Reposted
Our paper about Russian subversive activities on Svalbard after 2014 is today published by the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE): Download, read and repost 🙌.
Hybrid threats in high latitudes: Facing Russia on Svalbard
This Hybrid CoE Paper outlines how Moscow blends information campaigns, coercive signalling at sea, symbolic gestures and surprise visits to challenge Norwegian authority while remaining below the thr...
www.hybridcoe.fi
December 10, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Our paper about Russian subversive activities on Svalbard after 2014 is today published by the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE): Download, read and repost 🙌.
Latest Norwegian polling on EU membership is 49 No, 31 Yes and 20 don't know. Support for yes has declined since March and there's no sign that younger people are more inclined to say yes. www.nrk.no/norge/eu-inn...
EU innførte jerntoll: Dette ville Norge stemt i dag
Dersom det var EU-valg i morgen, ville 49 prosent stemt nei til medlemskap. EU-skepsisen vokser blant de unge.
www.nrk.no
November 21, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Latest Norwegian polling on EU membership is 49 No, 31 Yes and 20 don't know. Support for yes has declined since March and there's no sign that younger people are more inclined to say yes. www.nrk.no/norge/eu-inn...
New National Audit Office report on the BBC World Service's savings programme since 2022 www.nao.org.uk/reports/the-...
The BBC World Service’s savings programme - NAO report
This NAO report assesses the World Service’s progress with implementing its savings programmes, and the impact on its performance.
www.nao.org.uk
November 19, 2025 at 1:42 PM
New National Audit Office report on the BBC World Service's savings programme since 2022 www.nao.org.uk/reports/the-...
Reposted
"Networks of bots - automated social media accounts - have been found to be targeting European elections including, in the last year, those in Moldova, Poland and Germany. But could their real intention be to tie up news organisations with fact-checking?"
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...
BBC World Service - The Documentary Podcast, How Russian AI targets news organisations
‘Russian Doll’ and ‘Doppelganger’: the bot networks targeting journalists
www.bbc.co.uk
November 4, 2025 at 11:51 AM
"Networks of bots - automated social media accounts - have been found to be targeting European elections including, in the last year, those in Moldova, Poland and Germany. But could their real intention be to tie up news organisations with fact-checking?"
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...
Reposted
And there it is. Trump dumps the US out of the top 10 of the Nation Brands Index, as revealed in Simon Anholt's LinkedIn post www.linkedin.com/posts/simona... #GI7100 #GI5052
October 23, 2025 at 11:08 AM
And there it is. Trump dumps the US out of the top 10 of the Nation Brands Index, as revealed in Simon Anholt's LinkedIn post www.linkedin.com/posts/simona... #GI7100 #GI5052
This is a good point. There's a basic tension within MAGA. I'm reminded that Arendt saw the essence of Nazi or Soviet totalitarianism in the superiority of the movement over the state and the refusal of the movement to be limited by the political or territorial boundaries.
One of the more fascinating aspects of Trump II is how it has coopted all the phenomena of the 2010s-era that in their emergent forms were identified as existential threats to the state: Big Tech, networked platforms, super-empowered individuals, crypto, globalized MNCs.
It's the anti-state state.
It's the anti-state state.
September 25, 2025 at 8:14 AM
This is a good point. There's a basic tension within MAGA. I'm reminded that Arendt saw the essence of Nazi or Soviet totalitarianism in the superiority of the movement over the state and the refusal of the movement to be limited by the political or territorial boundaries.
Helpful piece www.politico.eu/article/nato...
Finger on the trigger: How NATO is responding to Russia’s airspace violations
NATO is a defensive alliance, which makes it very cautious about responding with force to Russia’s provocations.
www.politico.eu
September 24, 2025 at 6:39 AM
Helpful piece www.politico.eu/article/nato...
This is all sadly plausible given what we know about the history of the body count as a metric. But the quality of this database is probably as unreliable as all the other numbers that Israeli officials have put out.
www.972mag.com/israeli-inte...
www.972mag.com/israeli-inte...
IDF database suggests 83% of Gaza dead were civilians
Classified intelligence reveals Israel killed 8,900 militants by May, indicating an almost unparalleled proportion of civilian slaughter.
www.972mag.com
August 21, 2025 at 3:30 PM
This is all sadly plausible given what we know about the history of the body count as a metric. But the quality of this database is probably as unreliable as all the other numbers that Israeli officials have put out.
www.972mag.com/israeli-inte...
www.972mag.com/israeli-inte...
As carried by the Norwegian police 😬https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIG_Sauer_P320
August 20, 2025 at 6:40 AM
As carried by the Norwegian police 😬https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIG_Sauer_P320
Part of the rise of Human Rights as a phenomenon in international politics during the 1970s is that it provides a way to a new consensus around US foreign policy. Without that consensus they are in decline.
On the State Department reports that portray Germany as more oppressive than El Salvador.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Trump Has a New Definition of Human Rights
State Department reports portray Germany as more oppressive than El Salvador.
www.theatlantic.com
August 14, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Part of the rise of Human Rights as a phenomenon in international politics during the 1970s is that it provides a way to a new consensus around US foreign policy. Without that consensus they are in decline.
After 9/11 most emergency and national security powers in the UK were consolidated under 'terrorism' legislation so every time there's a need to use some 'state' powers it has to be labelled as terrorism...1/2
It's so cool how the UK now has Russia-style laws against protest
August 10, 2025 at 8:15 AM
After 9/11 most emergency and national security powers in the UK were consolidated under 'terrorism' legislation so every time there's a need to use some 'state' powers it has to be labelled as terrorism...1/2
Reposted
This is absolute madness.
Head of NASA Sean Duffy intends to destroy a satellite that collects key data on carbon dioxide and plant health, by causing it to burn up in the atmosphere. The U.S. Dept of Agriculture and private agriculture firms use the data to forecast crop yield, drought conditions and more.
Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose
The Trump administration has asked NASA staffers to draw up plans to end at least two satellite missions that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to current and former NASA employees.
www.npr.org
August 8, 2025 at 11:15 AM
This is absolute madness.
Reposted
Mexit, not Brexit, is the new priority for the UK
Mexit, not Brexit, is the new priority for the UK
A Microsoft Exit strategy isn’t just a good idea, it’s vital. It must go a long way beyond a farewell to Redmond
Opinion One of the dangers of stories based on big cash numbers is distraction. The numbers get all the attention, the bigger story behind them gets missed.…
dlvr.it
August 8, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Mexit, not Brexit, is the new priority for the UK
Reposted
If only they had, oh I don't know, say a Radio Free Asia...
(1/2) "It would direct the State Department to create a plan for countering Chinese propaganda that denies 'the genocide, crimes against humanity, and other egregious human rights abuses experienced by Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethic groups' in Xinjiang."
www.rfa.org/english/uygh...
www.rfa.org/english/uygh...
U.S. bill targets Chinese repression of Uyghurs
The measure would boost sanctions and direct officials to counter Chinese propaganda and preserve Uyghur culture.
www.rfa.org
August 6, 2025 at 10:51 AM
If only they had, oh I don't know, say a Radio Free Asia...
Reposted
Voice of America director says Trump officials seek to fire him illegally - as VoA cases agst administration come to a head.
Meanwhile, when did @KariLake become acting CEO of its federal parent agency?
She won't say.
My NPR story:
www.npr.org/2025/08/06/n...
Meanwhile, when did @KariLake become acting CEO of its federal parent agency?
She won't say.
My NPR story:
www.npr.org/2025/08/06/n...
Voice of America director says Trump officials are illegally ousting him
A judge is demanding answers about the international broadcaster's future from Trump official Kari Lake.
www.npr.org
August 6, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Voice of America director says Trump officials seek to fire him illegally - as VoA cases agst administration come to a head.
Meanwhile, when did @KariLake become acting CEO of its federal parent agency?
She won't say.
My NPR story:
www.npr.org/2025/08/06/n...
Meanwhile, when did @KariLake become acting CEO of its federal parent agency?
She won't say.
My NPR story:
www.npr.org/2025/08/06/n...
Reposted
The meal deal needs some UNESCO intangible heritage protection. Getting a meal at an airport for £5 feels like a weird loophole
July 26, 2025 at 4:45 PM
The meal deal needs some UNESCO intangible heritage protection. Getting a meal at an airport for £5 feels like a weird loophole
Reposted
Al Jazeera Balkans closes, just as "Voice of America's Serbian office closed in March after 82 years, and the future of the regional newsrooms of Radio Free Europe remains unclear."
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Shock media closure deals new blow to press freedom in Balkans
Nearly 14 years after presenting the first newscast of Al Jazeera Balkans, Sasa Delic, like his 250 colleagues, learned of the channel's closure in a shock announcement.Two days later, his colleague D...
www.yahoo.com
July 25, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Al Jazeera Balkans closes, just as "Voice of America's Serbian office closed in March after 82 years, and the future of the regional newsrooms of Radio Free Europe remains unclear."
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Reposted
The report argues that Beijing is “filling the void we have left behind” by shuttering international aid operations and institutions like Voice of America, slashing funding for basic research and alienating key American allies.
Democrats Accuse Trump of Ceding Global Influence to China
The minority members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee say the White House is undercutting American soft power and letting China fill the void.
www.nytimes.com
July 15, 2025 at 8:00 PM
The report argues that Beijing is “filling the void we have left behind” by shuttering international aid operations and institutions like Voice of America, slashing funding for basic research and alienating key American allies.
Another way to look at this is that the British have been remarkably consistent over the last thirty years - they would like to be members of less integrated European project.
Britain has no idea what it wants from Europe: an occasional series
July 15, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Another way to look at this is that the British have been remarkably consistent over the last thirty years - they would like to be members of less integrated European project.
Reposted
Putin’s Perp Walk in the Caucasus | "Russian power is no longer what it was in the South Caucasus, as smaller countries are demonstrating." Ben Dubow
Putin’s Perp Walk in the Caucasus
For two decades, Vladimir Putin enforced Russian dominance in the South Caucasus, but Russian power is no longer what it was.
cepa.org
July 8, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Putin’s Perp Walk in the Caucasus | "Russian power is no longer what it was in the South Caucasus, as smaller countries are demonstrating." Ben Dubow