Fergus Ryan
@fergus.bsky.social
Wordcel, aspiring prompt engineer & China analyst.
🧧 Join my newsletter: http://redpacket.substack.com
🧧 Join my newsletter: http://redpacket.substack.com
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
In 2023, Chomsky told WSJ about his relationship with Epstein: “First response is that it is none of your business. Or anyone’s. Second is that I knew him and we met occasionally.”
Epstein: you are of course welcome to use apt in new york with your new leisure time, or visit new Mexico again
Epstein: you are of course welcome to use apt in new york with your new leisure time, or visit new Mexico again
November 13, 2025 at 6:50 AM
In 2023, Chomsky told WSJ about his relationship with Epstein: “First response is that it is none of your business. Or anyone’s. Second is that I knew him and we met occasionally.”
Epstein: you are of course welcome to use apt in new york with your new leisure time, or visit new Mexico again
Epstein: you are of course welcome to use apt in new york with your new leisure time, or visit new Mexico again
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
What a sentence.
November 13, 2025 at 9:22 PM
What a sentence.
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
Something absolutely perfect about Larry Summers riffing about the scourge of woke cancel culture being unfair to predatory men in a friendly email to his pal JEFFREY EPSTEIN.
November 13, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Something absolutely perfect about Larry Summers riffing about the scourge of woke cancel culture being unfair to predatory men in a friendly email to his pal JEFFREY EPSTEIN.
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
thinking about how i get anxious writing emails because i don't want to sound like a moron while larry summers is apparently typing emails like this:
u kno she dint want to talk tomorrow. make me bad pheel.
u kno she dint want to talk tomorrow. make me bad pheel.
November 13, 2025 at 1:38 AM
thinking about how i get anxious writing emails because i don't want to sound like a moron while larry summers is apparently typing emails like this:
u kno she dint want to talk tomorrow. make me bad pheel.
u kno she dint want to talk tomorrow. make me bad pheel.
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
BREAKING: Trump reportedly met with Epstein in 2019 in London, per House Oversight Committee.
Trump previously said he stopped talking to Epstein in 2004.
In 2019, Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges.
Trump previously said he stopped talking to Epstein in 2004.
In 2019, Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges.
November 13, 2025 at 2:51 AM
BREAKING: Trump reportedly met with Epstein in 2019 in London, per House Oversight Committee.
Trump previously said he stopped talking to Epstein in 2004.
In 2019, Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges.
Trump previously said he stopped talking to Epstein in 2004.
In 2019, Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges.
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
“Only in a greedy one-party state could things get this chaotic,” re: pandemic response, according to FLG media. Not sure I entirely agree with him if he did say that, but would defend to the death etc etc.
November 13, 2025 at 12:03 AM
“Only in a greedy one-party state could things get this chaotic,” re: pandemic response, according to FLG media. Not sure I entirely agree with him if he did say that, but would defend to the death etc etc.
What exactly did Wong Kar-wai say in the leaked audio that was so politically sensitive?
November 12, 2025 at 11:31 PM
What exactly did Wong Kar-wai say in the leaked audio that was so politically sensitive?
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
Just spent week in Beijing talking to officials, scholars. Their msg: 2nd term Trump=opportunity for China. He’s not ideological, sees Xi as a peer, bungled his trade war and can stare down DC China hawks. But he’s unreliable, so a debate on how to use him.
economist.com/internationa...
economist.com/internationa...
Beijing insiders’ plan to play Donald Trump
They see America’s president as a golden opportunity for China
economist.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Just spent week in Beijing talking to officials, scholars. Their msg: 2nd term Trump=opportunity for China. He’s not ideological, sees Xi as a peer, bungled his trade war and can stare down DC China hawks. But he’s unreliable, so a debate on how to use him.
economist.com/internationa...
economist.com/internationa...
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
The current (now quietly broken) version of the Ads Transparency Center was launched in 2023 in order to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act, which is something these American platforms have apparently decided they don’t have to worry about any longer.
Ads transparency
business.x.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:50 AM
The current (now quietly broken) version of the Ads Transparency Center was launched in 2023 in order to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act, which is something these American platforms have apparently decided they don’t have to worry about any longer.
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
Twitter has launched and then killed an “Ads Transparency Center” before, but at least for the last one they updated an old blog post to say it was dead:
Providing more transparency around advertising on Twitter
Today we’re pleased to share the second part of our efforts, the Ads Transparency Center, which allows anyone across the globe to view ads that have been served on Twitter.
blog.x.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Twitter has launched and then killed an “Ads Transparency Center” before, but at least for the last one they updated an old blog post to say it was dead:
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
A few days ago X broke the X Ads Transparency Center by shutting down the endpoint that handles search for the ads repository. Type e.g. “apple” here and it will spin indefinitely, with the search requests returning 404s behind the scenes:
Ads repository
ads.twitter.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:41 AM
A few days ago X broke the X Ads Transparency Center by shutting down the endpoint that handles search for the ads repository. Type e.g. “apple” here and it will spin indefinitely, with the search requests returning 404s behind the scenes:
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
Bluesky should steal this idea, and build on it by allowing independent journalists to prominently link to their pubs/newsletters from the their profiles
Bonus points is they add a profile tab for original content— so it's easy for followers to find links to their latest article or podcast episode
Bonus points is they add a profile tab for original content— so it's easy for followers to find links to their latest article or podcast episode
Threads targets podcasters with new features, aiming to become the home for show discussions
Threads targets podcasters with new features, aiming to become the home for show discussions | TechCrunch
Threads is targeting podcasters with new features, including dedicated links in the bio and more visible links in the feed.
techcrunch.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Bluesky should steal this idea, and build on it by allowing independent journalists to prominently link to their pubs/newsletters from the their profiles
Bonus points is they add a profile tab for original content— so it's easy for followers to find links to their latest article or podcast episode
Bonus points is they add a profile tab for original content— so it's easy for followers to find links to their latest article or podcast episode
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
'Eltis said the party’s constitution was fully drafted and one plank of its policy platform was the mass deportation of people of Jewish faith.'
www.theage.com.au/national/nsw...
www.theage.com.au/national/nsw...
Far-right figure who visited ‘motherland’ Germany is close to forming national party
Sydney man Jack Eltis said the National Socialist Network “was about 90 per cent” of the way to forming state and national parties.
www.theage.com.au
November 11, 2025 at 10:44 PM
'Eltis said the party’s constitution was fully drafted and one plank of its policy platform was the mass deportation of people of Jewish faith.'
www.theage.com.au/national/nsw...
www.theage.com.au/national/nsw...
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
"Western governments seem to be trending in the direction of recruiting young people to intelligence professions at younger and younger ages. For example, the CIA has a clandestine officer internship for students as young as 18" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Smart new world: adapting human intelligence for the digital age
This article considers the impact of digital advances on clandestine Human Intelligence (HUMINT) operations. Despite the arrival and advancement of disruptive technologies, classical HUMINT tradecr...
www.tandfonline.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:35 AM
"Western governments seem to be trending in the direction of recruiting young people to intelligence professions at younger and younger ages. For example, the CIA has a clandestine officer internship for students as young as 18" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
Recommender algorithms controlled by unfriendly foreign powers threaten democracy and security. They artificially boost authoritarians and break society apart. They silence the rest of us.
November 6, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Recommender algorithms controlled by unfriendly foreign powers threaten democracy and security. They artificially boost authoritarians and break society apart. They silence the rest of us.
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
Big story from Sky news. It is a mistake to think the DSA alone is going to fix this. This requires more, including and most particularly enforcement of GDPR Art 9 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 8:22 AM
Big story from Sky news. It is a mistake to think the DSA alone is going to fix this. This requires more, including and most particularly enforcement of GDPR Art 9 news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
OpenAI did not ask for government support, unless I have missed something. Their cfo, who keeps saying stuff that no cfo should say, said some bizarre shit.
November 6, 2025 at 6:15 AM
OpenAI did not ask for government support, unless I have missed something. Their cfo, who keeps saying stuff that no cfo should say, said some bizarre shit.
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
To be clear this is a misread of the situation. Was Friar testing the waters? Sure. Did she think the waters would be fully of angry fish? No
archive.ph/2025.11.06-0...
archive.ph/2025.11.06-0...
![In addition to OpenAI’s deals with chipmakers, the ChatGPT maker is also eying a broad mix of financing vehicles to fund its infrastructure efforts. Friar said OpenAI is “looking for an ecosystem of banks [and] private equity” to support its ambitious plans. She also hinted at a role for the US government to “backstop the guarantee that allows the financing to happen,” but did not elaborate on how this would work.
Asked for clarification, an OpenAI spokesperson said Friar was speaking in the context of the broader AI industry. There are currently no immediate plans about OpenAI pursuing a federal backstop, the spokesperson said.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qc6xzgctorfsm35w6i3vdebx/bafkreigga7zff4yiu3i3okysfmvy5f5perrubae4msazpycynxaxf6ajhe@jpeg)
November 6, 2025 at 6:14 AM
To be clear this is a misread of the situation. Was Friar testing the waters? Sure. Did she think the waters would be fully of angry fish? No
archive.ph/2025.11.06-0...
archive.ph/2025.11.06-0...
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
November 3, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
Go back a decade and tell someone that a Bill Kristol publication would say this... and they'd never believe you.
"The Sanders/Mamdani style of democratic socialism is, whatever its merits, at least compatible with America’s tradition of liberal democracy. The Trump style of national socialism is not."
Donald Trump Is a Commie
Bernie’s democratic socialism is still compatible with liberal democracy. Trump’s national socialism is not. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
www.thebulwark.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Go back a decade and tell someone that a Bill Kristol publication would say this... and they'd never believe you.
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
"What we see, I think, are a bunch of rich guys who have been comically out of touch with normal people for many decades, and more recently have blowtorched their brains into a smoking pile of ash on Elon Musk’s Twitter/X and in various group chats." prospect.org/2025/11/04/a...
America’s Dumbest Billionaires Fail to Stop Zohran Mamdani - The American Prospect
It’s encouraging on many levels: New York City didn’t submit to a campaign of flagrant bigotry from disgraced two-time loser Andrew Cuomo, and Americans, particularly young ones, can still be politica...
prospect.org
November 5, 2025 at 2:56 AM
"What we see, I think, are a bunch of rich guys who have been comically out of touch with normal people for many decades, and more recently have blowtorched their brains into a smoking pile of ash on Elon Musk’s Twitter/X and in various group chats." prospect.org/2025/11/04/a...
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
Right wing propagandists are going to do what they do, and what they always do. But we can see their hyperventilating for what it is: a defense of an existing power structure that reproduces extreme income and wealth inequality.
If you're against that inequality, you might well be a socialist.
If you're against that inequality, you might well be a socialist.
November 5, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Right wing propagandists are going to do what they do, and what they always do. But we can see their hyperventilating for what it is: a defense of an existing power structure that reproduces extreme income and wealth inequality.
If you're against that inequality, you might well be a socialist.
If you're against that inequality, you might well be a socialist.
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
This is the socialism of the early Labour Party and German SDP. It is not "extreme" or "far left," but, rather accommodationist and incrementalistic.
Perhaps this is not a winning political framework for other parts of the US, but neither is it some sort of existential threat to American life.
Perhaps this is not a winning political framework for other parts of the US, but neither is it some sort of existential threat to American life.
November 5, 2025 at 10:22 AM
This is the socialism of the early Labour Party and German SDP. It is not "extreme" or "far left," but, rather accommodationist and incrementalistic.
Perhaps this is not a winning political framework for other parts of the US, but neither is it some sort of existential threat to American life.
Perhaps this is not a winning political framework for other parts of the US, but neither is it some sort of existential threat to American life.
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
This is a canard. Socialism in those contexts is fused with Leninism and is emphatically anti-democratic.
Mamdani is squarely in line with Eduard Bernstein, early theorist of democratic socialism (see his book: Evolutionary Socialism, 1899), as well as LaGuardia and Marc.
x.com/i/status/198...
Mamdani is squarely in line with Eduard Bernstein, early theorist of democratic socialism (see his book: Evolutionary Socialism, 1899), as well as LaGuardia and Marc.
x.com/i/status/198...
Zohran Kwame Mamdani on X: "UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 5: Vito Marcantonio There are many who dismiss our vision for New York as impossible. To them, I say we need look only to our past for proof of how we can shape the future. Tomorrow is Election Day. And this is the final Until It's Done of our campaign. https://t.co/07F6K1gy7b" / X
UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 5: Vito Marcantonio There are many who dismiss our vision for New York as impossible. To them, I say we need look only to our past for proof of how we can shape the future. Tomorrow is Election Day. And this is the final Until It's Done of our campaign. https://t.co/07F6K1gy7b
x.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:22 AM
This is a canard. Socialism in those contexts is fused with Leninism and is emphatically anti-democratic.
Mamdani is squarely in line with Eduard Bernstein, early theorist of democratic socialism (see his book: Evolutionary Socialism, 1899), as well as LaGuardia and Marc.
x.com/i/status/198...
Mamdani is squarely in line with Eduard Bernstein, early theorist of democratic socialism (see his book: Evolutionary Socialism, 1899), as well as LaGuardia and Marc.
x.com/i/status/198...
Reposted by Fergus Ryan
The point here is to pursue socialist goals - most notably to lessen economic inequality - through democratic means.
Right wing propaganda will, and always has, try to equate this with the socialism of the Soviet Union or China. They will call socialists like Mamdani "communist."
2/
Right wing propaganda will, and always has, try to equate this with the socialism of the Soviet Union or China. They will call socialists like Mamdani "communist."
2/
November 5, 2025 at 10:22 AM
The point here is to pursue socialist goals - most notably to lessen economic inequality - through democratic means.
Right wing propaganda will, and always has, try to equate this with the socialism of the Soviet Union or China. They will call socialists like Mamdani "communist."
2/
Right wing propaganda will, and always has, try to equate this with the socialism of the Soviet Union or China. They will call socialists like Mamdani "communist."
2/