Toomas Hendrik Ilves
@ilvestoomas.bsky.social
Unsuccessfully retired ex-prez, ex-MEP, ex-foreign minister, ex-ambassador, ex-director of RFE-RL Estonian service, etc, ex cetera.
Except for @darthputinkgb.bsky.social, I take seriously only those who post here under his or her own name.
Except for @darthputinkgb.bsky.social, I take seriously only those who post here under his or her own name.
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
New: We've translated in full a 1988 KGB training manual on how to infiltrate U.S. government facilities in the Middle East and North Africa. Something of a Russian growth industry these days, you might say. open.substack.com/pub/macspaun...
How Russian Spies Infiltrate U.S. Institutions
Read a 1988 KGB textbook on how to recruit agents working for the U.S. government abroad.
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:16 PM
New: We've translated in full a 1988 KGB training manual on how to infiltrate U.S. government facilities in the Middle East and North Africa. Something of a Russian growth industry these days, you might say. open.substack.com/pub/macspaun...
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
This is obscene.
Two panels commemorating the contribution of Black American soldiers towards the liberation of the Netherlands in World War Two have been quietly removed from a cemetery in Limburg. It follows a complaint by right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission.
November 9, 2025 at 5:52 AM
This is obscene.
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
This is the food distribution line at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas 11/7/25. This is what Trump doesn't want you to see.
November 8, 2025 at 7:17 PM
This is the food distribution line at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas 11/7/25. This is what Trump doesn't want you to see.
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
A disinformation asset paid by Russia to betray his country takes a moment to look back and thank God for the opportunity
November 8, 2025 at 8:28 PM
A disinformation asset paid by Russia to betray his country takes a moment to look back and thank God for the opportunity
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Putin might be disappointed by not getting the Budapest meeting, but the reality is that it had nothing to do with Lavrov. The problem was on the American side: That they sent Rubio instead of Witkoff—i.e. someone who actually understood what Lavrov was saying.
Bets are open on
a) heart attack
b) fall from a window
c) nicotine poisoning
d) suicide in the shower
a) heart attack
b) fall from a window
c) nicotine poisoning
d) suicide in the shower
Kremlin denies growing rumors of Sergey Lavrov’s ouster
“Completely untrue,” insists Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, as chatter builds about the veteran foreign minister.
www.politico.eu
November 7, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Putin might be disappointed by not getting the Budapest meeting, but the reality is that it had nothing to do with Lavrov. The problem was on the American side: That they sent Rubio instead of Witkoff—i.e. someone who actually understood what Lavrov was saying.
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
They made Jimmy Carter sell his peanut farm.
(Forbes) - The Trump Organization’s second-term push to monetize Donald Trump’s presidency has reached the aisles of military exchanges, as Coast Guard-run stores .. have stocked Trump-branded wine and cider. 🤡
@zacheverson.com
www.forbes.com/sites/zachev...
@zacheverson.com
www.forbes.com/sites/zachev...
November 7, 2025 at 2:03 PM
They made Jimmy Carter sell his peanut farm.
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
FBI urges ICE agents to identify themselves after string of impersonators commit crimes
FBI urges ICE agents to identify themselves after string of impersonators commit crimes
Citing a string of incidents in which masked criminals posing as immigration officers robbed and kidnapped victims, the FBI recently issued a memo suggesting agents clearly identify themselves while they're in the field.
www.latimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:32 PM
FBI urges ICE agents to identify themselves after string of impersonators commit crimes
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
"Clearly echoing Erwin Rommel’s Nazi force, the Africa Corps is the Kremlin’s new expeditionary formation in Africa. ...Like Wagner before it, it is still laden with neo-Nazi and white supremacist symbology."
on Russian neo-colonialism in Africa:
ecfr.eu/publication/...
on Russian neo-colonialism in Africa:
ecfr.eu/publication/...
The bear and the bot farm: Countering Russian hybrid warfare in Africa
Russia has many quiet enemies in Africa. Working together, like-minded Africans and Europeans can roll back its troublesome influence.
ecfr.eu
November 7, 2025 at 3:07 PM
"Clearly echoing Erwin Rommel’s Nazi force, the Africa Corps is the Kremlin’s new expeditionary formation in Africa. ...Like Wagner before it, it is still laden with neo-Nazi and white supremacist symbology."
on Russian neo-colonialism in Africa:
ecfr.eu/publication/...
on Russian neo-colonialism in Africa:
ecfr.eu/publication/...
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
‼️ ‼️ ‼️ Russia’s central bank injected 2.12 trillion rubles of liquidity into the banking sector, which is the highest I’ve seen since 2022 without a corresponding government bond auction.
The Ministry of Finance didn’t sell any OFZs (government bonds) on Wednesday.
Looking a bit crisis-y.
The Ministry of Finance didn’t sell any OFZs (government bonds) on Wednesday.
Looking a bit crisis-y.
November 7, 2025 at 3:15 PM
‼️ ‼️ ‼️ Russia’s central bank injected 2.12 trillion rubles of liquidity into the banking sector, which is the highest I’ve seen since 2022 without a corresponding government bond auction.
The Ministry of Finance didn’t sell any OFZs (government bonds) on Wednesday.
Looking a bit crisis-y.
The Ministry of Finance didn’t sell any OFZs (government bonds) on Wednesday.
Looking a bit crisis-y.
Absolutely brilliant essay/analysis by the renaissance man of regional conflict expertise: @michaeldweiss.bsky.social
macspaunday.substack.com/p/on-new-yor...
macspaunday.substack.com/p/on-new-yor...
On New York Exceptionalism
Zohran Mamdani’s election has been turned into a broader comment on American politics. But it’s as local as it gets.
macspaunday.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Absolutely brilliant essay/analysis by the renaissance man of regional conflict expertise: @michaeldweiss.bsky.social
macspaunday.substack.com/p/on-new-yor...
macspaunday.substack.com/p/on-new-yor...
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Ds need proposals to bring votes to the floor,and lay down markers both to embarrass Rs and to make clear to donors that when Ds come to power the influence-peddlers’ participation in the selling of American government with come with serious, expensive consequences. open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
The Hideous Symbol of MAGA Corruption
The ballroom can trigger long overdue reforms
open.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Ds need proposals to bring votes to the floor,and lay down markers both to embarrass Rs and to make clear to donors that when Ds come to power the influence-peddlers’ participation in the selling of American government with come with serious, expensive consequences. open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
😮
Norway finds out that its electric busses - produced by a Chinese firm - can be remotely controlled from China!
The good news of this is that the Norwegians realised this because they did a cybersecurity test. We need to think about, and test, stuff like this more.
www.focus.de/panorama/wel...
Norway finds out that its electric busses - produced by a Chinese firm - can be remotely controlled from China!
The good news of this is that the Norwegians realised this because they did a cybersecurity test. We need to think about, and test, stuff like this more.
www.focus.de/panorama/wel...
Norweger stellen fest, dass China 850 ihrer Elektrobusse fernsteuern und sogar stoppen kann
Etwa 850 in Norwegen eingesetzte Elektrobusse können aus China vollständig kontrolliert werden. Das hat ein geheimer Test der öffentlichen Verkehrsbetriebe ergeben.
www.focus.de
November 6, 2025 at 10:43 AM
😮
Norway finds out that its electric busses - produced by a Chinese firm - can be remotely controlled from China!
The good news of this is that the Norwegians realised this because they did a cybersecurity test. We need to think about, and test, stuff like this more.
www.focus.de/panorama/wel...
Norway finds out that its electric busses - produced by a Chinese firm - can be remotely controlled from China!
The good news of this is that the Norwegians realised this because they did a cybersecurity test. We need to think about, and test, stuff like this more.
www.focus.de/panorama/wel...
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Incredible- Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, documents seen by Reuters show. And the social media giant internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day."
Meta earns $3.5 billion every six months from showing Faceboon and Instagram users 15 billion “higher legal risk” scam ad impressions a day, internal documents state.
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Incredible- Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, documents seen by Reuters show. And the social media giant internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day."
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
these testimonies make it 100% clear nobody in ICE thinks of themselves as the bad guy
they're all army rangers in black hawk down surrounded by 1000 somalis with RPGs while joe strummer plays in their beats headphones
there is no reconciliation here
they're all army rangers in black hawk down surrounded by 1000 somalis with RPGs while joe strummer plays in their beats headphones
there is no reconciliation here
Loevy plays a video of a woman's arrest. Hewson says the woman was "assaultive" because she kicked a can of tear gas that had been deployed.
Loevy: "When you tear gas somebody … and they try to kick the tear gas canister away from them, that's assaulting?"
Hewson: "Yes."
Loevy: "When you tear gas somebody … and they try to kick the tear gas canister away from them, that's assaulting?"
Hewson: "Yes."
November 6, 2025 at 12:36 AM
these testimonies make it 100% clear nobody in ICE thinks of themselves as the bad guy
they're all army rangers in black hawk down surrounded by 1000 somalis with RPGs while joe strummer plays in their beats headphones
there is no reconciliation here
they're all army rangers in black hawk down surrounded by 1000 somalis with RPGs while joe strummer plays in their beats headphones
there is no reconciliation here
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Kavanaugh kidnapping.
apnews.com/article/immi...
Federal immigration officers in Los Angeles arrested a U.S. citizen during a raid outside a Home Depot store, then two of them got into his car and drove off with the man’s toddler strapped into a car seat in the back
Federal immigration officers in Los Angeles arrested a U.S. citizen during a raid outside a Home Depot store, then two of them got into his car and drove off with the man’s toddler strapped into a car seat in the back
Federal agents drive off with 1-year-old girl after arresting her father in Los Angeles
Federal immigration agents arrested a U.S. citizen in Los Angeles and drove off with his car, which had his one-year-old daughter inside.
apnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Kavanaugh kidnapping.
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Kolme kysymystä:
1) milloin Suomen poliittinen virkamiesjohto lopettaa Xn käytön?
2) milloin suomalaiset toimittajat lopettavat Xssä hengailun?
3) uskaltaako Suomi kieltä tämän ennen seuraavia vaalejamme?
1) milloin Suomen poliittinen virkamiesjohto lopettaa Xn käytön?
2) milloin suomalaiset toimittajat lopettavat Xssä hengailun?
3) uskaltaako Suomi kieltä tämän ennen seuraavia vaalejamme?
Vital piece of investigative reporting from Sky. They've uncovered the X algorithm which feeds users extremist right wing material from the moment they join the site. It is a far-right radicalisation engine, by design.
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
news.sky.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Kolme kysymystä:
1) milloin Suomen poliittinen virkamiesjohto lopettaa Xn käytön?
2) milloin suomalaiset toimittajat lopettavat Xssä hengailun?
3) uskaltaako Suomi kieltä tämän ennen seuraavia vaalejamme?
1) milloin Suomen poliittinen virkamiesjohto lopettaa Xn käytön?
2) milloin suomalaiset toimittajat lopettavat Xssä hengailun?
3) uskaltaako Suomi kieltä tämän ennen seuraavia vaalejamme?
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
This is a sensitive topic, but an important one: when we talk about disinformation & propaganda we (rightly) think of Russia.
But how should we react when our partners - specifically the US - uses its information channels to attack our values or laws and aims to increase societal divisions?
But how should we react when our partners - specifically the US - uses its information channels to attack our values or laws and aims to increase societal divisions?
November 6, 2025 at 1:16 PM
This is a sensitive topic, but an important one: when we talk about disinformation & propaganda we (rightly) think of Russia.
But how should we react when our partners - specifically the US - uses its information channels to attack our values or laws and aims to increase societal divisions?
But how should we react when our partners - specifically the US - uses its information channels to attack our values or laws and aims to increase societal divisions?
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Britain's Ministry of Defence has assessed that Russia has likely sustained approximately 1,140,000 casualties, both killed and wounded, since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
ukdefencejournal.org.uk/russian-casu...
ukdefencejournal.org.uk/russian-casu...
Russian casualties exceed 1.1m since invasion says Britain
Britain's Ministry of Defence has assessed that Russia has likely sustained approximately 1,140,000 casualties, both killed and wounded, since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
ukdefencejournal.org.uk
November 6, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Britain's Ministry of Defence has assessed that Russia has likely sustained approximately 1,140,000 casualties, both killed and wounded, since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
ukdefencejournal.org.uk/russian-casu...
ukdefencejournal.org.uk/russian-casu...
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
These are not the same:
1) Ukraine bombs Russian energy…. Meant to finance the attack on their country
2) Russia bombs Ukrainian energy… meant to provide heat and light for civilians over the winter.
Evil
1) Ukraine bombs Russian energy…. Meant to finance the attack on their country
2) Russia bombs Ukrainian energy… meant to provide heat and light for civilians over the winter.
Evil
November 6, 2025 at 1:19 PM
These are not the same:
1) Ukraine bombs Russian energy…. Meant to finance the attack on their country
2) Russia bombs Ukrainian energy… meant to provide heat and light for civilians over the winter.
Evil
1) Ukraine bombs Russian energy…. Meant to finance the attack on their country
2) Russia bombs Ukrainian energy… meant to provide heat and light for civilians over the winter.
Evil
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
“Is it your contention that every country needed to be tariffed because of threats to the defense and industrial base? Spain? France? I could see it with some countries but explain to me why as many countries needed to be subject to the reciprocal tariff policy.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/u...
Key Justices Cast a Skeptical Eye on Trump’s Tariffs
www.nytimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:20 PM
“Is it your contention that every country needed to be tariffed because of threats to the defense and industrial base? Spain? France? I could see it with some countries but explain to me why as many countries needed to be subject to the reciprocal tariff policy.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/u...
Reposted by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
I have issues with this headline and subtitle. Progressive ≠ anti-war. Support for NATO ≠ pro-war.
Conflating these issues is unhelpful given the state of the world. I worry this kind of binary thinking will only get worse as the public discourse about security takes off.
Conflating these issues is unhelpful given the state of the world. I worry this kind of binary thinking will only get worse as the public discourse about security takes off.
Anti-war candidate Catherine Connolly’s victory is the country’s latest rebuke to the global right-wing populist wave.
Ireland’s Next President Will Assume the Progressive Mantle
Anti-war candidate Catherine Connolly’s victory is the country’s latest rebuke to the global right-wing populist wave.
foreignpolicy.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:49 PM
I have issues with this headline and subtitle. Progressive ≠ anti-war. Support for NATO ≠ pro-war.
Conflating these issues is unhelpful given the state of the world. I worry this kind of binary thinking will only get worse as the public discourse about security takes off.
Conflating these issues is unhelpful given the state of the world. I worry this kind of binary thinking will only get worse as the public discourse about security takes off.