With the US strategic defeat by Iran, what are the long held assumptions that must be revised? "All the foundations of the unipolar world have vanished. " @policytensor sums up what we have learned since February. Hard to disagree with any of them.
Albert Pinto
@70sbachchan.bsky.social
Alternately Defiant, Dispirited, and Despondent. Without illusions but not disillusioned. Focus on Climate, Inequality and Development. I co-edit the Polycrisis project and newsletter https://thepolycrisis.org/
interesting historical framing of China's techno-industrial strategy. 18thC: Britain did Steam Engine, Russia did imperial land grabs 19thC-20thC: US did 2nd industrial revolution, Europe did imperial land grabs. 21stC: China does industrial revolution, US does imperial adventures....
The US no longer has a diversified portfolio of future technologies but an all-in bet of the future of American civilization on a single speculative technology. bsky.app/profile/70sb...
Albert Pinto@70sbachchan.bsky.social · last yr."The AI infrastructure build-out is so gigantic that in the past 6 months, it contributed more to the growth of the U.S. economy than /all of consumer spending/" - @mims.bsky.social My takeway is that The US has gone ALL IN BET OF THE 21st Century on AI, while China has gone all in on green tech
“An extraordinary family story about the Mamdanis you're unlikely to have read about anywhere else. “ - Howard French foreignpolicy.com/2025/08/04/z...
The Making of Mamdani
A close reading of a new book by New York politician Zohran Mamdani’s father reveals a generational yearning for community and inclusion.
foreignpolicy.com
Oh my god the dietician who is telling everyone in the White House to only eat steak and sauerkraut doesn't wipe his ass.
Absolutely unbelievable how solar power has taken off worldwide during the Hormuz oil crisis. You don't have to hand it to him, but Trump may have done more to finally kick off a global civilization of effete librul solar users than anyone else in the West
FT: UAE's imperial push into Africa UAE is now a bigger investor in Africa than China,UK,France,US! UAE's dark king MBZ is supporting/extracting from african actors (particularly in north africa) with investments in logistics, gold, copper, arms, farming www.ft.com/content/a4c6...
Not until and unless the firms rebate it to their customers. I can see Costco doing that, as they already rebate to their branded credit card users, so there is a mechanism and a motive. The rest?
Albert Pinto@70sbachchan.bsky.social · 20h agoIs 100 billion Enough largesse to win back disgruntled voters before the midterms? www.ft.com/content/b0f7...
"EXCLUSIVE: The U.S. has used “virtually all” of its precision strike missiles during the war in Iran. Stockpiles on ATACMs and Precision Strike Missiles are almost depleted. And we have used about half of our Tomahawks,per new data circulating inside the admin" -@erinbanco bsky.app/profile/geof...
Geoffrey Hughes@geofffhughes.bsky.social · yesterday
Is 100 billion Enough largesse to win back disgruntled voters before the midterms? www.ft.com/content/b0f7...
Trump administration refunds $100bn in ‘liberation day’ tariffs
US customs officials repay about 60% of the levies that were struck down by the Supreme Court
ft.com
Georgetown professor who never heard of the Louisiana Purchase and Manifest Destiny pontificating on US foreign policy. This is what you're paying 100k a year for children.
Albert Pinto@70sbachchan.bsky.social · 22h agointeresting historical framing of China's techno-industrial strategy. 18thC: Britain did Steam Engine, Russia did imperial land grabs 19thC-20thC: US did 2nd industrial revolution, Europe did imperial land grabs. 21stC: China does industrial revolution, US does imperial adventures....
Funny enough, this framing isn't even historically correct? Britain worried a lot about Russian encroachment on their existing land empire--in India--and their influence over Persia and Afghanistan. And the US was expanding quickly across the continent and taking island outposts in the Pacific.
interesting historical framing of China's techno-industrial strategy. 18thC: Britain did Steam Engine, Russia did imperial land grabs 19thC-20thC: US did 2nd industrial revolution, Europe did imperial land grabs. 21stC: China does industrial revolution, US does imperial adventures....
I wrote about the Trojan horse, and what we can learn from her mouth about different cultural attitudes towards deception and violence. As someone comments below, the phrase GIFT ARTICLE is pretty scary in this context.
Chris Suellentrop@suellentrop.bsky.social · yesterdayTurns out @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social knows a lot about ancient epics www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
This thread from the Spanish Foreign Office is really useful for anyone faced with mis/disinformation about the situation in Ceuta. There is one hell of a lot of that about at the moment!! Please use it to counteract ignorant claims, wherever they're from. It's available in French and Spanish too.
Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, UE y Cooperación de España@exterioresgob.bsky.social · 2d ago1/5 🧵 Entering Spain irregularly through Ceuta or Melilla does not grant any right to remain in the country, travel to mainland Spain, or move freely within Europe. It also poses a grave risk to life. No court ruling has changed this. 🔗 www.exteriores.gob.es/en/Comunicac...
“the small desert state has spread investment, influence and military hardware across Africa with dizzying speed in a bid to harness trade and resources for its post-oil future.”
Albert Pinto@70sbachchan.bsky.social · yesterdayFT: UAE's imperial push into Africa UAE is now a bigger investor in Africa than China,UK,France,US! UAE's dark king MBZ is supporting/extracting from african actors (particularly in north africa) with investments in logistics, gold, copper, arms, farming www.ft.com/content/a4c6...
NEW @rooseveltinstitute.org: as wildfires & heatwaves rage, we are not powerless. As 19 authors argue in our 157-page "Building Up in 2029" report, we can adapt & expand Biden & Trump experiments to create lasting state capacity to tackle climate change. 🧵🧵 rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
Building Up in 2029: How to Make Green Statecraft Durable
Explore 17 essays on durable US climate and industrial policy after Inflation Reduction Act rollbacks, covering governance, planning, finance, and production.
rooseveltinstitute.org
The biggest technological revolution of our lifetime and it has nothing to do with AI, crypto, metaverse, robots or any of the other massively hyped "tech" the media always talks about instead
Sarah Taber@sarahtaber.bsky.social · 2d agoAbsolutely unbelievable how solar power has taken off worldwide during the Hormuz oil crisis. You don't have to hand it to him, but Trump may have done more to finally kick off a global civilization of effete librul solar users than anyone else in the West
Fascinating. Whole UAE series in FT is fantastic and informative journalism.
Albert Pinto@70sbachchan.bsky.social · yesterdayFT: UAE's imperial push into Africa UAE is now a bigger investor in Africa than China,UK,France,US! UAE's dark king MBZ is supporting/extracting from african actors (particularly in north africa) with investments in logistics, gold, copper, arms, farming www.ft.com/content/a4c6...
FT: UAE's imperial push into Africa UAE is now a bigger investor in Africa than China,UK,France,US! UAE's dark king MBZ is supporting/extracting from african actors (particularly in north africa) with investments in logistics, gold, copper, arms, farming www.ft.com/content/a4c6...
The Times of Israel reports the U.S. expended more than 200 THAAD interceptors defending Israel against ~650 Iranian ballistic missiles Reminder that the Israelis were against the US sending THAADS to defend Ukraine against Russian predations. Thread bsky.app/profile/70sb...
Albert Pinto@70sbachchan.bsky.social · 5mo agoThis is why there is a 'world war' aspect: The US-led order is at war with the confrontation states - Russia, China, Iran. It has a limited capacity of Interceptors, munitions, THAAD air defense, drones etc. Hence: Theater prioritization "Iran war may leave Ukraine without critical air defenses"
China, with its rare earth ban, is actually stopping the grinding gears of the military machine if the nihilist US empire bent in massacres and destruction.
You know how every clean energy stat has China having dominance while the rest of the world is playing little league. Its the same with AI and US. "The State of Virginia alone has more data centers than China." -@songpinganq
Funny how no one calls this "overcapacity" @katemac.bsky.social @aldasky.bsky.social @edwardongwesojr.com US Data Center capex boom of many trillions over a decade + global dominance at about 80% of global AI investments is analagous to China's enormous Green boom + 70-80% global dominance.
FYI the states that generate the most wind power are Texas, Iowa, and Oklahoma
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2d agoTrump: "Any country with windmills is a loser"
This is why there is a 'world war' aspect: The US-led order is at war with the confrontation states - Russia, China, Iran. It has a limited capacity of Interceptors, munitions, THAAD air defense, drones etc. Hence: Theater prioritization "Iran war may leave Ukraine without critical air defenses"
Iran war may leave Ukraine without critical air defenses
Kyiv is already feeling the shockwaves of the U.S.-Israel military option.
politico.com
With the US strategic defeat by Iran, what are the long held assumptions that must be revised? "All the foundations of the unipolar world have vanished. " @policytensor sums up what we have learned since February. Hard to disagree with any of them.
Dutch doctors and activists displayed 1,400 pairs of white shoes in a square in the Netherlands in memory of fallen healthcare workers in Gaza. This is heartbreaking.
