Christian Caryl

How steep is Trump’s democratic backsliding? The erosion of established norms has been dramatic but institutions are holding up

The numbers are grim

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Panic on crowded Ukraine train - passenger describes moment of Russian drone strike The BBC speaks to a person who was aboard a train on which five people died after it was targeted by drones.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Washington is in a deep freeze Democrats are threatening to shutter the federal government over a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security

Democrats sense an opening
spectator.com/article/wash...

Administration Social Media Posts Echo White Supremacist Messaging

Administration Social Media Posts Echo White Supremacist Messaging www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/u...

Old gift link expired already. Here's another. as.ft.com/r/4a2581e2-3...

Europe is finally waking up to the Trump threat Across the political spectrum, politicians are uniting in the face of an ally’s betrayal

“Chickening out on Greenland or backtracking on Afghanistan with a halfhearted tribute on Truth Social to the ‘very brave soldiers of the United Kingdom,’ without a word for the others, has not helped. The damage is done.” ⁦‪⁦‪@SylvieKauffmann‬⁩

www.ft.com/content/4b48...

‘It’s a farce’: families of Venezuela political prisoners still await their release Critics believe ‘drip drip’ of releases after Maduro’s dramatic seizure an attempt by regime to ‘keep the US satisfied’

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Exclusive | China’s Top General Accused of Giving Nuclear Secrets to U.S. Bribery allegations have also been leveled against Gen. Zhang Youxia, whose downfall carries implications for the country’s military readiness.

“The downfall of Zhang and Liu expands Xi’s yearslong push to clear out officers deemed corrupt and politically unreliable….”

www.wsj.com/world/china/...

Trump’s Greenland Obsession Is Madness. Can’t We Just Say That? The commentariat persists in misrepresenting the U.S. president and his actions.

There is, in fact, no rational reason why the United States needs to seize Greenland.

Trump’s Greenland Obsession Is Madness. Can’t We Just Say That? The commentariat persists in misrepresenting the U.S. president and his actions.

Why do we keep taking the president’s frivolous policies at face value? I consider a few reasons in my latest piece for @foreignpolicy.com (my first as a full-fledged columnist).

foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/22/t...

Opinion | The republic won’t snap back after Trump The greatest risk is that America accepts presidential excess.

A sharp op-ed from Theodore R. Johnson: "Ultimately, the danger is not that the republic will shatter overnight but that it cracks slowly, becoming habituated to an unchecked executive — a country skating along on thin ice."
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Dear @neweasterneurope.eu: I have many criticisms of the Russian opposition, but this article is, to put it mildly, a mess. Among other things: Vladimir Kara-Murza doesn't "present himself" as a former political prisoner; he was one. Do better.

Opinion | ‘Unconquerable’: What a visit to frigid Ukraine convinced me AI-powered air defense could counter Moscow’s greatest advantage — and keep Kyiv in the fight.

Ukrainian business exec: “It’s not about us winning, but about us becoming unconquerable.” Make no mistake, they can pull it off.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

The Unspeakable, Enabled This year will decide whether the hatred of women becomes the norm.

This, sadly, is spot-on

www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...

Jafar Panahi on Mounting Protests in Iran and Wanting to Return Despite Upcoming Trial: ‘It Doesn’t Matter What Will Happen to Me … I Have to Go Back’ Jafar Panahi on why Donald Trump's intervention is not needed amid protests in Iran and wanting to return despite his upcoming trial.

“When regimes such as Iran get to this point, no one can really predict how long it will take. It could be a year, a month, a week. But eventually they will fall.”
variety.com/2026/film/gl...

YouTube video by Federal Reserve Statement by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell

Here is the video message of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell regarding the Justice Department’s criminal investigation related to the Fed’s building renovations.

Watch it.

youtu.be/KckGHaBLSn4

Opinion | Maybe Trump the isolationist had imperial ambitions all along The president is trapped in a Gilded Age bubble where tariffs and resource grabs are prized.

If Trump tries to acquire Greenland, the move could destroy NATO. If he keeps extorting Venezuela, it could lead to anti-American uprisings across Latin America. If he orders further military forays, they could result in U.S. fatalities — as the Maduro raid almost did. Why risk it? wapo.st/4pApDGu

Russia’s Threats Against Finland Are Disturbingly Familiar Echoing its anti-Ukraine propaganda, the Kremlin is wielding history in a psychological war.

Russia has long used a skewed interpretation of history as a weapon to attack and delegitimize its neighbors, and it now has Finland in its gunsights, writes Edward Lucas.

Mashhad, Iran

Huge protest across Iran and even in the capital, Tehran.

Proteste in Iran: Auf die Straße für fundamentalen Wandel In Iran protestieren Menschen weiter gegen Regierung und hohe Lebenshaltungskosten. Erstmals seit Langem fordern viele wieder die Rückkehr des Schahs.

Für fundamentalen Wandel in Iran

In #Iran #protest​ie­ren Menschen weiter gegen die Re­gie­rung und die hohen Le­bens­hal­tungs­kos­ten.
Erstmals seit langem fordern viele wieder die Rückkehr des #Schah​s

Von Mahtab #Qolizadeh

https://www.taz.de/!6142676

Donald Trump Is Channeling George W. Bush Iraq showed that removing a dictator isn’t the same thing as overcoming a dictatorship.

"Trump is already repeating the fundamental error that doomed the US effort to remake Iraq. Just like Bush, he has failed to grasp that removing a dictator is not enough to overcome the decades-long legacy of dictatorship." @ccaryl.bsky.social @foreignpolicy.com

foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/06/t...

Btw, where was J. D. Vance during today’s press conference? Could it be that the administration’s arch-isolationist didn’t want to be visibly associated with Trump’s Venezuela policy?

New Interview: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...

Steve Bannon was having conniptions over Trump’s recent threats against Iran. Wonder how he will react to this. Potential for a fresh split within the MAGA coalition

“We’re not afraid of boots on the ground,” says Trump. We are on our way to an open-ended military commitment

Trump just announces the US will be running Venezuela now, until the can do a "safe, proper, and judicious" transfer of power. Announcing an occupation before you've occupied a country is a new one.

Trump accuses Maduro of stealing American assets (oil). So I guess we’ll be taking them back, right? Remember how Trump said of Iraq that we should “take the oil”?

Trump says “we’re going to run the country” after U.S. captures Maduro. Welcome to our next forever war