Anne Applebaum

"We’re witnessing the self-sabotage of the United States"

from @davidfrum.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

At Least Now We Know the Truth

It’s ugly, but necessary to face.

The Norwegian Nobel Prize committee has been forced to make a statement, declaring that the prize cannot be transferred.
It's hard even to comprehend how stupid this has become

People are often surprised when I tell them this: both Twitter and Facebook/insta/threads are now specifically engineered to downgrade, hide, suppress real journalism. If this platform is different, that's a huge change

I ran an experiment, simultaneously posting articles on Bluesky and X, and then testing to see how many people actually clicked and read them. The numbers on Bluesky are higher, both because the X algorithm downranks journalism, and because Bluesky attracts readers, not just shitposters.

The Prime Minister of Belgium speaks:

The @financialtimes.com is not mincing words

"America’s astonishing act of self-harm"
on.ft.com/3YjtOLV

If the head of US intelligence isn't able to say who won the election in 2020, then maybe he shouldn't be head of US intelligence.

Preparing mass layoffs of civil servants in order to replace them with loyalists is another move from the authoritarian playbook

www.politico.com/news/2025/01...

Every book published in the United States is sent to the Library of Congress. Also, if you are under 16 you cannot use the reading room or order books.

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social

Reporter: The president fired the Librarian of Congress. Why?  Leavitt: There were quite concerning things she had done at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI and putting inappropriate books in the library for children.

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The war will end when Russia stops fighting. Therefore, pressure has to be put on Russia, so that they stop believing that they will win. Why is that so hard to understand?

This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

Trump Has a Recipe for War and Corruption, Not Peace

Who would benefit from the White House’s 28-point proposal for Ukraine?

We now have a full-blown European-American crisis, and for no reason that the president is able to articulate

A retired British primary school administrator with a British passport and a valid visa was shackled, chained and detained for six weeks by ICE

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

‘Don’t go to the US – not with Trump in charge’: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks

Karen Newton was in America on the trip of a lifetime when she was shackled, transported and held for weeks on end. With tourism to the US under increasing strain, she says, ‘If it can happen to me, i...

If the IRS deprives Harvard of its tax-exempt status, that's very bad for Harvard but it's also a catastrophe for the IRS. Instead of a neutral agency that enforces tax law, it will become a tool of partisan warfare. It may never recover.

"Continued access to any payment systems by DOGE members, even ‘read only,’ likely poses the single greatest insider threat risk the Bureau of the Fiscal Service has ever faced.”
From a Treasury threat intelligence dept email www.wired.com/story/treasu...

A US Treasury Threat Intelligence Analysis Designates DOGE Staff as ‘Insider Threat’

An internal email reviewed by WIRED calls DOGE staff's access to federal payments systems “the single biggest insider threat risk the Bureau of the Fiscal Service has ever faced.”

Meanwhile, South Korea has successfully impeached their president
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/04...

Jubilation in South Korea After President Who Declared Martial Law Is Ousted

Reminder that Putin has never said he wants a trilateral meeting, had never said he would respect Ukrainian sovereignty, and has never said he wants to end the war. Not to be a downer, but the discussion of security guarantees is premature.

Trump does not think strategically, historically, geographically, or even rationally. He does not connect actions he takes on one day to events that occur weeks later. Allied leaders know that if they help him in the Gulf, he won't be grateful, or even remember
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Everyone but Trump Understands What He’s Done

Allied leaders know that any positive gesture they make will count for nothing.

And there it is: Doors are open for kleptocracy in America

If you ever wondered how the KGB manipulated foreigners and got them to repeat Soviet propaganda, spend some time listening to Steve Witkoff talk about his wonderful conversations with Vladimir Putin.

Looks like people showed up in DC

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In any other administration of the past 80 years, the defense secretary and the national security advisor would, following an equivalent scandal, now resign.

A reminder: Vladimir Putin could end the war in Ukraine right now, just by ordering his soldiers to go home. No need for treaties or negotiations.

Please share this fact sheet on Ukraine with anyone who needs it

understandingwar.org/backgrounder...