Erin Hale
@erin-hale.bsky.social
A journalist and noted cat person based in Taiwan.
Jimmy Lai will not appeal his 20-year sentence for national security crimes, say his lawyers apnews.com/article/hong...
Hong Kong ex-media mogul Jimmy Lai will not appeal national security conviction, legal team says
The legal team for Hong Kong pro-democracy ex-publisher Jimmy Lai says he will not appeal the national security conviction for which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
apnews.com
‘Our consciousness is under siege’: Michael Pollan on chatbots, social media and mental freedom
‘Our consciousness is under siege’: Michael Pollan on chatbots, social media and mental freedom
In his new book, the celebrated author explains why we need ‘consciousness hygiene’ to defend ourselves from AI and dopamine-driven algorithms
theguardian.com
DPP's analysis of the KMT's defense budget proposal: "excludes future procurement, co-production, and any defense-industrial investment. @MoNDefense warns their cuts would set back Taiwan's most urgent defense needs. " mailchi.mp/aca945d08c5c...
Rapid Response: Why Taiwan's Government Is Pushing Back on the KMT's Defense Budget Proposal
mailchi.mp
Unsettling to see Drew Thompson worried about the sudden stop in PLA flights near Taiwan chinadrew.substack.com/p/the-pla-ha...
The PLA has stopped flying aircraft close to Taiwan - I can't figure out why and that worries me
I never expected to be worried by the lack of Chinese military coercion.
chinadrew.substack.com
Dubai police are threatening jail time for "any content that contradicts official announcements."
Dubai Police Threaten Arrest for Social-Media Posts Contradicting Officials
The police force of Dubai, an emirate known for its population of social-media influencers and adoption of the Western lifestyle, is threatening jail time for sharing content that contradicts official...
wsj.com
Tax exiles stuck in London desperately trying to get *back* to Dubai to avoid becoming tax resident in the UK? Just great stuff. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Wealthy Dubai residents race back to UAE to avoid tax bills
Some risk spending too few days in the emirate and too many in the UK
giftarticle.ft.com
The death toll from the massive fire in Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court has risen to 128, while around 200 residents are still unaccounted for, Hong Kong authorities have said In full: buff.ly/TWGR3io
HK: Tai Po blaze death toll rises to 128, while 200 residents still missing
The death toll from the massive fire in Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court has risen to 128, while around 200 residents are still unaccounted for, Hong Kong authorities have said
buff.ly
In case you're wondering what one week of nonstop playing of a single song does, "Monster Mash" makes about $1 million per year. www.billboard.com/pro/monster-...
How Much Is ‘Monster Mash’ Worth?
How much money does the "Monster Mash" Halloween song make each year?
billboard.com
I'm at ASEAN this week, a region that's getting hit by two headwinds - US tariffs, but also a surge in Chinese exports. Some of these are due to China Plus One, but a significant (and likely growing) number are heading for Southeast Asian markets. www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
As Southeast Asia welcomes Trump, it battles headwinds unleashed by him
Southeast Asia and its 'China Plus One' supply chain are feeling the fallout from the US trade war.
aljazeera.com
Pritzker: "People of Illinois, we need your help. Get our your cell phones, record and narrate what you see. Put it on social media. Peacefully ask for badge numbers and identification. Speak up for your neighbors. We need to let the world know that this is happening and that we won't stand for it."
Apparently Thursday nights on #Fox here in Australia will soon consist of #ChicagoFire followed by #ChicagoPD. I don’t know why we have as much US content on our screens down under, but I guess #ChicagoMartialLaw can’t be far from premiering for the trifecta.
Pritzker: “ICE is running around the Loop harassing people for not being white. Just a year ago, that was illegal in the United States. Now, ICE is making it commonplace.”
Legendary, veteran prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, known for targeting Osama bin Laden and bringing down the Illinois mob, is coming out of retirement to defend former FBI director James Comey.
Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald who took down the mob is coming back
Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, 64, served as a US attorney in Chicago for more than a decade, and he is a longtime friend and former colleague of Comey, 64.
dailymail.co.uk
From December 2023: With avowed ‘massive gamer’ Mohammed bin Salman at the helm, the kingdom’s insatiable appetite and bottomless riches are already remaking the global video game industry. Read more from @lewisgordon.bsky.social:
Saudi Arabia’s plan to become the crown prince of gaming
With avowed “massive gamer” Mohammed bin Salman at the helm, the kingdom’s insatiable appetite and bottomless riches are already remaking the global video game industry.
theverge.com
Redditors are reporting that Taiwan Threads - a very popular platform here – is getting flooded with Chinese and Russian bots. It's very timely as there is a lot of doubt in the government after the deadly flood last week in Hualien. www.reddit.com/r/taiwan/com...
From the taiwan community on Reddit: Russian/Chinese bot accounts flooding Threads trying to sow discord and profit from chaos.
Explore this post and more from the taiwan community
reddit.com
The President cannot commandeer any local law enforcement. The President does not run the Smithsonian. The monthly BLS jobs report is required by law. Release the Epstein files. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
In 2023, I visited an Anne Frank-themed church in Japan, where Christians pray for the Jews and the restoration of Israel in a sanctuary built to resemble the "secret annex." My reporting and reflections w valuable input from Rev. Thomas Hastings and more: jordynhaime.substack.com/p/the-japane...
The Japanese Church Dedicated to Anne Frank
On Christian Zionism, Peace, Shrines, and Gaza
jordynhaime.substack.com
Following a horrific incident involving a head-on collision of a Filipino tourist by an 80-year old taxi driver, the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association has objected to stricter health checks among cab drivers, saying more drivers would quit the trade www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...
Hong Kong taxi trade wants subsidised health checks amid calls for tougher rules
Public calls for annual checks after spate of crashes involving older drivers, but taxi trade warns that move could prompt more cabbies to quit.
scmp.com
What is chikugunya anyway? I had it once. I was covered in a rash that looked like the measles, just in time for Xi Jinping to visit Cambodia. Heat + fever is also a weird experience, as someone from a cold climate. www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/....
What is the chikungunya virus, how are countries such as China battling it?
Since the start of 2025, about 240,000 people have been infected with chikungunya, with 90 deaths in 16 countries.
aljazeera.com
Such an important point: “Progressive policies…are very popular in this country…but you have a segment of the Democratic Party that keeps trying to convince progressives we’re losing elections because their policies need to be more moderate.” Matt Dowd I wish more understood this. A confession… 🧵
Medical relief agency has treated more than 1,300 patients for wounds sustained near notorious GHF aid sites in Gaza.
Gaza aid distribution declared ‘orchestrated killing’ by MSF
Medical relief agency has treated more than 1,300 patients for wounds sustained near notorious GHF aid sites in Gaza.
bit.ly
Trump's transshipment tariff is meant to target China, but it could spell disaster for Southeast Asia and the China Plus One supply chain. www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/...
Trump’s transshipment crackdown spells danger for Southeast Asian economies
Trump’s 40 percent tariff on transshipped goods casts clouds over ‘China Plus One’ manufacturing model.
aljazeera.com
This morning, ICE rolled into a Home Depot parking lot using a moving truck loaded w/agents, like a Trojan horse, to snatch up Latino workers. Whoever they could find. No idea if they were undocumented or not. That’s not enforcement. That’s racial profiling, and violates a standing court order.
A history of Red and Black Rainstorm Warnings in Hong Kong, since they began in March 1998
Useful and comprehensive read about many of the questions that will go into the question of whoever comes next after Xi, though I suspect that won't be anytime soon www.foreignaffairs.com/china/after-...
After Xi
The succession question obscuring China’s future—and unsettling its present.
foreignaffairs.com
