Anne Applebaum

Zelensky says Russia is proposing huge economic deals with U.S. The Ukrainian president said the Trump administration was pushing for a June deadline to end Russia’s war.

"Zelensky said that Russia and the United States were discussing bilateral economic agreements worth some $12 trillion, including deals that would affect Ukraine"

(Note: there are not $12 trillion worth of deals to be done in Russia)

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

also, when you undermine the rule of law, it's much easier to steal

Democracy Under Occupation What we’ve learned in Minneapolis

"I don’t know how other people react when they get bullied, but I don’t back down when I get bullied. I fight harder. Everyone I see out here is like, What do you think—we’re gonna quit? We live here."

AUTOCRACY IN AMERICA bonus episode, from Minneapolis
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...

How Autocrats Meddle With Elections The Trump administration has its eyes on the midterms and beyond.

"Voter suppression is one of the core tools of authoritarianism. It is how you shift from democracy to autocracy. And for millions of Americans, it’s about to become the norm"

www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...

Georges Borchardt made a life from a love of reading The literary agent died on January 18th, aged 97

Another great description of Georges Borchardt, with more about his escape from the Holocaust
www.economist.com/obituary/202...

Democracy Under Occupation What we’ve learned in Minneapolis

"I don’t know how other people react when they get bullied, but I don’t back down when I get bullied. I fight harder. Everyone I see out here is like, What do you think—we’re gonna quit? We live here."

AUTOCRACY IN AMERICA bonus episode, from Minneapolis
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...

Meanwhile in Russia 👇

« La libération de l’historien Iouri Dmitriev est particulièrement urgente, c’est une question de survie ! » TRIBUNE. L’un des plus anciens prisonniers politiques de Vladimir Poutine est détenu en raison de son travail sur l’histoire de la terreur stalinienne, au sein de l’association russe Memorial. Dans un...

The historian and Gulag archivist, Yuri Dmitriev, remains in prison in Russia
www.lemonde.fr/idees/articl...

How Autocrats Meddle With Elections The Trump administration has its eyes on the midterms and beyond.

"Voter suppression is one of the core tools of authoritarianism. It is how you shift from democracy to autocracy. And for millions of Americans, it’s about to become the norm"

www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...

Commission preliminarily finds TikTok\'s addictive design in breach of the Digital Services Act Today, the European Commission preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act for its addictive design.

EU tech law

EU Commission preliminary finding that TikTok has breached Digital Services Act re 'addictive design' ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

infanticidal practices on the rise among South Carolina parents

thanks - I have worked for the Atlantic since 2020, in fact...

I grew up with the Washington Post, wrote editorials for the Washington Post and published a column there for more than 15 years. To watch its owners destroy it, seemingly deliberately, in just a year and a half is devastating.

“You’re damn right we’re gonna have ICE surround the polls come November,” Steve Bannon said on his War Room podcast. trib.al/0lWZSnj

How Jeff Bezos Brought Down the Washington Post The Amazon founder bought the paper to save it. Instead, with a mass layoff, he’s forced it into severe decline.

“This is a case study in near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction.”
www.newyorker.com/news/annals-...

Georges Borchardt, 97, Dies; Literary Agent Championed Wiesel’s ‘Night’

I usually hesitate to post obituaries but this one, of my literary agent, Georges Borchardt, born in 1928, is so unusual that it deserves to be widely shared.
An incredible 20th century life
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/o...

Anne Applebaum, historienne : « Désormais, à Washington, tout a un prix, même la politique étrangère est à vendre » Dans un entretien au « Monde », l’essayiste américaine souligne l’étendue de la corruption qui sévit à la Maison Blanche. Pour elle, Donald Trump cherche à construire un Etat kleptocratique.

« Désormais, à Washington, tout a un prix, même la politique étrangère est à vendre »
www.lemonde.fr/idees/articl...

Homeland Security is trying to force tech companies to hand over data about Trump critics | TechCrunch The use of administrative subpoenas, which are not subject to judicial oversight, are used to demand a wealth of information from tech companies, including the owners of anonymous online accounts docu...

👀 "Homeland Security is trying to force tech companies to hand over data about Trump critics" techcrunch.com/2026/02/03/h...

This cannot be something a civilian law enforcement agent is allowed to wear in the US — and an agency that has a culture that tolerates this cannot be saved.

Homeland Security is targeting Americans with this secretive legal weapon Under Trump, the Department of Homeland Security has weaponized administrative subpoenas to attack free speech, according to privacy and civil rights groups.

Extraordinary US government surveillance of ordinary people is beginning
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

They're literally running out of lawyers in a state where the district judges are practically at war with the administration.

Georges Borchardt, 97, Dies; Literary Agent Championed Wiesel’s ‘Night’

it was a gift link. here's another one

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/o...

I was a White House ethics lawyer.

I used to advise people not to even accept a free cup of coffee from someone who had interests before them. And staff followed those rules.

I can’t even find the words to describe the scale of Trump’s corruption here.

Georges Borchardt, 97, Dies; Literary Agent Championed Wiesel’s ‘Night’

I usually hesitate to post obituaries but this one, of my literary agent, Georges Borchardt, born in 1928, is so unusual that it deserves to be widely shared.
An incredible 20th century life
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/o...

Donald Trump threatens to sue Trevor Noah for telling jokes at the Grammy Awards. I'm sure the self-declared free speech absolutists will be rushing to Noah's defence at any moment.

It's good to be the President.

You can sell out America's national security to enrich your family.

The White House under Trump is an ATM and America is for sale to the highest bidder.

ICE halts "all movement" at Texas detention facility due to measles infections The measles​ cases at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center were detected Friday, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CBS News.

Horrifying. ICE confirms measles outbreak at Dilley family detention center. www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-dil...

it has been clear for months