John Quiggin
@johnquiggin.bsky.social
Economist & blogger @ http://johnquiggin.com, http://crookedtimber.org. http://johnquiggin.substack.com/?utm http://mstdn.social/@johnquiggin
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I repost my content, using the #repost hashtag. You can go to settings/filters to avoid seeing the same post.
Lots of US hardware, but Europe has its own GPS and it appears that kill switches aren't really a thing. Artillery and drones are the big factors in contemporary warfare, and US is now behind EU and Ukraine taken separately, let alone combined.
January 18, 2026 at 10:59 AM
Lots of US hardware, but Europe has its own GPS and it appears that kill switches aren't really a thing. Artillery and drones are the big factors in contemporary warfare, and US is now behind EU and Ukraine taken separately, let alone combined.
More generally, this claim is routinely made dishonestly. "I don't want to respond to what you say about A, so I will argue that it's a distraction from B" (recently, for example, Howard with A = guns and B = antisemitism.
January 18, 2026 at 6:00 AM
More generally, this claim is routinely made dishonestly. "I don't want to respond to what you say about A, so I will argue that it's a distraction from B" (recently, for example, Howard with A = guns and B = antisemitism.
The whole "distraction" claim is silly in almost every context. Trump is doing lots of bad stuff because he is bad, not because some of the bad stuff is a distraction from other bad stuff.
January 18, 2026 at 5:58 AM
The whole "distraction" claim is silly in almost every context. Trump is doing lots of bad stuff because he is bad, not because some of the bad stuff is a distraction from other bad stuff.
Throw US out of NATO and let Ukraine in.
January 18, 2026 at 5:46 AM
Throw US out of NATO and let Ukraine in.
US is always presented as greatest military power, and that’s true as regards global reach of carrier battle groups.
But in terms of non-nuclear land war, Europe (EU+UK+Ukraine) has more troops, more tanks, more artillery shell production and massively more drone capacity than US.
But in terms of non-nuclear land war, Europe (EU+UK+Ukraine) has more troops, more tanks, more artillery shell production and massively more drone capacity than US.
January 18, 2026 at 5:46 AM
US is always presented as greatest military power, and that’s true as regards global reach of carrier battle groups.
But in terms of non-nuclear land war, Europe (EU+UK+Ukraine) has more troops, more tanks, more artillery shell production and massively more drone capacity than US.
But in terms of non-nuclear land war, Europe (EU+UK+Ukraine) has more troops, more tanks, more artillery shell production and massively more drone capacity than US.
Albo would have agreed with this once
Why Australia should walk away from AUKUS
Trump’s actions in Venezuela and rhetoric elsewhere confirm that the United States no longer respects international law or allied interests. Australia should rethink its strategic dependence accordingly.
johnmenadue.com
January 17, 2026 at 8:37 AM
Albo would have agreed with this once
Federal Agents Keep Invoking Killing of Renee Good to Threaten Protesters in Minnesota
Federal Agents Keep Invoking Killing of Renee Good to Threaten Protesters in Minnesota
In apparent references to Renee Good, multiple agents have asked protesters: “Have y’all not learned from the past couple of days?”
theintercept.com
January 17, 2026 at 7:21 AM
Federal Agents Keep Invoking Killing of Renee Good to Threaten Protesters in Minnesota
I think we'd better leave it there.
January 17, 2026 at 6:25 AM
I think we'd better leave it there.
All the outlets you mention would have been regarded as far-right until very recently.
January 17, 2026 at 6:24 AM
All the outlets you mention would have been regarded as far-right until very recently.
Debates over trans issues are reliably toxic in every medium, from X to the highest courts in every land.
January 17, 2026 at 6:23 AM
Debates over trans issues are reliably toxic in every medium, from X to the highest courts in every land.
Some good news for once. Via Bob Burton at Coalwire
Analysis: Coal power drops in China and India for first time in 52 years after clean-energy records - Carbon Brief
Coal power generation fell in both China and India in 2025, after each nation added record amounts of clean energy
www.carbonbrief.org
January 17, 2026 at 4:06 AM
Some good news for once. Via Bob Burton at Coalwire
Just some kind of decay in a site that's 20+ years old, I think. We knew Matt Mullenweg (WP boss) before he was a tech baron.
January 17, 2026 at 3:39 AM
Just some kind of decay in a site that's 20+ years old, I think. We knew Matt Mullenweg (WP boss) before he was a tech baron.
The link is broken, but goes to Bari Weiss' Free Press, which does not give me confidence. I'm vaguely aware of Jesse Singal and had the (again vague) impression that he dishes out as much as he gets and maybe more.
But you can point to examples of your own, if you wish.
But you can point to examples of your own, if you wish.
January 17, 2026 at 3:38 AM
The link is broken, but goes to Bari Weiss' Free Press, which does not give me confidence. I'm vaguely aware of Jesse Singal and had the (again vague) impression that he dishes out as much as he gets and maybe more.
But you can point to examples of your own, if you wish.
But you can point to examples of your own, if you wish.
For someone who knows what they are doing, this ought to be a matter of applying a single GREP command to the database using a tool like WP-CPI, but I'm reluctant to try this myself.
Any takers: we can compensate you for your time email john.quiggin@icloud.com
Any takers: we can compensate you for your time email john.quiggin@icloud.com
January 17, 2026 at 3:34 AM
For someone who knows what they are doing, this ought to be a matter of applying a single GREP command to the database using a tool like WP-CPI, but I'm reluctant to try this myself.
Any takers: we can compensate you for your time email john.quiggin@icloud.com
Any takers: we can compensate you for your time email john.quiggin@icloud.com
I'm looking for someone who can clean up the group blog of which I'm part, Crooked Timber. All of the old hyperlinks have been borked so that <a href = URL>text</a> becomes "text":URL/. There's also a problem in the comments, where quote marks have been replaced by –
January 17, 2026 at 3:34 AM
I'm looking for someone who can clean up the group blog of which I'm part, Crooked Timber. All of the old hyperlinks have been borked so that <a href = URL>text</a> becomes "text":URL/. There's also a problem in the comments, where quote marks have been replaced by –
The claim requires a hit rate close to 100 per cent, which doesn't seem consistent with the evidence.
January 16, 2026 at 6:22 PM
The claim requires a hit rate close to 100 per cent, which doesn't seem consistent with the evidence.
I followed the link to sprout. It went to a Statista page which suggested much lower numbers, maybe 50 million accounts in total. The official number is just plausible if the vast majority of accounts were closed, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
January 16, 2026 at 6:21 PM
I followed the link to sprout. It went to a Statista page which suggested much lower numbers, maybe 50 million accounts in total. The official number is just plausible if the vast majority of accounts were closed, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
And you think you are typical? How many of your RL friends are on Bluesky?
January 16, 2026 at 10:09 AM
And you think you are typical? How many of your RL friends are on Bluesky?
I'd be pretty sure almost none have Bluesky or Twitter, and only a minority have Facebook (for old people) or Roblox (only gamers). And, from asking around, only a minority have actually had their accounts removed.
January 16, 2026 at 10:07 AM
I'd be pretty sure almost none have Bluesky or Twitter, and only a minority have Facebook (for old people) or Roblox (only gamers). And, from asking around, only a minority have actually had their accounts removed.
Quick reality check: there are less than 1.5 million under-16 teens (that is 13-15yos) in Australia. If Inman is right (and assuming most pre-teens didn't have accounts), they've had an average of three accounts blocked each. Doesn't pass the laugh test.
Australia social media ban hits 4.7 million teen accounts in first month
Global regulators are closely watching the implementation of the world-first ban for users under 16, with some U.S. states considering whether to follow suit.
www.nbcnews.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:31 AM
Quick reality check: there are less than 1.5 million under-16 teens (that is 13-15yos) in Australia. If Inman is right (and assuming most pre-teens didn't have accounts), they've had an average of three accounts blocked each. Doesn't pass the laugh test.
Tell Avaaz to sotp promiting Nazi site X
Tell Avaaz to stop promoting Nazi site X
Although Avaaz advocates for progressive causes, it encourages links to the evil Nazi site X. Any benefits from communicating to the remaining readers of that site are more than outweighed by legitimacy given to Musk and the idea that this site (along with Meta) is the expected forum for public discussion.(Obviously, please *don't* share this petition on X
secure.avaaz.org
January 16, 2026 at 7:23 AM
Tell Avaaz to sotp promiting Nazi site X
Maybe a good time to get off X 😀
January 16, 2026 at 6:55 AM
Maybe a good time to get off X 😀
Albo's hate speech legislation would criminalise large parts of the US government, if only symbolically. That helps to explain Trump's opposition. #auspol
DHS Used Neo-Nazi Anthem for Recruitment After Fatal Minneapolis ICE Shooting
The federal government is openly embracing white nationalist online content — including in a recent recruitment post.
theintercept.com
January 16, 2026 at 6:29 AM
Albo's hate speech legislation would criminalise large parts of the US government, if only symbolically. That helps to explain Trump's opposition. #auspol
(Nearly) everyone is happy with outcomes of social media "ban". The e-safety commissioner has stats showing millions of accounts have been cancelled, the platforms can continue with toxic algorithmic feeds, and (nearly all) the kids have found their way around it #auspol
www.thenewdaily.com....?
www.thenewdaily.com....?
Early picture of social media ban's bite
Almost five million social media accounts have been deactivated or restricted since Australia's world-first age restrictions took effect.
www.thenewdaily.com.au
January 16, 2026 at 2:14 AM
(Nearly) everyone is happy with outcomes of social media "ban". The e-safety commissioner has stats showing millions of accounts have been cancelled, the platforms can continue with toxic algorithmic feeds, and (nearly all) the kids have found their way around it #auspol
www.thenewdaily.com....?
www.thenewdaily.com....?
Just ahead of the zeitgeist on this one. Nine papers had an even less formal voxpop this morning, reaching the same conclusions.
January 15, 2026 at 11:31 PM
Just ahead of the zeitgeist on this one. Nine papers had an even less formal voxpop this morning, reaching the same conclusions.