Elke dag weer iets anders. Nazi's aanpakken, Russen beschermen, historisch territorium terugnemen, Navo-lidmaatschap afwenden, buurland koloniseren, borsjtsj russificeren noem maar op.

Attracting global talent is not China’s strength—the world’s best would rather join the United States. But if America abandons openness, it will squander one of its biggest advantages and decline into a second-rate power. marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolu…

This line of argument doesn't grapple with the possibility that the US might be heading towards a severe phase of domestic instability and strategic decline leading to a scenario where America can't protect anyone at all.

Budapest? Not everyone may remember this, but in 1994 Ukraine already got assurances of territorial integrity from the US, Russia and the UK. In Budapest. Maybe I’m superstitious, but this time I would try to find another place.

More datapoints for how the French might be right about relying too much on the US

I've decided to translate for you a post from the Russian Telegram channel "Nezygar" about the current state of Russian refineries and fuel market: "Tensions in Russia's fuel market are rising: in Primorye, there are kilometer-long queues at gas stations, and wholesale prices

"Solar panel imports will reduce fuel imports. The savings from avoiding diesel can repay the cost of a solar panel within six months in Nigeria, and even less in other countries." Fossil fuels are crushing costs for poor nations. Solar is cheap! Data in new Ember Report.

Het blijft bespottelijk dat we in Nederland niet in staat zijn om op korte termijn verkiezingen te organiseren. Gezien de totale chaos en verlamming in Den Haag moet je gewoon over twee weken die verkiezingen houden. En we hebben formatiewet nodig met hele scherpe deadlines.

Russian strike near EU, British Council, Baykar factory, and U.S. factory in Ukraine this week shows that Putin is sending a clear message.

Most people are still sleeping on the battery revolution. Batteries are already providing massive benefits to the grid, especially in markets with rational prices/incentives. This piece from Ben Southwood & Austin Vernon is by far the best thing I've seen explaining what's going on.

Rightists like race charts, here’s one. American conservatives in the Trump era have more in common with China, Russia, and Turkey than people belonging to Western Civilization.

Key quote: "Domestic orders have risen and are offsetting the weakening demand from abroad. The best remedy against U.S. tariffs may be to strengthen domestic demand. Many expect to produce more in 12 months." Germany edging towards stabilisation. reuters.com/world/europe/e….

• russia has no chance to defeat Ukraine • russia is a deadly threat to NATO and the EU Both of these are true... because as of 2025 Ukraine fields a far more capable military than NATO's 30 European members combined (!). Let me explain. 1/39

Russia's 🇷🇺 real size.

Europeans delude themselves if they pursue rearmament without merging part of their militaries. E.g. 🇺🇸 Space Force's 2025 budget: $39,90 billion 🇮🇹 Italy's entire military budget: $36,52 billion Europeans need to merge, merge, merge to survive the coming global arms race.

If you bother to think about it, a predictable consequence of shifting to a tariff-based tax code is to further bias the economy away from the manufacturing sector (which needs to import things to make things!) in favor of intangible software and financial services.

This really has to be the dumbest recession in American history. All because 1 geriatric man is stubbornly holding onto universally debunked 1800s economic theories.

⚡️Ukraine retook 5 times more territory than it lost near Pokrovsk in August, Syrskyi says. kyivindependent.com/ukraine-regain…

Government debt is a significant issue in the European economies, but it's only the tip of the iceberg. The real problem is the amount of unfunded committed liabilities, and this is what makes the entire difference with the United States. The enormity of unfunded liabilities is

Staggering numbers by the Lancet. Vaccinations have: - Averted 154 million deaths - For every death averted, 66 years of full health were gained on average = 10.2 billion years total - Accounted for 40% of the observed decline in global infant mortality