“Nerve gas” and “nerve agent” are not broad generic terms and they’re simply not applicable at all to smoke grenades, tear gas, or pepper spray

Somehow I don't think a referendum on monarchy is not exactly what Iran needs if they manage to overthrow the current regime..

It reminds me a bit of Brexit: we now spend so much time and effort solving a problem that is unnecessary and self-made - while there is an actual war going on on our continent. My thoughts on the Greenland discussion 👇 Full interview www.welt.de/videos/video...

Three Greek warships, particularly impressive Background - ancient trireme Olympias (replica, obviously) Middle ground - Kimon class frigate (brand new) Foreground - Pisa class armoured cruiser Georgios Averof (launched 1910, museum ship)

Not that I think they would be cheap but that estimate may be a little high. Hard to see what is in there that would double the cost over an aircraft carrier It could be that expensive if you are uncompromising on the performance of the new weapons to be developed. But that seems unlikely in the end

In this context it is also worth noting that the quorum for both houses is 50%+1, wherever they may meet. If the Republicans and Trump's goons occupy the Capitol and refuse to seat a newly elected Democratic congress, they can just meet *literally anywhere,* meete quorum and be Congress.

Two prototypes of the Heavy Tank T32 were finished #OTD in 1946. This tank was developed to fight German heavy tanks, but the Second World War ended long before it was finished. #tanks #history

"Papers, please." If it worked for Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, why not for Trump? 

OK. Green smoke. Coloured smoke grenades have existed for decades. They are for signalling purposes. They are not meant for riot control purposes. As with any smoke, they are irritating, but they are not meant for that purpose, so use as "riot control" agents is an off-label usage.

While I can see intervention in Iran as being quite reasonable under "responsibility to protect" I have no faith that the Trump admin will do that in an appropriate way. I see no diplomacy or coalition building just random threats. If that would be done properly using force may not even be needed.

"This does mark the end of the Western alliance." Bronwen Maddox on the impact of Donald Trump's economic approach and foreign policy on the transatlantic alliance. Watch in full➡️ bit.ly/4pHKSpH

Greenland. My latest in @thebulwark.com

Intressant men att skippa ERTMS är knappast realistiskt däremot bör man titta på reservförfarande, enstaka optiska signaler för att möjliggöra det samt system M. Man kan utbilda tågklarerare som civilförsvarspliktiga pss kraftledningsreparatörer. Deras repövningar.. jarnvagar.nu/forsvaret-kr...

This all sounds great of course. And is just what the #north needs. Bravo to all #mayors in pulling #Treasury to a commitment (though ideally should not be necessary). Just worry we are in a period of long term announcements over things that later get cancelled. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

I remember a time when this headline would have been in The Onion, not Financial Times

The similarities between the US government and the Iranian mullahs is striking: using a perverted religious ideology as a shield, they impoverish their country for their own grift by —and when threatened with protest they hire thugs to terrorize their people. #MullahDonnie

Trials of the 107 mm M-75 gun finished #OTD in 1942. This weapon was the most powerful anti-tank gun in the Soviet arsenal, but the Germans had no tanks that would justify fielding such a large and heavy weapon with short barrel life. #tanks #artillery #history #WW2 #WWII

Let’s talk about abolishing ICE. Very few people who say “abolish ICE” mean “abandon all immigration enforcement.” Rather, they mean “the structure of immigration enforcement is irretrievably broken and needs to be reorganized, just like we did 23 years ago when we created ICE.” /1

Still astonishing that a NATO ally should have to resort to these measures. "exercise activities in 2026 could include guarding critical infra, providing assistance to local authorities...receiving allied troops, deploying fighter[s] in and around Greenland & naval ops" www.fmn.dk/en/news/2025...

Which economy is more productive - Germany or the US? It seems the answer would be clear, but it's not. The mood in Germany is so deeply negative, even aggressively pessimistic, that I thought we had fallen behind by a lot. But here are the facts - they surprised me as well:

Just 5 extra minutes per day of walking at an average speed is linked to a 10% reduction in deaths, from a meta-analysis of 135,000 participants in 7 cohorts (Norway, Sweden, and the US) New @thelancet.com thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Rarely have I been so in agreement with every word in a newspaper editorial as with Helsingin Sanomat's take on Trump and Greenland. I understand the need to thread somewhat carefully in international relations, but our national interests are found in supporting Denmark if Trump forces the issue.

It's time to address the most requested subject in the comments to every one of my Panzer '46 videos. What did the British manage to achieve by the end of the Second World War to put up against the latest German tanks? #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII youtu.be/GUYXjuwPJl0

“Against the background of the distractions created by the Trump administration, it is easy for some to forget that 100s of thousands of troops man the frontline in Ukraine, defending their homeland and Europe from the new age barbarian monster from Moscow.” mickryan.substack.com/p/the-oreshn...

How, again, are Dems supposed to negotiate with the Rs on the 2026 fiscal year budget (already 3.5 months late) if Trump has no intention of honoring the deals negotiated and laws passed?

A little known side discussion is that there is now in polls also a majority for rejoining the EU in Greenland. That question certainly takes on a new dynamism in the current situation as well.

The Americans made no secret of the shortcomings of their own tanks. As shipments of Shermans to the USSR picked up, a memo was sent to the Soviet tank directorate #OTD in 1944 listing the most common defects encountered with the latest variant of the M4A2. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

I would strongly advocate that Democrats recognize that they could weaken Trump more effectively by holding impeachment hearings on some of his most out-of-control and vulnerable appointees.

Sweden and Finland have jointly urged the EU to adopt a robust 20th sanctions package against Russia, calling for measures to deepen pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. The proposed priorities include a full ban on maritime services for ships carrying Russian oil, gas and coal from EU firms.

Så här kan man också hålla liv i vagnslast. Verkar vara en rätt bra lösning, som rikstrafiken men för gods.

“So, no longer speak about “aiding” Ukraine. The Ukrainians are aiding Europeans and Americans by fighting for their survival. We owe them our gratitude, not the other way around.” By @phillipspobrien.bsky.social phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/weekend-up...

When you lose Thom Tillis…

With a touch of side-eye for good measure, it’s another ‘elephant done by a medieval artist that had never seen one’ - 15th century, Saint-Omer (Pas de Calais), Bibliothèque municipale, 236, f. 49r

3 min silent video of snow clearing in southern Sweden 60 years ago. youtu.be/mai-MSyBB3o?...

When the Swedish MoD a few months ago asked a room full of military thinkers (uniformed and civilian) how Swedish rearmament could be sped up, a strong message was the message "Take risks and focus on the goal" needs to be backed up by actions.

The Special Vehicle Design Committee began working on a tank that would come to be known as the TOG 1 #OTD in 1940. The TOG 1 was rejected by the army, but it was still built to test the electric transmission concept. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

Reposting this, because it really is a great paper explaining clearly why #nuclear weapons are much more credible deterrent than alternatives.

EU-Mercosur deal heralds real but far-off gains for the European industrial sector

#OTD in 1922 Sweden allocated a large sum to the creation of a tank force. For the sake of urgency, the Swedes bought LK-II tank parts built in Germany that the Germans could no longer use themselves and assembled them in Sweden. The resulting tank was called Pansarvagn fm/22. #tanks #history

It’s one thing to choose not to participate in the International Criminal Court. It’s entirely another for the U.S. to punish its judges like they are criminals.

Badenoch is fascinating. So busy fighting culture wars online that she considers the very real potential for the break-up of the military alliance on which the UK relies for security to be a fringe issue.

#RhB🇨🇭#Chur, one morning in August 1999: these are two of the narrow gauge tracks of the station. The train on the left is for Disentis, hauled by a Rhaetische Bahn Class Ge 4/4 II electric from 1973. The one on the right, behind a Ge 4/4 III, built in 1994, is for St. Moritz, via the Albula line.

Update: Iran has now been offline for 48 hours, as telemetry shows the nationwide internet blackout remains firmly in place. Meanwhile, regime leaders have continued to post their version of events online while their kill-switch silences the voices of 90 million Iranians.-NetBlocks

In, still unlikely event, that Trump would move against Greenland militarily. There will in the shadow of that confrontation likely be a window where China could move on Taiwan without much of a response. I am sure this hasn't escaped the Chinese..

Diesel hydraulic locomotive built by ASJ in 1954, as one of two for Stockholm-Roslagens Järnvägar. Photographed at Marielund on preserved Swedish railway Upsala–Lenna Jernväg. 891 mm gauge, 22 tons, max 55 km/h, 150kW Scania-Vabis D815 and pneumatically controlled gear box. >>

Ingenting i flygvapnets ledning och genomförande av den dagliga flygtjänsten, flygutbildningen eller förmågebyggandet skiljer sig från hur det såg ut innan 2022.

Full speed #train #winter #sweden

It is certainly an interesting time to be a politically interested European today. I dreamt up a scenario 4y ago where Eastern Europe would be put at risk of Russian aggression if the US and some western European nations would turn inward. I never wrote about since it seemed fanciful..