David Smilde
@dsmilde.bsky.social
Check out my Substack "Venezuela and the United States" https://davidsmilde.substack.com/ Opinions expressed are my own.
“What has allowed us to thrive, physically and culturally, is not our rootedness but our mobility. Without it, we would already be extinct.”
Globalisation didn’t begin in the 1990s, or even in the past millennia. The tale of globalisation is written across human history. So why do we keep getting the story so wrong? This Essay was one of our most read by you in 2025. Revisit it here:
There are no pure cultures – we have always been global | Aeon Essays
All of our religions, stories, languages and norms were muddled and mixed through mobility and exchange throughout history
buff.ly
December 30, 2025 at 11:36 PM
“What has allowed us to thrive, physically and culturally, is not our rootedness but our mobility. Without it, we would already be extinct.”
Reposted by David Smilde
David’s been making this point for a while: Trump wants to provoke Venezuela into war not because he cares about regime change per se, but because he wants to use the Alien Enemies Act to facilitate mass deportations, including of Venezuelans, and the courts say it can’t be invoked outside of war.
December 29, 2025 at 6:54 PM
David’s been making this point for a while: Trump wants to provoke Venezuela into war not because he cares about regime change per se, but because he wants to use the Alien Enemies Act to facilitate mass deportations, including of Venezuelans, and the courts say it can’t be invoked outside of war.
December 28, 2025 at 3:29 PM
We need to see the video of this (if it hasn’t already been erased) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/u...
Man Shot in ICE Confrontation in Maryland, Officials Say
www.nytimes.com
December 25, 2025 at 7:35 PM
We need to see the video of this (if it hasn’t already been erased) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/u...
Stephen Miller Cites Children of Immigrants as a Problem www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
Stephen Miller Cites Children of Immigrants as a Problem
www.nytimes.com
December 24, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Stephen Miller Cites Children of Immigrants as a Problem www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
Trump Takes America’s ‘Imperial Presidency’ to a New Level www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/u...
Trump Takes America’s ‘Imperial Presidency’ to a New Level
www.nytimes.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Trump Takes America’s ‘Imperial Presidency’ to a New Level www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/u...
Reposted by David Smilde
The government’s long-delayed November inflation report appeared, at first glance, to deliver welcome news. But for many economists, the numbers immediately raised red flags, especially on housing, the single largest component of inflation. trib.al/81r1OpP
'We might need more than a few grains of salt': Top economists pan inflation report that effectively assumed housing inflation was zero | Fortune
The culprit, several economists say, is the extended government shutdown.
trib.al
December 18, 2025 at 8:00 PM
The government’s long-delayed November inflation report appeared, at first glance, to deliver welcome news. But for many economists, the numbers immediately raised red flags, especially on housing, the single largest component of inflation. trib.al/81r1OpP
“Miller has indicated to colleagues that a strong reaction from Caracas could provide the pretext to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants from the United States”
wapo.st/4p66tIm
wapo.st/4p66tIm
Stephen Miller’s hard-line Mexico strategy morphed into deadly boat strikes
President Donald Trump’s homeland security adviser, Stephen Miller, had a plan to target Mexican drug cartels. That strategy morphed into lethal boat strikes.
wapo.st
December 18, 2025 at 3:49 PM
“Miller has indicated to colleagues that a strong reaction from Caracas could provide the pretext to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants from the United States”
wapo.st/4p66tIm
wapo.st/4p66tIm
PBS NewsHour: Trump escalates Maduro confrontation with blockade of Sanctioned Oil Tankers
open.substack.com/pub/davidsmi...
open.substack.com/pub/davidsmi...
PBS NewsHour: Trump escalates Maduro confrontation with blockade of Sanctioned Oil Tankers
Interview with Geoff Bennett
open.substack.com
December 18, 2025 at 11:58 AM
PBS NewsHour: Trump escalates Maduro confrontation with blockade of Sanctioned Oil Tankers
open.substack.com/pub/davidsmi...
open.substack.com/pub/davidsmi...
Trump Administration Aims to Strip More Foreign-Born Americans of Citizenship www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/u...
Trump Administration Aims to Strip More Foreign-Born Americans of Citizenship
www.nytimes.com
December 17, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Trump Administration Aims to Strip More Foreign-Born Americans of Citizenship www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/u...
Reposted by David Smilde
Did she know that when she said of her conversations with Trump, “He wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle,” she was underwriting a future war crimes indictment against him?
She’s *confessing* that Trump is engaged in the very *definition* of terrorism, *not* drug interdiction.
She’s *confessing* that Trump is engaged in the very *definition* of terrorism, *not* drug interdiction.
December 16, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Did she know that when she said of her conversations with Trump, “He wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle,” she was underwriting a future war crimes indictment against him?
She’s *confessing* that Trump is engaged in the very *definition* of terrorism, *not* drug interdiction.
She’s *confessing* that Trump is engaged in the very *definition* of terrorism, *not* drug interdiction.
"What Trump does like to do is drop bombs"
open.substack.com/pub/davidsmi...
open.substack.com/pub/davidsmi...
"What Trump does like to do is drop bombs"
Interview with Jona Spreter
open.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 11:53 PM
"What Trump does like to do is drop bombs"
open.substack.com/pub/davidsmi...
open.substack.com/pub/davidsmi...
Reposted by David Smilde
The US seizes a tanker carrying sanctioned Venezuelan oil to Cuba, upping the pressure on Maduro’s economy. Joining us to analyze the move and discuss what it signals for U.S.-Venezuela policy is @dsmilde.bsky.social. on.soundcloud.com/uO5pOJlLm4eq...
Trump Targets Venezuela's Oil, Intensifying Pressure on Maduro
Background Briefing goes far beyond the headlines and deep under the radar to bring forward truths unheard elsewhere in American media. Background Briefing features international and national news, ex
soundcloud.com
December 12, 2025 at 11:59 PM
The US seizes a tanker carrying sanctioned Venezuelan oil to Cuba, upping the pressure on Maduro’s economy. Joining us to analyze the move and discuss what it signals for U.S.-Venezuela policy is @dsmilde.bsky.social. on.soundcloud.com/uO5pOJlLm4eq...
Always a pleasure to talk with @ianmastersmedia.bsky.social about Venezuela
soundcloud.com/user-8304426...
soundcloud.com/user-8304426...
Trump Targets Venezuela's Oil, Intensifying Pressure on Maduro
Background Briefing goes far beyond the headlines and deep under the radar to bring forward truths unheard elsewhere in American media. Background Briefing features international and national news, ex
soundcloud.com
December 12, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Always a pleasure to talk with @ianmastersmedia.bsky.social about Venezuela
soundcloud.com/user-8304426...
soundcloud.com/user-8304426...