Paul T. Levin

"It's just fields and fields of gray ash."

www.instagram.com/reel/DM8H5L2...

BTW, I think two things are equally true: First, Trump is just the logical culmination of Newt Gingrich's transformation of the GOP to embrace partisan warfare and the politics of polarization. Second, Trump's MAGA GOP is something qualitatively new. It is a fully authoritarian American party.

Gavin Newsom's (and other Democratic governors') plans to "fight fire with fire" in response to the extraordinary Republican gerrymandering in Texas are good signs. I worry, though, that it is always only a reluctant response. Any MMA fighter will tell you that you can't just play defense.+

Texas Pushes Redistricting Into an Era of ‘Maximum Warfare’

A person close to Trump described the GOP strategy in the following terms:

"MAXIMUM WARFARE, EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME!"

If they're to have any chance of saving American democracy, Democrats need to accept that the game has changed. They can't continue playing checkers when the GOP fights MMA.+

Once again, my fellow nerds, I am begging you to remember that giving into bullies only guarantees they'll be back.

You've got to punch Biff Tannen in the face, McFly, or he'll rule over you forever.

Excellent rant. I’m afraid it applies to many more people who fashion themselves as “anti-imperialists” but who really just don’t like one of the supposed empires. I have a lefty friend who ended up defending Russian spheres of influence when we debated the Ukraine war.

Sydney Protestors Told To ‘Stop Walking’ As March Route Is Adjusted Over Safety Concerns NSW Police told protestors to double back across the bridge to avoid a "potential crowd crush scenario”.

Illustrative of the state of Israeli public diplomacy: Organizers of a pro-Palestine march in Sydney, Australia, expected 10 000 people. The police estimates 90-100 000 marched despite rain, & were worried that people might be crushed on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
www.pedestrian.tv/news/palesti...

God läsning!

On my easel at the moment: This rather large piece is painted on the bottom of a packing crate that I salvaged. Because why not?

America is here: President fires statisticians because he does not like the data. Trump has followed the authoritarian roadmap to a tee.
open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...

Swedish Defence University advertises two postdoc positions focused on narrative geopolitics, or how emotional and widely circulated narratives shape international security, great power relations & geostrategic rivalry.

fhs.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

fhs.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

Deadline: 31 Aug

Swedish energy company Vattenfall doin something motherfu*king right.

European journalists need to give this story attention. A public broadcasting institution that for 60 years has served hundreds of millions of citizens -- many children and citizens in rural areas -- is ended in a few months on purely political grounds. Some lessons about power, media and democracy.

Han var fö ett stort fan av Anders Tegnell och den tidiga svenska Covidstrategin.

That can indeed be so. The Turkish case also shows that a regime can be surprisingly resilient in the face of poor macroeconomic (especially monetary) policies and resulting high inflation.

Great minds…

One of the weaknesses of autocracies is that the autocrats tend to create information bubbles around themselves and populate them with yes-men. That often leads to poor decisions & poor policies.

You could also add that two early Swedish investigations—the so-called Corona Commission and an evaluation by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences—leveled harsh criticisms of the government’s handling of the pandemic. The PM resigned quietly just days before publication of the Commission’s report.

Viktig sågning av den framväxande men felaktiga bilden av den tidiga svenska flockimmunitetsstrategin under Covid som en framgångssaga.

Wait, is he Charles Bronson or Michael Winner, the B-movie director, in this scenario?

You're a climate comedian vigilante?

Reposting this from 3 months ago. The EU was so afraid of risking any economic pain that it folded for the extortionist. A 15% import tax on European goods won’t be good for US consumers but it will certainly be very bad for European exporters. And 0% tariffs on U.S. cars but 15% on European? WTF?

Swedish and Finnish Perceptions of Turkey’s Role in European Security In light of ongoing changes in Europe’s security architecture resulting from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, this report...

The 8th report of the project entitled "Swedish and Finnish Perceptions of Turkey’s Role in European Security" and co-authored by @alanderminna.bsky.social and @paultlevin.bsky.social can be reached at the link below:

www.cats-network.eu/publication/...

The primary source of the information in this report was a U.S. Army Ranger veteran who served in Israel with a U.S. contractor and witnessed war crimes firsthand.

Shagufta Ahmad (@shagufta_ahmad1) on Threads Finally some honest reporting from the BBC News

The link will take you to Threads, but if you haven’t already seen this short report by the BBC on the violence perpetrated against starving civilians in Gaza by the IDF & US defense contractors, you should.

It will be interesting to see how Trump reacts. Being thin-skinned is standard among the autocrats he looks up to. Putin assassinates his critics, Erdoğan sues people who allegedly insult him by the thousands.

Holy crap. Days after Paramount canceled the Late Show with Colbert (arguably) to get its merger deal approved, the South Park creators air the first episode of their new season. Paramount had delayed it for two weeks. It’s a MASSIVE “f*ck you” to Trump (and Paramount). Don’t watch if you’re prude.

Where can one see the whole #Southpark episode?

Opinion | The World Must See Gaza’s Starvation

While I valued the many critical Jewish voices that the NYT has published lately about the destruction of Gaza and the Palestinian people, I am glad the Times also got around to publishing a Palestinian voice.

“Nearly half a million Gazans now face catastrophic levels of food insecurity”.

'The Interview': The Grody-Patinkin Family Is a Mess. People Love It. Poddavsnitt · The Daily · 2025-07-12 · Endast för abonnenter · 54 min

In the same spirit, the Daily recently interviewed the Grody-Patinkin family. When asked about being Jewish in the age of Gaza Mandy Patinkin emotionally excoriated Jews who support Israel’s war crimes there. It was one of the more powerful statements of simple humanism I’ve heard in a long while.