Agnostic Pessimist
@scandired.bsky.social
Northern European with a recreational obsession with geopolitics. Esp. Oman/GCC/Arab Gulf/Yemen, Palestine-Israel, MENA, European rightward lurch, imperialism old and new, racism at home and abroad, in that order.
Medical student on the side.
Medical student on the side.
I was so certain the US was going to strike Iran that night I had to go digital cold turkey and have a hot cocoa in silence instead.
The horsemen of the apocalypse are riding across the sky tonight and it fills me with dread. I fear that much in the next decade can ultimately be traced back to this.
January 18, 2026 at 9:22 AM
I was so certain the US was going to strike Iran that night I had to go digital cold turkey and have a hot cocoa in silence instead.
We're not where we are today just because of GWOT... But I think it would be impossible for us to get here if it hadn't been for GWOT. Operator Culture -> Hegseth, Proud Boys, ICE
January 17, 2026 at 8:06 PM
We're not where we are today just because of GWOT... But I think it would be impossible for us to get here if it hadn't been for GWOT. Operator Culture -> Hegseth, Proud Boys, ICE
Scandinavians: Famously dogshit at arctic warfare
January 17, 2026 at 7:32 PM
Scandinavians: Famously dogshit at arctic warfare
NEOM North America branch
January 17, 2026 at 6:34 PM
NEOM North America branch
IG Lite on Graphene OS refuses to stay logged in, I have to go via the PW manager every time which is enough of a hurdle to keep me away unless I go there to look for something specific
January 17, 2026 at 6:27 PM
IG Lite on Graphene OS refuses to stay logged in, I have to go via the PW manager every time which is enough of a hurdle to keep me away unless I go there to look for something specific
Plus: Terms for joining are not going to become more favorable as oil becomes less of a factor.
January 17, 2026 at 5:50 PM
Plus: Terms for joining are not going to become more favorable as oil becomes less of a factor.
After Maduro I thought the only thing that MIGHT deter Trump from invading Greenland would be the prospect of having to sink multiple NATO warships. i'm glad assumptions (including my own) of European cowardice are being proven somewhat wrong, as they were after the second Ukraine invasion.
January 17, 2026 at 5:44 PM
After Maduro I thought the only thing that MIGHT deter Trump from invading Greenland would be the prospect of having to sink multiple NATO warships. i'm glad assumptions (including my own) of European cowardice are being proven somewhat wrong, as they were after the second Ukraine invasion.
Has the scope been this wide geographically for the previous rounds of boat attacks though?
Warnings and cautions for 60 days:
MMFR – Mexico – exercise caution
MPZL – Panama – exercise caution
SEFG – Ecuador – exercise caution
MMFO – Mazatlán – exercise caution
No FIR – exercise caution
SKED – Bogota – exercise caution
MHTG – Central America – exercise caution.
MMFR – Mexico – exercise caution
MPZL – Panama – exercise caution
SEFG – Ecuador – exercise caution
MMFO – Mazatlán – exercise caution
No FIR – exercise caution
SKED – Bogota – exercise caution
MHTG – Central America – exercise caution.
January 16, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Has the scope been this wide geographically for the previous rounds of boat attacks though?
Reposted by Agnostic Pessimist
This is the argument of slave owners. If we free them they will kill us all. It’s like the ghosts of Haiti and the US South mixed in with South African Apartheid, which that man is clearly still a fan of. He never evolved beyond any of this shit.
January 10, 2026 at 8:28 PM
This is the argument of slave owners. If we free them they will kill us all. It’s like the ghosts of Haiti and the US South mixed in with South African Apartheid, which that man is clearly still a fan of. He never evolved beyond any of this shit.
I can believe that. I also realized they could just have been Nickelodeon numbers published by the goverment.
January 16, 2026 at 4:24 PM
I can believe that. I also realized they could just have been Nickelodeon numbers published by the goverment.
I'm wary of sounding like I'm trying to exonerate the Iranian state, but I'm curious what's behind the relatively high number of deaths among security personnel at such an early stage. It's a long time ago now but I feel like Syria took much longer to reach that poing.
January 16, 2026 at 12:23 PM
I'm wary of sounding like I'm trying to exonerate the Iranian state, but I'm curious what's behind the relatively high number of deaths among security personnel at such an early stage. It's a long time ago now but I feel like Syria took much longer to reach that poing.
If you donate it to me I'll consider you for the position of Emperor of Your Living Room
January 15, 2026 at 10:49 PM
If you donate it to me I'll consider you for the position of Emperor of Your Living Room
There's incomprehensible amounts of pain and despair in the world and we can't carry it all on our shoulders. I was listening to a documentary about the Nabateans and there was a bizarre comfort in realizing that we have been extinguishing cultures for thousands of years.
January 15, 2026 at 10:42 PM
There's incomprehensible amounts of pain and despair in the world and we can't carry it all on our shoulders. I was listening to a documentary about the Nabateans and there was a bizarre comfort in realizing that we have been extinguishing cultures for thousands of years.
I'd dare the average ICE tit to spend an entire shift in actual full dyneema+ceramics and a ballistic helmet.
January 15, 2026 at 8:34 PM
I'd dare the average ICE tit to spend an entire shift in actual full dyneema+ceramics and a ballistic helmet.
"I'm just asking questions!"
a cartoon of a man sitting in a chair with his hand on his chin
Alt: a cartoon of a Cartman sitting in a chair dressed as a news anchor
media.tenor.com
January 15, 2026 at 8:29 PM
"I'm just asking questions!"
Bombing police stations was fine because "some cops might then think twice about not showing up for work that day".
January 15, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Bombing police stations was fine because "some cops might then think twice about not showing up for work that day".
You know what wasn't mentioned as options? UNSC or UNGA resolutions! And the US not inserting itself in domestic unrrst halway around the globe!
January 15, 2026 at 7:40 PM
You know what wasn't mentioned as options? UNSC or UNGA resolutions! And the US not inserting itself in domestic unrrst halway around the globe!
I believe that train departed the station. Even if Trump is voted out AND leaves office, the Cheetos Spectre will hang over the Atlantic for a long time unless US governance structures and incentives change drastically in the meantime.
January 15, 2026 at 1:09 PM
I believe that train departed the station. Even if Trump is voted out AND leaves office, the Cheetos Spectre will hang over the Atlantic for a long time unless US governance structures and incentives change drastically in the meantime.
Probably scenarios reserved for higher intensity than we're likely to see, but I wonder both how hard it would be to contest the naval passage to Nuuk, and how feasible it would be for the US to monitor & control the inland ice cap.
January 15, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Probably scenarios reserved for higher intensity than we're likely to see, but I wonder both how hard it would be to contest the naval passage to Nuuk, and how feasible it would be for the US to monitor & control the inland ice cap.
I hope this will account for a rogue US Executive with little regard for the legality of their blackmailing of private companies, and a US tech sector that has proven very deferential to said Executive.
January 15, 2026 at 12:24 PM
I hope this will account for a rogue US Executive with little regard for the legality of their blackmailing of private companies, and a US tech sector that has proven very deferential to said Executive.