"Democracy feels like it's in a rough state... we hear various explanations, like polarisation, extremism, disinformation, and loss of trust... If we're to fix these problems then we need to understand what's causing them in the first place." - skywriter.blue/@eliothiggin...

🌍 Master the Fundamentals of Financial Intelligence Turn financial data into actionable insight. In Introduction to Financial Intelligence, you’ll build the skills to analyze, interpret, and contextualize financial data to support investigations and threat assessments.

Join our special live YouTube event! On June 4, our front-line reporter Francis Farrell will go live on our YouTube channel to answer your questions about the current state of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Weaponising the Far Right: Foreign Influence in Europe Today: shekhovtsov.substack.com/p/weaponisin...

I am here in New York and woke up to the news of yet another Russian airstrike on Ukraine. The violence Russia is willing to wage on Ukraine is savage. But none of this will force Ukrainians to pressure Zelenskyy to submit to Russia’s demands. I wrote a quick note about why below. #ukrainiamview

Today, my new report on the systemic learning disorder in western military organisations - their inability to learn and adapt quickly from other people’s wars - is published by the Lowy Institute. You can read the full report at the link below. www.lowyinstitute.org/publications...

Migrants are scapegoated for policy failures in housing & health care rather than as contributing to our workforce & communities. Our inaugural North Star Dialogues for Social Change: ‘Confronting migrant injustice in the new era of immigration policy’. June 4, 12 PM PT

"Trump, a...crypto skeptic...won...industry’s lucrative backing on a promise to...turn the U.S. into 'the crypto capital of the planet'...he pardoned convicted crypto executives, neutered consumer protections, ended investigations...and disbanded the Justice Department’s crypto-enforcement team."

“Because no matter the intent or how many pro bono cases it handles, what a Big Law firm spends the overwhelming majority of its time doing is fighting to create legal precedent that will entrench the power of those who already have it.” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/o...

Join our special live YouTube event! On June 4, our front-line reporter Francis Farrell will go live on our YouTube channel to answer your questions about the current state of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

What happens when you stop taxing really rich people? They have so much money, they can't spend it all. So they buy all the assets, driving up the cost of living, creating financial insecurity for everyone else. #TaxTheRich youtube.com/shorts/uMe_j...

"In their frustration, all too many people are attracted to the theoretical benefits of authoritarianism, and they don’t have the experience or the education to understand its actual and inevitable defects."

Free weekend update just released. People surprised that the Ukrainians are taking the initiative just were not listening. For many months the Ukrainians were open on what they wanted to do (I told you in January). Listen to them not the western press. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...

Dear friends, sent out this fundraiser this morning, so touched by the quick response from you 🙏😭 you are truly wonderful. (**And I will absolutely take all the Canadian dollars as well 😂) If you can contribute for some truly amazing Ukrainians, more here: www.greatpower.us/p/quick-requ...

I need your help. I’m trying to raise $1500 by Monday to help pay some critical bills. I cannot continue my independent journalism in Ukraine and beyond without your support. Please support below. Thank you! Venmo: venmo.com/u/Terrell-St... PayPal: paypal.me/terrellstarr

The Ukrainian winter got so rough that this bookstore searched Google to help them fix heating pipes in their building when municipal services couldn’t help. Watch my video report from Kyiv about how a bookstore helped keep residents warm during the coldest winter in recent memory. #ukrainianview

Ottawa and Kyiv sign deal to manufacture reconnaissance drones on Canadian soil for Ukraine’s forces The 50-50 venture, dubbed Airlogix-Sentinel, was finalized at the CANSEC defense conference in Ottawa euromaidanpress.com/2026/05/30/o...

I sent this out and this story appears…

New post. The Pentagon is asking for a $1.5 trillion budget next year. That is madness, all the extra money will probably make the US weaker. The system now is too corrupt, mindless, and dependent on flattery to succeed. It will create a showy, deficient military. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...

War on the Rocks is seeking to hire part-time copy editors to work remotely. To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to [email protected] with “Copy Editor Application” in the subject line. We look forward to hearing from you!

Sebastian Tow was a witness to the abuse, torture and rape of international aid workers by Israeli forces. Not a single Canadian official has checked in with the Canadians who were kidnapped by Israel. Please watch and share this interview with this brave young Canadian. youtu.be/-RUHEF5GJVI?...

🧵What happens when libraries can't preserve the knowledge they collect? 📚⚠️ @Brewster.Kahle.org warns that the systems connecting libraries, readers, and cultural memory are becoming dangerously fragile. Read Preserving the Library System in VANISHING CULTURE ⤵️ archive.org/details/vani...

David won against Goliath by being cleverer, bolder, and better-armed than his enemy. What the sling was back then, drones are now. And they're made in Ukraine. Please join now to arm Ukrainian Davids with hi-tech slings, still €2.7k needed: euromaidanpress.com/lets-support...

Alberta Is Spending $5 Million to Win BC Indigenous Pipeline Support. Great investigative work here by Andrew MacLeod of @thetyee.ca thetyee.ca/News/2026/05...

1/ Right now, a bill called C-22 is moving through Parliament. It would let police pull information on who you talk to, when, and where, all without a warrant. It's at committee this week. 🧵

Hi All, just sent out this free midweek update. US decline is happening in front of us, in real time and gory color. It is mostly about the Iran War, but also contrasts China and Taiwan. While China supports Iran a weakened US leaves Taiwan twisting in the wind. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...

LNG Megaproject Funding Could Trigger Charter Challenge for Canada Infrastructure Bank www.theenergymix.com/lng-megaproj...

🇷🇺 🇺🇦 A Russian missile destroyed critical food supplies at a UN World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Dnipro, eliminating humanitarian aid intended for 130,000 people living near the front line. The strike was carried out on May 25 and was confirmed by the WFP. united24media.com/war-in-ukrai...

A single flood at one Air Force base cost $1.2 billion to repair, the same amount being cut from the climate and geological programs that help prevent it. warontherocks.com/2026/05/an-i...

We still remember the London Blitz, which lasted eight months. Ukraine has been under attack for fifty-one months. You can help defend Ukrainians from missiles and drones. u24.gov.ua/news/timothy...

Last night Russia attacked seventy-seven places in Ukraine with more than six hundred drones and missiles. You can help protect Ukrainian life by donating here. u24.gov.ua/news/timothy...

“It turns out that would-be authoritarians don’t need to staff their regimes with ideological true believers…They just need to figure out how to target their ideal labor pool: the frustrated and mediocre.” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/w...

A reminder that if you're not on Substack, my newsletter is available for free under "news", and the paid version is available under "members". Same price, no intermediary. www.insightthreatintel.com/news

#histbookchat Having learned about @adamtooze.bsky.social from his @ww2tv.bsky.social show, was chuffed that I found "The Wages of Desctuction" in a local second-hand #bookstore. - www.youtube.com/live/e_pZtzE...

There's still time left to shop our 25th Anniversary Sale! Take 50% OFF all in-stock & forthcoming Casemate Imprint titles all month long! Use code CASE-25TH at checkout to activate your offer! 💻️: https://tinyurl.com/4jf4p7yx #anniversarysale #militarybooks #militaryhistory

Ukraine’s recent counterattacks in the south were officially presented as a major success, with Kyiv claiming hundreds of square kilometers recaptured from Russian forces. But most battlefield maps barely changed. So what is really happening on the front line?

A superloser is a leader of a great power, or (onetime) superpower, whose disastrous choices lead to a crash. He possesses a combination of skills that allow for a rise to personal power and the collapse of state power. I spell out the phenomenon in this video: snyder.substack.com/p/the-era-of...

Highly recommend this Front Burner interview with @arnokopecky.bsky.social An extremely clear breakdown of all the Carney climate rollbacks. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/f...

Three decades ago, democracy looked unstoppable. Today, Russia and China are rewriting the rules. My latest book, Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America and the New Global Disorder lays out how we got here—and how the U.S. should respond. www.amazon.com/Autocrats-vs...

Work with us! We seek a Communications Specialist, Writer/Editor—a skilled communicator with expertise in research translation, editorial standards and media relations—to make complex policy accessible. Full-time | Apply by May 28 More information and how to apply: bcpolicy.ca/jobs/

New Orr Report is up www.votecope.ca/news/orr-rep...

"The war is quite predictably returning to its native harbor." Zelenskyy's words after the Moscow strike are a statement of strategy. Ukraine is now launching more drones into Russia than Russia launches into Ukraine. My assessment of the Moscow attack. mickryan.substack.com/p/returning-...

/1. Our workshop is running non-stop. 🖨️⚡ Every day we continue printing components and useful gear for our friends on the frontline.
 📷 Photos from our friends after receiving the latest batch of drop components for their drone teams. Right now we’re setting a new goal:

Hanna Arendt: "If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is... that nobody believes anything any longer." (equally relevant to Putin & Trump)

#OTD in 1973, Francis Woodley "Mike" Kendall passed away in Hong Kong at the age of 65. The Vancouver-born mining engineer was the architect of #OperationOblivion, a #WW2 secret mission to insert Chinese-Canadian special forces behind enemy lines in the #HongKong region... (1/3)

Mayor Ken Sim tries to kill Vancouver's popular gas ban. Again! Vancouver friends, Mayor Sim has to go. The man simply cannot take 'no' for an answer, and he is bound & determine to do the bidding of FortisBC. 🧵 ... www.nationalobserver.com/2026/05/15/n...

As 🇨🇦 prepares to deploy billions in public & private capital into long-term 'nation-building projects,' much of the country's policymaking discussion is centred on fossil-fuel development. That places the focus on the wrong side of the energy transition. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/05/15/o...

Migrants are scapegoated for policy failures in housing and health care rather than as contributing to our workforce & communities. Our inaugural North Star Dialogues for Social Change: ‘Confronting migrant injustice in the new era of immigration policy’. Jun 4, 12 PM PT bcpolicy.ca/events/

#OTD in 1939, Japan's defeat at Khalkhin Gol fatally discredited the Imperial Japanese Army's Hokushin-ron (Strike North) doctrine, sidelining advocates of northward expansion against the USSR in favour of the navy-backed Nanshin-ron (Strike South)... (1/2)

#AsianHeritageMonth 1/2 In May 1944, having received approval for #SOE Operation Oblivion, Mike Kendall & Hugh Legg recruited the first 13 #Force136 Chinese Canadians. Along with 2 Special Training School 103 instructors & Kendall's wife, a temporary training camp was set up on Lake Okanagan. ->