Salaam, Iraqi person here. Let's not forget that the vast majority of non-Western social media users are still active users of Twitter (or X). I've posted on Iraqi consistently on this platform but I've never been successful in finding the same vibrant and dynamic Iraq tribe I used to have on X.

manipulating popular perception is literally what elon musk does... his cars still don't drive themselves and it's no coincidence that he put the cash he pulled out of that scam into the tooling to manipulate perception even more

Exactly 13 years ago Giorgia Meloni & others created Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) - see pic. Trigger was differences of opinion with Monti's technocratic gov, supported by Berlusconi's party People of Freedom, which Meloni & allies left to go their own way. But that was just the trigger.

I think it's actually quite beautiful we live at the same time as a writer and orator whose style is so distinctive, and has pushed the boundaries of the English language so far, that you hear the phrase "her undergarments, sometimes referred to as panties" and immediately know that's the President

The big difference between the European far right and Trump II is the lesson Europeans learned from 2016: that capture is far more effective than exit for a revisionist state. This is especially true for a middle or minor power, but it also applies to a great power like the US. 1/x

Funny animal videos no longer being trustworthy just fucking sucks all around. I love the wonder of animal behavior and what it says about the experience of being alive. It's because it happened in reality that it's so fun. It's not fun if it was just made up. There's no wonder there.

A solidarity movement, be definition, will never be able to lead the struggle. It's not its role. And in the absence of clear leadership, it will go all over the place. 5/

Time to start demanding proof of vaccination history from US travellers entering other countries

☣️2025 AOTY ☣️ So we begin....A top 45 countdown. Planning to drip feed five a day over the next week or so. Short album blurb summaries will be attached to the post thread. Make sure you check that out also. As is my way, expect a mixed bag spanning a broad genre cross section.

Of course you know this but something a lot of people forget is that the more militarily powerful country in negotiations will often make an offer which they believe is ostensibly reasonable but which internally they know for certain is a nonstarter because the goal is to acquire a rejection.

part of this is that the structure of American working life renders critical things like healthcare *dependent on your boss*.

: You've received a postcard from strange town, with unusual sight of creature🐐🐟📮

CJEU, border controls 🚨 MASSIVE defeat for Frontex in two judgments - the agency is liable if it assists Member States to do pushbacks etc in breach of human rights; rules of evidence are simplified for migrants curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/Jo...

seems Italy is the first country to fully commit to sending troops to Gaza as part of the "stabilization force".

Been recently reading about Thailand's Sufficiency Economy and was struck by how similar its prescriptions for moderation and self-reliance, which came from a deeply anti-communist Buddhist spiritualism, were to Nyerere's socialist Ujamaa

Blue New Mexico is turning oil revenue into social programs like a quiet little Nordic oil state. www.statista.com/statistics/7...

Bang & Olufsen Beosound 9000 6-disc CD player (1996). This CD player could be mounted vertically on a wall.

I'm not sure if people realize the murder strikes are taking place across a large region. It's quite staggering. www.newsweek.com/map-us-strik...

The thing that's so enraging about the campaign to demonize DEI in the military of all places is how it ignores the historical role played by America's 20th century war efforts in crystallizing and advancing the civil rights and women's liberation movements.

The Libyan "Coastal Security" Service has taken delivery of 4 patrol boats, built in Italy and funded by the EU. They will undoubtedly be used to terrorise migrants, who will be fired on, forced into the water and returned to imprisonment, torture and rape. (Source: Sergio Scandurra, Radio Radicale)

Since we're speaking about 2SS... I wonder, even if it was achieved, how viable would it be a state with no territorial continuity? An exclave as important as Gaza is (was) seems like a problem to me. A split seems inevitable over time (3SS?)

Great resource on a topic that is more or less impossible to understand without the aid of good maps:

Another US airstrike in Somalia happened yesterday, near Kismayo. AFRICOM released no casualty figures or other information beyond saying it "targeted" al-Shabaab. This is by my count the 87th strike or series of strikes announced by AFRICOM this year, by far the most ever in a year in Somalia.

🚨 THE BATTLE BEGINS 🚨 Your favorite year-end contest is back. It’s time to choose who will be this year’s Worst Person In Tech for 2025! Each day of this week new matchups will drop until we choose the winner on Friday. 🗳️ Cast your ballot: twsu.forms.app/worst-person...

European leaders outline their security guarantees for Ukraine: - Support for the Ukrainian army (800k troops) - Multinational force inside Ukraine - Mechanism to monitor & verify ceasefire - Legally binding assistance for future attacks (Article 5-like) - Post-war recovery assistance - EU accession

A major issue when an authoritarian regime has so totally crushed its opposition is often the only people who are able to publicly oppose it are the crazies or people willing to make a deal with the devil

Well, there’s Qatar and Chad, factions in Libya and DRC, and likely players in Kenya. Wagner is supporting both sides. The Saudis have stepped in to maintain a balance between the RSF and SAF, and others would in a pinch. There are definitely other players that are more difficult to see.

Hello friends, I recently lost my health insurance + benefits & am currently looking at a bill of over $16,000 for which I cannot pay. This would not necessarily be an issue if I were not visually impaired and currently out of full time work, but I am humbly asking for assistance now. Any bit helps.

Trying to carve out the time for another Moria painting. Meanwhile I hear noises at the back gate... Walls of Moria 48" x 48" Oil on Panel 2022 Collection of the Artist

Getting art ready for the gallery. #art #reliefprintmaking #linocut #printmaking #trees #liveoak

‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.’ #Illustration by Susan Jeffers #art

26k raised so far! Been streaming for 14 hours, gonna keep going as long as I can. Thanks everyone whose already donated in aid of Palestine, You can come hang out here: www.twitch.tv/supereyepatc... And Donate Here: tiltify.com/@supereyepat...

Israel is a normal state that should be held to account the same as any other state. For the atrocities it has committed sanctions must be placed on it. It must also pay reparations to the people of Gaza and the West Bank. If it shall not comply, it should be cut off from the world.

Apart from German autobahns, I don't think there's any country in the world with a top speed limit on general use roads above 100mph/160kph. There's no real need for mass market cars with top speeds substantially above that.

Finally, the classic Left-Right vs. pro-anti Europe plot of party positions, to confirm that at the party level the pattern still holds in 2024, with some small but significant variations across regions. You can explore the country-level relationships in the app here: dimiter.shinyapps.io/ches/

Oh wow, absolute power corrupted you absolutely? That’s so weird, I got absolute power last year and my subjects say I’ve only gotten wiser and more virtuous

Ngl it is pretty cool I can get gifts from multiple stores delivered to my partner ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET in the span of like 10 minutes navigating an app that can mediate between completely different language speakers that is pretty living in the future shit

Impunity is an enabler of criminality. And again, I suggest that we spend some time reflecting on the radicalising effect it must have on British politicians to be so deeply and directly complicit in such monstrous, racist crimes. These people have crossed a threshold into a truly dark place.

perhaps more importantly! I'm running a little pre-Christmas sale over on the newsletter - subscribe in the next 48 hours if you want 25% off, thank you

Our daily provider of the wonderful Jucika comic needs some help! And if you can't donate, go and read some strips anyway.

Quasi la metà degli incentivi fiscali per l'efficientamento energetico è andata al 5% dei contribuenti più ricchi. Il Superbonus ha favorito principalmente i proprietari benestanti del Nord Italia, amplificando le disuguaglianze territoriali e sociali.

Post your most popular art from Twitter barbie meme with my faves~

Yimbys stunned by the very obvious thing that the left has been telling them for years lol

Denmark’s military intelligence service has for the first time classified the US as a security risk, a striking shift in how one of Washington’s closest European allies assesses the transatlantic relationship.

The air campaign over Yemen wasn’t a failure of execution; it was a failure of strategy. Biden and Trump both bet on airpower to coerce the Houthis, despite decades of evidence that it can’t force political change. Tactical success, strategic futility. My latest⬇️

Amazon and Italian tax authorities have reached an agreement whereby the company will pay €511m in VAT evaded in 2019-2020. Guardia di Finanza had previously calculated a total tax evasion of €3bn. The settlement does not end the criminal case.