Mauro Gilli

The US Military Is Raking in Millions From On-Base Slot Machines The Defense Department operates slot machines on US military bases overseas, raising tens of millions of dollars to fund recreation for troops—and creating risks for soldiers prone to gambling addiction.

The Defense Department operates slot machines on US military bases overseas, raising tens of millions of dollars to fund recreation for troops—and creating risks for soldiers prone to gambling addiction. www.wired.com/story/us-mil...

I finally managed to read the report by RUSI and OSC about Russian artillery production. Very interesting. Here a couple of points related as a reminder of the challenges of industrial production and the importance of high-precision machine tools.

threadreaderapp.com/thread/19522...

This description applies to a large group of people, curiously on the extreme-left and extreme-right.

The core problem is this, he doesn’t practice principled anti-imperialism. He practices inversionism: if the U.S. supports something, he reflexively takes the opposite side, no matter how brutal that side is, no matter the evidence.

Definitively very interesting idea, Joanna! What parameters do you think one could use to assess if there is indeed an overspending on AI, and the magnitude of such overspending.

Ukraine arrests air force major suspected of spying for Russia Kyiv says the Russian agent sought to aid strikes on airfields hosting F-16 and Mirage fighter jets.

"Ukraine arrests air force major suspected of spying for Russia
Kyiv says the Russian agent sought to aid strikes on airfields hosting F-16 and Mirage fighter jets."
@politico.eu
www.politico.eu/article/war-...

Applications are open for SFI's 2026 Complexity Postdoctoral Fellowships

If you’ve recently earned a Ph.D. in any scientific field and want to pursue independent, transdisciplinary research, consider applying.

Deadline: October 1, 2025
Apply here: santafe.edu/sfifellowship

A second case of a Colombian national involved in sabotage activities on behalf of Russia has emerged, this time in Poland.

This is an amazing thread

No Accident: Four Structural Reasons Why the EU Did Not Get a Better Trade Deal As details on Sunday’s EU-US trade deal emerge, Europeans are split in two camps. Some believe the 15 percent tariff ceiling on most products is the best the EU could get from President Donald Trump’s...

Many seem surprised about the EU-US trade deal. But this was not an accident and it would likely happen the same way if we did it all over again. Read my colleague Etienne Höra (@etiennehoera.d-64.social)'s latest on the structural drivers of EU trade policy that have led to a bad deal:

Israel enforcing Gaza evacuations with grenade-firing drones Israeli soldiers tell +972 they deliberately target Palestinian civilians with drone strikes so others will ‘learn’ not to return.

‘Like a video game’: Israel enforcing Gaza evacuations with grenade-firing drones – +972 Magazine: ‘The Israeli military has weaponized a fleet of Chinese-manufactured commercial drones to attack Palestinians in parts of Gaza that it seeks to depopulate’

👇 This is an excellent opportunity to join this fantastic group led by our great new colleague Prof. Melissa Chapman @milliechapman.bsky.social at the USYS Department @usyseth.bsky.social ofETH Zürich @ethz.ch as doctoral student or postdoc!

Wow - that's one serious operation if confirmed

For many Europeans, the separation of economic and military power was a comforting illusion—sustained by American military might disguised as a rules-based order.

Today at 2pm local time (The Hague), after >4 years, 300 trial hearings, & 174 witnesses, #ICC judges will deliver their verdict in the trial of Alfred #Yekatom & Patrice-Edouard #Ngaissona.

They are charged with #warcrimes & crimes against humanity in the Central African Republic in 2013-14.

Steel in the Storm: Recent Wars as Guides for Armor Transformation - War on the Rocks Drones turning tanks into bonfires might make great YouTube content, but the real story of armored warfare’s future is going to be much different than you

"Drones turning tanks into bonfires might make great YouTube content, but the real story of armored warfare’s future is going to be much different than you might think."
@warontherocks.bsky.social
warontherocks.com/2025/07/stee...

"Il processo di Lezioni Apprese nelle Forze Armate Italiane" www.italiandefence.org/wp-content/u...
Qui tutte le pubblicazioni legate al progetto www.italiandefence.org/pubblicazioni/

Able Archer 83 (Re)-revisited Reflections on a Complex Non-crisis

here is the full article:

strategicsimplicity.substack.com/p/able-arche...

Fascinating article by Austin Long that questions widely shared interpretations about Abel Archer.

Money quote for those who need any convincing:

Picture of a book, Climate Change on the Battlefield, by Erin Sikorsky.

Part 1: Next week my first book makes its debut -- Climate Change on the Battlefield. It's looks at how militaries around the world are adapting (or not) to climate change. Available for pre-order here: www.bloomsbury.com/us/climate-c... (1/2)

What’s in a name? Fighters, bombers and modern aerial combat Opinion: Opinion: Fielding survivable bomber-sized aircraft for long-range aerial combat could mitigate shortfalls in achieving air superiority against China.

Very interesting, thought provoking read.

www.defensenews.com/opinion/2025...

it is hard to fully appreciate just how incredibly *dumb* America’s Troubles will be.

Our Years of Lead Paint.

Putin steps up summer offensive against Ukraine Despite Trump’s pledge to end the fighting, Russia's attacks are intensifying

I had the privilege of joining Benjamin Hall in this episode of the @financialtimes.com's @gideonrachman.bsky.social Review to discuss the current situation in Ukraine.
www.ft.com/content/782b...

Europe’s biggest port readies for potential war with Russia Rotterdam has started reserving space for Nato supply ships and planning military exercises

"The Port of Rotterdam has started reserving space for NATO supply ships, improving stockpiling, and planning regular military exercises"

If actions speak louder than words, recent ones such as this strongly suggest that Europe believes it needs to get ready for war.
www.ft.com/content/0c42...

Why Clarity Feels Dangerous (Especially If You’re an Academic) The Hardest Work in Writing Is Saying What You Really Mean

George Orwell warned: bad writing leads to bad thinking.

Academia trains us to write for journals, not the public.
Clarity feels risky, because it exposes us.

But clear communication is essential for democracy.
So how do we do it?

🧵

New post 👉 catherineeunicedevries.substack.com/p/why-clarit...

If you're wondering what happened with Grok overnight, it ended up referring to itself as MechaHitler before being switched off.

Trump tires of Putin's "bullsh*t" "He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless."

www.axios.com/2025/07/08/t...

Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot praises Adolf Hitler on X Incident follows the xAI bot sharing ‘white genocide’ tropes in response to unrelated questions

www.ft.com/content/ea64...

This is our most read article so far this year. So I had the author on The Insider to chat more about it

Interesting take