Putin’s allies [China and India] just swallowed new U.S.–EU sanctions without a fight. Samuel Ramani for The Telegraph: Trump sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil. Then, EU blacklisted Chinese refineries buying Russian oil and Lukoil’s UAE arm, which runs its shadow fleet. 1/

Trump’s threat of secondary sanctions on banks handling Russian oil payments scared buyers and forced Putin to delay the U.S.-Russia Budapest summit. Putin called the sanctions “unfriendly.” Medvedev called the U.S. an “adversary.” 3/

China and India’s pause shows that access to U.S. finance still beats loyalty to Moscow. Russia’s talk of a “multipolar world” looks hollow when even its biggest buyers run from dollar risk. 4/

Source: telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/2…

4/5 Ukraine targets military infrastructure and Russia’s energy sector. Russia targets everything, including civilians. Russia has 2 to 3 times more troop losses than Ukraine. But Ukraine has 20 to 50 times more civilian casualties. That says everything

Joni Askola Excellent thread, Joni Askola, as always! newsweek.com/freedom-stands…

Russia is amassing nuclear weapons and attack submarines in the Arctic Circle as it prepares for war with Nato, Norway’s defence minister has warned, the Telegraph reports. ▪️ "Russia is building up on the Kola peninsula ... where one of the largest arsenals of nuclear warheads

Hodges: War is a test of will. At some point, families or people in Russia will say no more. Reports show soldiers executed or beaten for not attacking or desertion. A 1917-like scenario could happen. It's hard to imagine that Russians are going to keep doing this endlessly. 1/

Hodges: If Ukraine fails — and that only happens if we fail — tens of thousands of trained Ukrainian troops with their equipment could be forced into the Red Army, absorbed into Russian formations. That’s another negative outcome if we allow Ukraine to fail. 3X

Source: youtu.be/y_fVUt2MWVE?si…

“Among the terabytes of evidence Smith amassed in his investigation, including a forensic copy of Trump's own phone documenting his digital activity on Jan. 6, are draft versions of his speech…showing it was hurriedly changed to target Pence directly. abcnews.go.com/Politics/youll…

They’ll call anyone who opposes them antifa, or leftist, extremist, terrorist, or whatever label they think resonates enough to excuse a martial crackdown on the opposition and the Bill of Rights. The goal is total power and they have no qualms about the use of force.

"In peacetime targeting civilians—even suspected criminals—who pose no threat of imminent violence is considered murder. In an armed conflict it is a war crime," writes Charlie Savage. Trump "is blurring a line between enforcing the law and waging a war." nytimes.com/2025/10/24/us/…

This is a mistake. Strategically, should be the inverse. New paradigms need new, fresh perspectives.

Reagan valued immigration, supported trade and despised tariffs, and promoted democracy abroad. On these three issues,Trump has the exact opposite policies.

Hitler was preoccupied with building his "Volkshalle" (People's Hall) = Ballroom. This was his top priority. The Berliners complained quietly: "We have no bacon, no fat, no eggs, but Hitler has his Reich Chancellery!" nytimes.com/1944/02/20/arc…

The 5 days immediately following the US announcement of Russia sanctions have been a flurry of Kremlin desperation. 1. Sent Dmitriev to US, hitting EVERY news show with "let's be friends" and "sanctions will have no effect". 2. Invented huge new battlefield gains that don't

"Like all of neoliberalism, the last five decades of health care debate was a deal between the right and left to have social goods distributed through increasingly powerful corporations instead of directly through the state. Progressives got something close to universal health

bloomberg.com/features/2025-… Pay now or pay a LOT more later.

Live NOW at the The Brookings Institution: brookings.edu/events/whats-u… #GENIUSact #StableCoins