My conversation with a Russian lady after the Flag Day ceremony: “Victory will be ours!” “What is victory?” “Victory is peace.” “How to achieve peace?” “It doesn’t depend on us. I don’t know who it depends on. Just pray.” More from my conversations in the video below. Producer

In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll discuss the Kremlin’s funding of Tennessee-based media company TENET Media. TENET Media is best-known for their promotion of Russian narratives and for strong support for Donald Trump in the upcoming 2024 US elections. 1/20

Great FT story on China's use of "non-aligned 3rd countries" like Singapore, Vietnam, Hungary to skirt tariffs, controls, & scrutiny. Happy to have contributed a small bit on a Chinese mining co's attempt to covertly take over an Aussie rare earth miner ft.com/content/5583db…

Note to media. Russia recruiting Americans to destabilize/sow chaos in the U.S. is nothing new. Reminder that in the early 2010s Russia brought over evangelical leaders, NRA, far right peeps, think tank people, Sheriff Clarke, Flynn, Jill Stein, and so so many others to Moscow in

This letter was signed on February 15, 2024. Four months later, Malaysian PM Anwar rejected the notion that China’s dominance is to be feared, calling China a “true friend” (apnews.com/article/malays…)

"War does not require a high death rate to be important evolutionarily." -Luke Glowacki sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Putin knows his humor will have an effect.

“Building bridges” and “better understanding each other” in this kumbaya way is standard playbook fare of Russian and Chinese propaganda, allowing for casual both-sides-ism couched in the lexicon of progressivism. Am not surprised the arts festival bought this line.

A thread of best "HOW TO..." which will blow your mind 📌 1. How To Manage Your Emotions.

Inside Russia's plan to sway the the US election for Trump: — A 277-page indictment. unsealed this week, gives unprecedented insight into the goals, target audiences, tactics and resources the Kremlin is using. This is "Project Good Old USA" 1/11 wired.com/story/project-…

Ron DeSantis is *sending cops* to the homes of people who signed a petition to get abortion on the Florida ballot. This comes the same week that the Florida department of state requested information on 36,000 voters who signed the Amendment 4 petition h/t Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, PhD 🔨

Between 800,000 and 900,000 years ago, the population of human ancestors crashed, a 2023 Science study finds. The results suggest there were only ~1280 breeding individuals during the transition between the early and middle Pleistocene. scim.ag/8hk #ScienceMagArchives

🇨🇳#China's Ke Xue San Hao survey ship may have drawn the attention of 🇲🇾#Malaysia's navy--the KD Sundang and KD Selangor have joined the coast guard's KM Arau at Ardasier Bank. The Ke Xue San Hao has been "dark" for the past 10 hours. (sealight.live/posts/gray-zon…)

Finally Anwar has to contradict his “China is a true friend” narrative.

This Financial Times article is wrong to say that Vietnam has a free-trade agreement with the US. Vietnam has free-trade agreements with the EU, the UK, and almost all other advanced industrial countries (Japan, SK, Australia, Canada via CPTPP) except the US (Trump killed the TPP).

I previously posted this picture & noted how strange. it was to have so many of 🇨🇳#China's research & oil field support ships off of 🇻🇳#Vietnam's coast. Duan Dang provided key context: Typhoon Yagi is making landfall at Hainan Island. I'm grateful for the clarification!

World War I, which many historians think policymakers were stumbling into like "sleepwakers", was not accidental either. It was inevitable.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was Deputy Chairman of the Jusos from 1982 to 1988. He supported the Freudenberger Kreis, a Marxist wing of the Jusos' university groups, and criticized the "aggressive-imperialist NATO" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scho…)

By the same analogy, even if you have an Asian NATO, deterrence still doesn’t work.

Russia is waging a "reckless campaign of sabotage" across Europe, the heads of MI6 and the CIA have warned in their first-ever joint remarks. news.sky.com/story/mi6-and-…