Robert Weston
U.S. East Coast. The least bad international system would see the Global South - I know, a blurry concept - playing great powers off against each other and developing a measure of leverage and autonomy. But U.S. to remain hegemon for at least a generation.
- It's also a bit of an odd editorial choice on TF1's part. Does anyone really want to spend three hours watching Macron these days? Any politician, really?
- Une absurdité, surtout.
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- @unroll.skywriter.blue unroll, please.
- Serious question: Aren't Labour brass working with U.S. Democratic consultants? That would explain a lot.
- As in Grand Theft Auto Liberty City? The Vatican City Edition? That would be epic.
- Good 🧵
- That's precisely my point. Now, if these Third Way types help get the Democratic Party to its grave, no objections from me. Over time, yes, we need a genuine left-wing party.
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- Oh, shit. Get better soonest.
- Finally, I get to drive a Cortina.
- “.. Under this deal, it will now be cheaper to import a UK vehicle with very little U.S. content than a USMCA compliant vehicle from Mexico or Canada that is half American parts.” @thehill.com @scottlincicome.bsky.social thehill.com/business/529...
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- Fair question. Especially as they've inflicted trauma and spread fear all around.
- Your ER visit, I mean.
- Well, that aside, I hope it's nothing serious? Are you OK?
- No idea what these clowns are on about, but the Democratic Party needs to crash and burn, AFAIC. We need a completely new and completely different political force in its place. wapo.st/3YGenxI
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- Dayum. Compliments, @marydudziak.bsky.social
- Elle aura pris son temps, celle-lá, dis-donc….
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- "I'm not at Libery Biberty to say."
- But he's got people who have been reactionary Catholics much longer than he has backing him to the hilt.
- JD Vance has been a Catholic for six years and has managed to anger two popes with his theological ignorance. Impressive in a way. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
- "Easy wins" is not a bipartisan concept.
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- But he's still supporting Trump, correct?
- No shit
- That narrative of anti-white racism - as well as of non-white antisemitism - will soon be official doctrine not just here, but kn several Wrst European countries as well.
- Watching how this will play out in Europe. I would expect all the Retailleau and Valls types to be a lot more receptive to such initiatives than one might think.
- 💥🎙️In a leaked audio, Viktor Orbán's defense minister says Hungary's army is being reshaped “to break with the peace mentality and move toward phase zero of the road leading to war.” It's unlikely he means a war against Russia — he was a business partner of Russia's Transmashholding. 👇Thread.👇
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- So recreating the Kingdom of Hungary? Are regions with Magyar minorities in Croatia and Romania next?
- BTW and out of curiosity, where is the best English spoken? Wouldn't be surprised if it were Ireland, but happy to listen to suggestions.
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- Presumably you're referencing our beloved Vice President or his First Things acolytes?
- And all this time I thought the crowd was cheering the seagull.
- Sad news: Joe Nye has passed away. www.belfercenter.org/collection/r...
- It’s a cruel irony that I wrote about the death of American soft power just before the passing of Joe Nye. danieldrezner.substack.com/p/joseph-nye...
- FWIW, I've never seen a convincing argument that China wants to achieve global hegemony on a level remotely comparable to what we have even now, past peak Unipolar Moment.
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View full threadDo these examples, by themselves, suggest a drive for global hegemony? Or are they about access to resources as well as enhancing market position, or maybe even just keeping up with the Americans?
- I don't feel strongly one way or the other. But hegemony on the scale Washington is now enjoying stemmed from a combination of chance, contingencies, and enormous commitments. Does Beijing feel confident it could replicate the result? Maybe, but then again, maybe not!
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- Yes to all of the above. And I've covered sub-Saharan African news for a living, so I'm somewhat familiar with Global South media organizations. But what you're telling now is much closer to a coherent argument than the previous Why-Wouldn't-They framing! My question would be.../1
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- Correct as a general proposition, but again, what facts support the argument in contemporary China's case?
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- I'm not *assuming* anything. I'm just asking for concrete facts in support of the argument that Beijing is aiming for global hegemony. Perhaps there are. But I would like to see them presented. "Don't assume something is NOT happening" is an odd framing.
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- Sorry for the delayed response. Just because there's a rational argument in favor of something doesn't mean that's what's happening. Besides, the United States is the one trying to prevent China's rise, not the other way around.
- Ils le seront.
- Si le monde laisse faire Netanyahou, et le peuple palestinien et le monde entier en seront altérés à jamais. www.ledevoir.com/opinion/chro...
- Could this assessment be describing another, rather bigger, country of my acquaintance at the moment?
- Gathering for Day 161 of #GeorgiaProtests From our friends, we need further targeted sanctions, non-engagement with the regime, and aid with funding CSOs and independent media as possible.
- Well yes, but Europe is moving rightward at a dizzying speed and the US market remains a huge draw. I would expect these anti-DEI stunts will get a lot more buy-in, or at least acceptance, in Europe then many might expect.
- MAGA playbook
- It’s been a big day. I’m grateful to be recognized for my contributions to the university in civic engagement and student mentorship. @scharschool.bsky.social @georgemasonu.bsky.social
- Compliments, @jenvictor.bsky.social.
- Some thoughts on that: I was listening to RFI's "Le Débat Africain" this weekend. The exchange focused largely on Trump's depredations. Panelists said they were confident U.S. institutions would ultimately homd Trump back even if they recognized 47 is playing a dangerous game. The convo took me /1
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View full threadI would respectfully disagree. Democracy-authoritarianism is not a binary but a continuum, and we have been sliding swiftly down the continuum. Coups are not the only means to become authoritarian - it can be more gradual - and there are many varieties of authoritarianism.
- Thanks. And I'm not saying I agree with the commentators I was referencing. It's just striking, though, how much currency the American democratic brand appears to retain on the continent.
- ...back to an African journalist's short NYT op-ed last Fall: I forget the author’s name and nationality, embarrassingly, but the piece said, in effect, "I know what a dictatorship is, I've lived under one, my family know what danger looks like; you guys ain't close to that kind of threat." /2
- The takeaway, for me, is that at least part of the sub-Saharan media and intellectual elites retain a strong faith in the strength of America's elites as well as its institutions to do their jobs - perhaps more then we do, at this stage!!
- And they'll likely still support him afterwards.
- Worth a read.
- There's a new push from Netanyahu for a war against Iran. Trump is resisting this -- for now. We need a broad coalition to hold it back. www.thenation.com/article/worl...
- I'm shocked this is not fast becoming conventional wisdom.
- So very happy for the dude.
- In Virginia? Good luck with that.
- Of course, the danger is that when they cross lines roughly twice a day, as they are currently doing, you take it all in and become cynical as well as desensitized.
