our political life as fixed & preordained, & thereby minimises the significance of doing actual politics…” How to Lie with (Political) Statistics www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...

Hakeem Jeffries is mildly put-out that he wasn’t consulted. He tried to rouse himself to a sternly-worded letter, but it was just too impossibly difficult for him.

Relatedly, there are people here who know a great deal about the law of armed conflict and international law and they are using words in technical rather than colloquial sentences and whether someone’s usage is “wrong” is very context-dependent

You really don’t have to know exactly what’s going on here to know that it shouldn’t be

‘Lippmann was early to the table when it came to explaining that reality is not a choice one might make, not a thing to opt in and out of as suits your self-interest, but a bulwark against propaganda and censorship, the essential currency of a free press.’ www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Saying nothing would have been better.

My initial reaction from an IR perspective is: what was the strategic point of this?

I can't wait to see who gets the FIFA peace prize next year. Putin clearly the leading contender.

'Saying that Maduro's status a dictator provides no legal justification for Trump's actions is backdoor justification because you're pointing out that Maduro is a dictator' - is what I'm being screamed at this morning on here, in the most abusive and trollish terms. No, it doesn't. Grow up.

Maduro is a brutal and oppressive dictator of Venezuela. Trump has no legitimate legal basis for military action against Venezuela under United States or international law. Both of those facts are simultaneously true.

Here's a dangerous effort to carve out a loophole in presidential war powers big enough to drive a tank through. If such an authority existed, the president could invade anywhere, anytime, without involving Congress—just by claiming, without proof, that an attack is "imminent."

Isn’t CBS the BBC’s “partner” in the US?

Yes that is the point. Though unlike Guadeloupe or French Guyana through France the Curacao framework is one where an autonomy statute means the Dutch ABC islands do not count as EU soil

Isn't Curaçao part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cura%C3...

Anyone interested in EU defence and security might right now want to take a look at Dutch defence and security commitments to Curacao and other islands linked to the Netherlands just off the coast of Venezuela

"Inherent authority under Article II of the constitution" 😂 😂 can't wait for Ilan Wurman to turn up a letter from some 18th century warmongering milliner to justify that one on originalist grounds

Today is the precise 36th anniversary of the last time the United States used force to remove a Latin American head of state, in case you’re keeping score.

How Trump’s strikes shocked Venezuela’s capital ft.trib.al/XWAGR3l

Interesting. Who's not respecting the principles of international law and the UN Charter? Do they have a name..?

A Mad King has usurped the power of Congress—which represents the American people. That is, he has seized power that belongs to you and me collectively. He has declared war without consultation with or approval from Congress. And with no imminent threat. This is a profound betrayal of the republic.

Venezuela’s vice-president Delcy Rodríguez has said the whereabouts of President Nicolás Maduro are not known and demanded Donald Trump to provide 'proof of life'. Follow live updates: ft.trib.al/tzRgB32

Venezuela more evidence of continuity as much as change www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Marco Rubio is reportedly saying Maduro will stand trial in US courts. Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.

I feel like I haven’t even been properly lied to about the purposes of this war

If accurate, this raises the question "who is governing Venezuela right now, and tomorrow?" (The answer isn't "Delta Force" or "SEAL Team 6," that's not what they do.) While nearly every state has a presidential line of succession, that may not indicate where power actually lies in coming days.

Arg of those supporting military action in Venezuela: “it is not enough just to secure oil access through licences for US firms, only regime change would allow Venezuela’s oil sector to open up under a new government and push Russian and Chinese companies out of the country” ecfr.eu/article/maga...

The day after risks highlighted here are well worth revisiting.

(Couched in waiting for confirmation of the facts here) Presenter: “Is this legal?” Me: “No.”

Just did the Monocle on Saturday show talking about Venezuela and then just a couple of minutes later we had to interrupt the music hour because this broke…

Awaiting Bishop Bob’s tweet about traditional just war teaching following the attack on Venezuela as it is still very much Church teaching as far as I’m aware. The pope is not a big fan of recourse to war for trivial ends - I’m sure Bishop Bob is reflecting prayerfully on this…

Venezuela : de fortes explosions secouent la capitale Caracas

At least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2 a.m. local time Saturday in Venezuela's capital, Caracas.

I wish we could make every member of Congress tell us in their own words, why this is happening.

I have a piece on @bloomberg.com today about why the global collapse of the centre-right is the most important political trend of the past decade. And whether it can recover. (Gift link) eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3...

The president needs to be impeached, convicted and removed.

EN DIRECT, Caracas : la capitale du Venezuela secouée par de fortes explosions en pleine nuit

BREAKING: Hearing reports of explosions in Caracas, Venezuela. Source with family on the ground says people advising each other to shelter in place.

The reason you go scorched-earth on this is the same reason we should have gone scorched-earth on impoundment; you can't stop it from happening, but you absolutely need to stop it from becoming a normal part of politics. You have to draw a line.

Don't we, uh, actually have many surviving helmets from that area & era, so there's no need to guess about how those particular ancient artifacts looked? Much other garb & gear might be unclear, sure, but not the helmets

"Judging from his actions in other places, he has no stomach for a real war – one that goes on for more than a week. What he likes to do is what he did in Iran. Step in with a coup de grâce and take the applause. Maduro, however, is not cooperating" www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/12/the-...