Liberty Chee

European countries need to create a “rapid reaction force” of up to 100,000 troops to replace American soldiers currently stationed on the continent, EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius told us in an exclusive interview at the #POLITICOPub at #MSC2026 today.

🔗 www.politico.eu/article/andr...

Gold and silver could be his children 😆

My favourite win so far. 40 years old. Damn #jorritbergsma

The world’s largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford will be deployed to the Middle East.

🇺🇸 🇮🇷 The Pentagon has ordered a second aircraft carrier to deploy to the Middle East, US media reported, as President Donald Trump weighs taking military action against Iran.
➡️ u.afp.com/S6UK

"...the book reveals how liberal democracy in Europe promotes a fantasy of equality while its politics enacts the exact opposite."

The new issue of SAQ is out, featuring my article on Roma workers and the disciplining of labour under Czech racial capitalism:

read.dukeupress.edu/south-atlant...

Love The Pitt!

Ex-machina (2014) coming true...

From Anton Pannekoek, The Role of Fascisme, 1936.

Thinking about variation today. And it's function in the natural world.

Gallup's presidential approval ratings poll is ending after eight decades Gallup said it will remain committed to polling on issues that shape everyday lives.

Social scientists keep explaining why consistent time series are indispensable for understanding social change.

And now Gallup ends the longest-running pres. approval series.

Striking – esp. from the institution that helped institutionalize representative sampling in modern public opinion research

In Japan, 11 universities and many other schools have closed in the last 20 years. Apart from this, unis have lowered their standards to fill seats. When the demographic crunch kicks in, there won't be that many spare 18 year olds around. And we'll be competing for them with other countries.

Apparently getting flak from local media for not conforming to gendered expectations. Too extra, not being demure, definitely not doe-ing normaal.

Assholes in academia, a dime a dozen. Distinguish yourselves folks

How Epstein and Bannon tried to reshape EU politics, hated Merkel

Try to imagine what the scientific enterprise would be like if it were dominated by feminine-coded norms: vulnerability over security, collaboration over competition, flexibility over rigidity, empathy over assertiveness...

Book I should have already read but haven't yet.

The worth of work: Socio-political and demographic correlates of anti-work orientation Anti-work refers to a contentious rejection of work as a determinant of one's self-worth or worth to society. The most central principle is that work …

This piece examines the ideologies of the anti-work movement in Sweden. These sentiments are shaped by individual notions of the self, freedom and authority with anti-democratic undertones (i.e. less preference for equality). Read it open access here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Trump’s War on Higher Ed Is an Attack on Women The administration’s assault on colleges and universities is meant to undermine the economic and social progress women have made in the last half-century.

When I interviewed young women in Arkansas, they said they had to go to college for good jobs because the trades weren't open to them the way they were to the young men they knew. Attacking college is a war on women's economic parity. My latest for @newrepublic.com newrepublic.com/article/2058...

Vibe check in the YouTube comments

Epstein to Bannon in 2018:

"As you might imagine I believe in top-down economics. Without you at the top, there is no movement. ZERO!"

From the Epstein files: were Paul Volker and Tom Brokaw really members of a secret society with a "no minorities or women allowed" rule? Brokaw is still around -- worth asking him!

The promise of employment: Migration, gender, and labour integration in Ethiopia's urban special economic zones The global garment industry is known for outsourcing labour intensive production to countries with lower labour costs. This trend has led to the estab…

This piece examines women's migration into Ethiopia's Special Economic Zones (SEZs), reflecting similar patterns in Asia's late capitalist development. Robel Mulat offers an insight into a similar phenomenon now happening in Ethiopia. Read it open access here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Marxists have a term for this: transnational capitalist class.

YouTube video by Hoog A Terrible Thing is Happening in the Netherlands

youtu.be/56qKx6Y5LBU?... Hoog dropped a new essay. Some interesting stats: our youth's reading skills are about the same as in Slovkia while spending 3x as much. And women earn less in their lifetime than anywhere else in Europe.

Imeldific.

YouTube video by Hoog A Terrible Thing is Happening in the Netherlands

youtu.be/56qKx6Y5LBU?... Hoog dropped a new essay. Some interesting stats: our youth's reading skills are about the same as in Slovkia while spending 3x as much. And women earn less in their lifetime than anywhere else in Europe.

YouTube video by CNA Insider The Philippine Sea Empire That Dominated Southern Maritime Trade For Centuries | The Mark Of Empire

youtu.be/2SOaHjdpZRQ?... Neat feature.

www.esquiremag.ph/culture/the-... TIL: Belgium tried to buy the Philippines three times, failed, then acquired the Congo instead.

Soft power, Korean style.