Ben R
@reben.bsky.social
Interested in 🇪🇺🇨🇳🇩🇪🇹🇷 politics & ☕️✈️🚀🍜🚄, CEE/East Med.
Does media stuff.
Once upon a time a teacher in 苏州市
Port of Dandong enjoyer
https://boxd.it/efgrhG
Does media stuff.
Once upon a time a teacher in 苏州市
Port of Dandong enjoyer
https://boxd.it/efgrhG
Pinned
Ben R
@reben.bsky.social
· Nov 21
🇹🇷 ❤️ Shots from my August trip to Ayvalik, a town in Balikesir province on the Aegean coast of Turkey.
An autonomous centre of Greek culture in the Ottoman Empire, it remained an almost entirely Greek settlement until the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey.
An autonomous centre of Greek culture in the Ottoman Empire, it remained an almost entirely Greek settlement until the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey.
Reposted by Ben R
Russia says it foiled Ukrainian-British plot to steal a MiG-31 jet, state media reports reut.rs/3WPJaqr
Russia says it foiled Ukrainian-British plot to steal a MiG-31 jet, state media reports
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had foiled a plot by Ukrainian and British spies to tempt Russian pilots to steal a MiG-31 jet armed with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile for $3 million, state media reported on Tuesday.
reut.rs
November 11, 2025 at 5:40 AM
Russia says it foiled Ukrainian-British plot to steal a MiG-31 jet, state media reports reut.rs/3WPJaqr
Reposted by Ben R
This is interesting www.faz.net/aktuell/wirt...
Italo gegen ICE: Die Deutsche Bahn bekommt Konkurrenz
Italienisches Rot statt deutsches Weiß: Gleich zwei Unternehmen wollen mit eigenen Zügen gegen den ICE antreten – und dabei Milliarden investieren und Tausende Arbeitsplätze schaffen. Auch die Passagi...
www.faz.net
November 9, 2025 at 9:06 PM
This is interesting www.faz.net/aktuell/wirt...
Reposted by Ben R
The battle for Donbas is now fought with small arms and smaller drones, and men in teams of two or three. But the fighting is even deadlier than earlier in this war.
I visited Dobropillya and spoke with some of its Ukrainian defenders, for CBC: www.cbc.ca/news/world/u...
I visited Dobropillya and spoke with some of its Ukrainian defenders, for CBC: www.cbc.ca/news/world/u...
In Donbas, Ukrainian troops fight off endless Russian assaults | CBC News
In Dobropillia, a coal-mining town just a few kilometres from the front line with Russia in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, its few remaining inhabitants shuffle to find food or water under the const...
www.cbc.ca
November 6, 2025 at 4:32 PM
The battle for Donbas is now fought with small arms and smaller drones, and men in teams of two or three. But the fighting is even deadlier than earlier in this war.
I visited Dobropillya and spoke with some of its Ukrainian defenders, for CBC: www.cbc.ca/news/world/u...
I visited Dobropillya and spoke with some of its Ukrainian defenders, for CBC: www.cbc.ca/news/world/u...
“Meta’s research suggests its products have become a pillar of the global fraud economy. A May 25 presentation by its safety staff est. the company’s platforms were involved in 1/3 of all successful scams in the U.S.”
Tracks with Sarah Wynn-Williams depiction of Metas culture in “Careless People“.
Tracks with Sarah Wynn-Williams depiction of Metas culture in “Careless People“.
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 7:25 PM
“Meta’s research suggests its products have become a pillar of the global fraud economy. A May 25 presentation by its safety staff est. the company’s platforms were involved in 1/3 of all successful scams in the U.S.”
Tracks with Sarah Wynn-Williams depiction of Metas culture in “Careless People“.
Tracks with Sarah Wynn-Williams depiction of Metas culture in “Careless People“.
Let's FedEx Cheneys warm corpse to Den Haag. Should be tariff free.
Or at least put up some defamatory 2003 Iraq war protest memes in his honor.
Or at least put up some defamatory 2003 Iraq war protest memes in his honor.
November 4, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Let's FedEx Cheneys warm corpse to Den Haag. Should be tariff free.
Or at least put up some defamatory 2003 Iraq war protest memes in his honor.
Or at least put up some defamatory 2003 Iraq war protest memes in his honor.
Went to the only Lidl open on random Christian public holiday in this 1.7m town and this was the sad result (don't judge vegetable section was completely ransacked). That now makes 3! supermarkets that open on Sundays etc. A true world class city ready to host the Olympics in 36 this is.
November 1, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Went to the only Lidl open on random Christian public holiday in this 1.7m town and this was the sad result (don't judge vegetable section was completely ransacked). That now makes 3! supermarkets that open on Sundays etc. A true world class city ready to host the Olympics in 36 this is.
Trenitalia pondering to start long-distance ops in Germany according to Handelsblatt interview with FS CE (although 50 trains sound a bit much?). Hoping @jonworth.eu has some insight.
www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/...
www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/...
Handelsblatt
www.handelsblatt.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Trenitalia pondering to start long-distance ops in Germany according to Handelsblatt interview with FS CE (although 50 trains sound a bit much?). Hoping @jonworth.eu has some insight.
www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/...
www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/...
Reposted by Ben R
Part of the background to the fall of El Fasher and RSF atrocities there is the sustained airlift from the UAE to the RSF via Libya - sixty Il-76 flights during October alone.
For the past six months, Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has supplanted Chad as the RSF's most important supply route.
For the past six months, Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has supplanted Chad as the RSF's most important supply route.
October 30, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Part of the background to the fall of El Fasher and RSF atrocities there is the sustained airlift from the UAE to the RSF via Libya - sixty Il-76 flights during October alone.
For the past six months, Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has supplanted Chad as the RSF's most important supply route.
For the past six months, Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has supplanted Chad as the RSF's most important supply route.
Reposted by Ben R
Sorry no, Americans shouldn’t be posting at this time. Them’s the rules.
October 28, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Sorry no, Americans shouldn’t be posting at this time. Them’s the rules.
Reposted by Ben R
Etwas läuft schief in dieser Debatte, wenn Jens, Markus und Friedrichs erklären, wie die Stadtbild-Äußerung des Kanzlers zu verstehen ist und wie man sich damit zu fühlen hat. Aber was ist mit der Sicht der Menschen, die sich durch diese Rhetorik ausgegrenzt und gekränkt fühlen?
October 17, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Etwas läuft schief in dieser Debatte, wenn Jens, Markus und Friedrichs erklären, wie die Stadtbild-Äußerung des Kanzlers zu verstehen ist und wie man sich damit zu fühlen hat. Aber was ist mit der Sicht der Menschen, die sich durch diese Rhetorik ausgegrenzt und gekränkt fühlen?
Reposted by Ben R
yeah my car is a pussy magnet (negatively polarized)
October 16, 2025 at 2:43 PM
yeah my car is a pussy magnet (negatively polarized)
As foretold by @aphclarkson.bsky.social
BREAKING
“The Trump administration has secretly authorized the C.I.A. to conduct covert action in Venezuela, according to U.S. officials, stepping up a campaign against Nicolás Maduro, the country’s authoritarian leader.”
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
“The Trump administration has secretly authorized the C.I.A. to conduct covert action in Venezuela, according to U.S. officials, stepping up a campaign against Nicolás Maduro, the country’s authoritarian leader.”
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
Trump Administration Authorizes Covert C.I.A. Action in Venezuela
www.nytimes.com
October 15, 2025 at 8:10 PM
As foretold by @aphclarkson.bsky.social
Silicon Valley truly peaked with the Juicero.
We were promised Samantha. Instead were getting an emotionally crippled fleshlight-bot trained on porn and reddits finest erotica.
We were promised Samantha. Instead were getting an emotionally crippled fleshlight-bot trained on porn and reddits finest erotica.
October 14, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Silicon Valley truly peaked with the Juicero.
We were promised Samantha. Instead were getting an emotionally crippled fleshlight-bot trained on porn and reddits finest erotica.
We were promised Samantha. Instead were getting an emotionally crippled fleshlight-bot trained on porn and reddits finest erotica.
Reposted by Ben R
New - Europe’s 3-body problem: collapsing global order sparks hunt for new trajectory
I got to write about one of my favourite Chinese sci-fi novels. Europe, realising it can’t fix systemic chaos, is instead trying to shift its own orbit.
I got to write about one of my favourite Chinese sci-fi novels. Europe, realising it can’t fix systemic chaos, is instead trying to shift its own orbit.
Europe’s 3-body problem: collapsing global order sparks hunt for new trajectory
Some are sceptical the EU’s talk of ‘economic security’ can translate into action, but there are early signs that may be changing.
www.scmp.com
October 14, 2025 at 6:13 AM
New - Europe’s 3-body problem: collapsing global order sparks hunt for new trajectory
I got to write about one of my favourite Chinese sci-fi novels. Europe, realising it can’t fix systemic chaos, is instead trying to shift its own orbit.
I got to write about one of my favourite Chinese sci-fi novels. Europe, realising it can’t fix systemic chaos, is instead trying to shift its own orbit.
Reposted by Ben R
Our exclusive report on Russia’s tank production is out. Using internal files and state contracts, we show production plans for the next decade and current output. A short thread will follow soon, but for now, you can read the report
frontelligence.substack.com/p/exclusive-inside-russias-20262036
frontelligence.substack.com/p/exclusive-inside-russias-20262036
Exclusive: Inside Russia’s 2026–2036 Tank Fleet Modernization and Buildup Plans
In the spring and summer of 2025, as part of our own operation, our team obtained exclusive documents that provide new insight into Russia’s tank-production plans and confirm the existence of a little...
frontelligence.substack.com
October 12, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Our exclusive report on Russia’s tank production is out. Using internal files and state contracts, we show production plans for the next decade and current output. A short thread will follow soon, but for now, you can read the report
frontelligence.substack.com/p/exclusive-inside-russias-20262036
frontelligence.substack.com/p/exclusive-inside-russias-20262036
„ [Economic affairs minister] Reiche is already being likened to Christine Lambrecht, the former defense minister who was forced out after only a year in office because of her bungled response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “
Watching China in Europe—October 2025 – Noah Barkin: ‘a senior EU official said. “We have been operating within the rules, and it hasn’t made a dent. There is no benefit to our measured approach, to being a slightly kinder version of the United States.”’
Watching China in Europe with Noah Barkin—October 2025 Edition
email.gmfus.org
October 7, 2025 at 1:38 PM
„ [Economic affairs minister] Reiche is already being likened to Christine Lambrecht, the former defense minister who was forced out after only a year in office because of her bungled response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “
Reposted by Ben R
Watching China in Europe—October 2025 – Noah Barkin: ‘a senior EU official said. “We have been operating within the rules, and it hasn’t made a dent. There is no benefit to our measured approach, to being a slightly kinder version of the United States.”’
Watching China in Europe with Noah Barkin—October 2025 Edition
email.gmfus.org
October 7, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Watching China in Europe—October 2025 – Noah Barkin: ‘a senior EU official said. “We have been operating within the rules, and it hasn’t made a dent. There is no benefit to our measured approach, to being a slightly kinder version of the United States.”’
Reposted by Ben R
Europe hunts for chokepoints it can weaponise against China in age of economic warfare
My report on the search for leverage against coercion from Beijing and Washington.
The elephant in the room: would it take for Brussels to act?
My report on the search for leverage against coercion from Beijing and Washington.
The elephant in the room: would it take for Brussels to act?
Europe hunts for chokepoints it can weaponise in a new age of economic warfare
Bureaucrats look for leverage against coercion from Beijing and Washington but what would it take for Brussels to act?
www.scmp.com
October 3, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Europe hunts for chokepoints it can weaponise against China in age of economic warfare
My report on the search for leverage against coercion from Beijing and Washington.
The elephant in the room: would it take for Brussels to act?
My report on the search for leverage against coercion from Beijing and Washington.
The elephant in the room: would it take for Brussels to act?
Or as the "smart" guys on Twitter always told me: "America innovates (crashes new planes full of passengers),
Europe regulates" (builds the most widely sold plane series in history).
Just get the A350-2000 stretch started already.
Europe regulates" (builds the most widely sold plane series in history).
Just get the A350-2000 stretch started already.
October 2, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Or as the "smart" guys on Twitter always told me: "America innovates (crashes new planes full of passengers),
Europe regulates" (builds the most widely sold plane series in history).
Just get the A350-2000 stretch started already.
Europe regulates" (builds the most widely sold plane series in history).
Just get the A350-2000 stretch started already.
Reposted by Ben R
France investigates Russian “shadow fleet” tanker anchored off coast one week after it was spotted near Denmark amid airport drone sightings
The probe began after the crew of the Boracay failed to comply with orders from the French Navy — or prove the vessel's nationality.
The probe began after the crew of the Boracay failed to comply with orders from the French Navy — or prove the vessel's nationality.
France investigates Russian “shadow fleet” tanker anchored off coast one week after it was spotted near Denmark amid airport drone sightings
French authorities have launched an investigation into the oil tanker Boracay, sailing under the flag of Benin and believed to be part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet.” According to a Reuters repo...
theins.press
October 1, 2025 at 5:12 PM
France investigates Russian “shadow fleet” tanker anchored off coast one week after it was spotted near Denmark amid airport drone sightings
The probe began after the crew of the Boracay failed to comply with orders from the French Navy — or prove the vessel's nationality.
The probe began after the crew of the Boracay failed to comply with orders from the French Navy — or prove the vessel's nationality.
First proper sunday afternoon walk after the move through Untergiesing and around Gärternplatz.
There are certainly benefits to the new place being five minutes from the Isar river. Gelato at Al Teatro a very bland 3/5.
There are certainly benefits to the new place being five minutes from the Isar river. Gelato at Al Teatro a very bland 3/5.
September 28, 2025 at 9:27 PM
First proper sunday afternoon walk after the move through Untergiesing and around Gärternplatz.
There are certainly benefits to the new place being five minutes from the Isar river. Gelato at Al Teatro a very bland 3/5.
There are certainly benefits to the new place being five minutes from the Isar river. Gelato at Al Teatro a very bland 3/5.
ICE 3 Series is peak train design. Just absolute perfection.
September 27, 2025 at 3:18 AM
ICE 3 Series is peak train design. Just absolute perfection.
