Fred Carver
@arbeider4fred.bsky.social
Advice for hire. Occasional writing, editing, speaking. Atrocity Prevention, Peacekeeping, UN, South Asia. Based in Bergen, NO. https://frederichcarver.com
Pinned
Fred Carver
@arbeider4fred.bsky.social
· Aug 14
Here's a consolidated thread of my marathon yesterday. If you're impressed, and able, please do consider sponsoring me by giving funds to SAST via this link. They really do incredible work. www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-tor...
Wrote a rant about my pet stylistic hates in political writing. It's not really about LLMs as such, but they very much set the context
medium.com/@FredericHCa...
medium.com/@FredericHCa...
Politics and the English Language
“Salvage does not believe the first, last and only word with regard to prose style was passed down on a stone tablet by Orwell in one…
medium.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Wrote a rant about my pet stylistic hates in political writing. It's not really about LLMs as such, but they very much set the context
medium.com/@FredericHCa...
medium.com/@FredericHCa...
A true giant of a man in that he managed to be one of the worst people across two different centuries
Former Vice President Dick Cheney has died, his family said in a statement. He was 84 abcnews.go.com/Politics/for...
November 4, 2025 at 12:21 PM
A true giant of a man in that he managed to be one of the worst people across two different centuries
As UAE backed forces commit industrial slaughter with British weapons this event could not be more timely www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/drawing-us...
Drawing Us Together – Sudan's Youth, In Conversation
Sudanese youth discuss identity, culture & their vision of Sudan's future; also poetry, performance, and a moment for the martyrs
www.eventbrite.co.uk
October 28, 2025 at 10:02 AM
As UAE backed forces commit industrial slaughter with British weapons this event could not be more timely www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/drawing-us...
Reposted by Fred Carver
I think it’s quite a pertinent fact here that (unique among world leaders?) before getting into politics, Edi Rama’s profession was that he was quite a successful modern artist
October 28, 2025 at 7:36 AM
I think it’s quite a pertinent fact here that (unique among world leaders?) before getting into politics, Edi Rama’s profession was that he was quite a successful modern artist
LOL
sdg-action.org/with-sustain...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/08/a...
(to be clear, this is a very obvious way to start an essay on the SDGs, I'm not accusing Tooze of plagiarism, but it is funny)
sdg-action.org/with-sustain...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/08/a...
(to be clear, this is a very obvious way to start an essay on the SDGs, I'm not accusing Tooze of plagiarism, but it is funny)
October 27, 2025 at 9:36 AM
LOL
sdg-action.org/with-sustain...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/08/a...
(to be clear, this is a very obvious way to start an essay on the SDGs, I'm not accusing Tooze of plagiarism, but it is funny)
sdg-action.org/with-sustain...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/08/a...
(to be clear, this is a very obvious way to start an essay on the SDGs, I'm not accusing Tooze of plagiarism, but it is funny)
Iraq and Afghanistan were disasters for US foreign policy *even though they won the initial military victory*. If the US invaded Venezuela there's a non zero chance of an actual military defeat, and even if they won they'd end up wishing they'd lost
Even cloaked in the guise of "counter-terrorism" or "counter-narcotics," a US military regime change operation in Venezuela would be a fool's errand.
www.crisisgroup.org/latin-americ...
www.crisisgroup.org/latin-americ...
Beware the Slide Toward Regime Change in Venezuela | International Crisis Group
The Trump administration is dispatching military assets to the Caribbean and sinking boats it claims ferry drugs. While it appears the deployment is part of a plan to depose Venezuelan President Nicol...
www.crisisgroup.org
October 26, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Iraq and Afghanistan were disasters for US foreign policy *even though they won the initial military victory*. If the US invaded Venezuela there's a non zero chance of an actual military defeat, and even if they won they'd end up wishing they'd lost
Great piece. Darwin was done dirty in the film version.
October 24, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Great piece. Darwin was done dirty in the film version.
This is even better www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2025...
October 24, 2025 at 9:06 AM
This is even better www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2025...
Norwegian class is covering UN Day and I have to resist the temptation to see their yes/no questions as essay prompts
October 23, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Norwegian class is covering UN Day and I have to resist the temptation to see their yes/no questions as essay prompts
I think its worth considering:
- AG stepping down early
- AM being appointed as acting
- AM using incumbency to clinch the gig long term
as a possibility and maybe one of the only ways to avoid Trump, Putin n Xi choosing someone ghastly
- AG stepping down early
- AM being appointed as acting
- AM using incumbency to clinch the gig long term
as a possibility and maybe one of the only ways to avoid Trump, Putin n Xi choosing someone ghastly
Vote for the next UN secretary-general passblue.com/2025/10/18/v...
Vote for the next UN secretary-general
Welcome to PassBlue's informal readers' survey on the most popular current candidate for UN secretary-general, taking office on Jan. 1, 2027. Expectations are high for a woman to be selected by UN member states in the next year, given that a woman has never led the 80-year-old organization. Yet, the race, albeit unofficial right now, could be unpredictable. The Latin American-Caribbean region is claiming prerogative in the selection process, but that preference is also not assured.
passblue.com
October 19, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I think its worth considering:
- AG stepping down early
- AM being appointed as acting
- AM using incumbency to clinch the gig long term
as a possibility and maybe one of the only ways to avoid Trump, Putin n Xi choosing someone ghastly
- AG stepping down early
- AM being appointed as acting
- AM using incumbency to clinch the gig long term
as a possibility and maybe one of the only ways to avoid Trump, Putin n Xi choosing someone ghastly
Presumably a different one?
October 16, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Presumably a different one?
This was great www.africanistperspective.com/p/raila-amol...
Raila Amolo Odinga
The man whose political career defined Kenya’s multiparty politics
www.africanistperspective.com
October 15, 2025 at 6:13 PM
This was great www.africanistperspective.com/p/raila-amol...
Surely this is a simple case of inverted causality: running doesn't make you depressed, quite the opposite and for that reason a lot of depressed people run www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Running on empty: why are so many marathon runners so miserable?
One in four endurance runners displays ‘worryingly high’ levels of anxiety and depression, according to a study led by a man who has himself run more than 400 marathons. Isn’t exercise supposed to mak...
www.theguardian.com
October 14, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Surely this is a simple case of inverted causality: running doesn't make you depressed, quite the opposite and for that reason a lot of depressed people run www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Fyi @theguardian.com @rothandrew.bsky.social the Nobel Prize isnt awarded by PRIO but by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. The idea that Trump is trying to woo PRIO is kinda funny www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Truly, madly, deeply: Trump’s desire for a Nobel peace prize is driving diplomacy
The US president’s fervid pursuit of the award is believed to have been a key motivator in brokering peace deals in Ukraine and Gaza
www.theguardian.com
October 10, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Fyi @theguardian.com @rothandrew.bsky.social the Nobel Prize isnt awarded by PRIO but by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. The idea that Trump is trying to woo PRIO is kinda funny www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Noteworthy that most of the flotilla participants who have yet to be released are Norwegian. Might be a sign of the deterioration of diplomatic relations but then the Irish participants were released earlier so who knows?
October 9, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Noteworthy that most of the flotilla participants who have yet to be released are Norwegian. Might be a sign of the deterioration of diplomatic relations but then the Irish participants were released earlier so who knows?
I've decided that while giving Trump the Nobel would be appaling, giving it jointly to Trump, Darwish, and Netanyahu would be kind of funny, especially because all three would then probably have to refuse it and then Trump would try to refuse to refuse it
October 9, 2025 at 6:46 AM
I've decided that while giving Trump the Nobel would be appaling, giving it jointly to Trump, Darwish, and Netanyahu would be kind of funny, especially because all three would then probably have to refuse it and then Trump would try to refuse to refuse it
Not read the full essay beyond the sponges quote b4. It's interesting. Much more snobbish, to the point of classism, than I expected, but also quite insightful on how & why stump speeches don't work on the page. And yeah, does this remind anyone of anyone?
www.laphamsquarterly.org/comedy/hl-me...
www.laphamsquarterly.org/comedy/hl-me...
H.L. Mencken on Balder and Dash
On the question of the logical content of Dr. Harding’s harangue of last Friday, I do not presume to have views. The matter has been debated at great length by the editorial writers of the republic, a
www.laphamsquarterly.org
October 8, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Not read the full essay beyond the sponges quote b4. It's interesting. Much more snobbish, to the point of classism, than I expected, but also quite insightful on how & why stump speeches don't work on the page. And yeah, does this remind anyone of anyone?
www.laphamsquarterly.org/comedy/hl-me...
www.laphamsquarterly.org/comedy/hl-me...
October 7, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Not a fan.
I think terrorism is a fundamentally regressive concept and proscription an inherently authoritarian idea and I dont think you can masters' tools it.
Also the way we use those terms currently renders this all sort of nonsense, some of it problematic
I think terrorism is a fundamentally regressive concept and proscription an inherently authoritarian idea and I dont think you can masters' tools it.
Also the way we use those terms currently renders this all sort of nonsense, some of it problematic
A Green government would proscribe the Israel Defense Forces as a terrorist organisation.
The forces currently actioning war crimes and genocide upon the people of Gaza on behalf of the Israeli government.
This must not be allowed to continue.
Free Palestine 🇵🇸
@greens4palestine.bsky.social
The forces currently actioning war crimes and genocide upon the people of Gaza on behalf of the Israeli government.
This must not be allowed to continue.
Free Palestine 🇵🇸
@greens4palestine.bsky.social
October 6, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Not a fan.
I think terrorism is a fundamentally regressive concept and proscription an inherently authoritarian idea and I dont think you can masters' tools it.
Also the way we use those terms currently renders this all sort of nonsense, some of it problematic
I think terrorism is a fundamentally regressive concept and proscription an inherently authoritarian idea and I dont think you can masters' tools it.
Also the way we use those terms currently renders this all sort of nonsense, some of it problematic
Still feels more likely to fall apart than not, but its possible Trump has hit on an idea that could work: since neither he nor Bibi nor Hamas really care about anything except their domestic political position maybe all three can just declare victory to their own bubble and walk away
October 3, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Still feels more likely to fall apart than not, but its possible Trump has hit on an idea that could work: since neither he nor Bibi nor Hamas really care about anything except their domestic political position maybe all three can just declare victory to their own bubble and walk away
Charles Petrie making the case that the UN is currently fairly irrelevant. Hard to disagree at the moment, which is not to say the decline is terminal
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkOz...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkOz...
The UN Sec. General Missed His Rendez-Vous with History - Gaza, Israel and International Law
YouTube video by alexkularatnam
www.youtube.com
October 3, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Charles Petrie making the case that the UN is currently fairly irrelevant. Hard to disagree at the moment, which is not to say the decline is terminal
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkOz...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkOz...
Yes I felt this was right, full of sound and fury but not signifying all that much. And MAGA still don't seem to have worked out that criticizing another country's domestic policies is something you only do as part of a very clear strategy, else you're just burning political capital for nothing.
I spent some time parsing President Trump's address to the UN @justsecurity.org.
www.justsecurity.org/121750/trump...
www.justsecurity.org/121750/trump...
Trump Signals Instrumental Approach to U.N. – But it Could Be Worse
Trump's General Assembly speech could have been worse, but countries that want to make the U.N. system work can't bank on U.S. leadership.
www.justsecurity.org
October 2, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Yes I felt this was right, full of sound and fury but not signifying all that much. And MAGA still don't seem to have worked out that criticizing another country's domestic policies is something you only do as part of a very clear strategy, else you're just burning political capital for nothing.
This was good www.africanistperspective.com/p/the-geopol...
The geopolitics of international development (after foreign aid)
You can't have nice things without strategic independence and policy autonomy
www.africanistperspective.com
October 2, 2025 at 3:10 PM
This was good www.africanistperspective.com/p/the-geopol...