My sense is US allies are keen to invest in American enterprises as long as there's a clear path to win-win. On the Alaska LNG project, however, it looks like Trump is trying to extort South Korea into signing on. It's selfish, shortsighted and further erodes US credibility as a strategic partner.

Alaska LNG dispute threatens to stall Korea-U.S. security talks

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Korea will invest $54 billion in the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, but the Asian country has denied the claim.

koreajoongangdaily.com

Yale President McInnis is currently trying to cut a deal with Trump's white supremacist administration over admissions policies. Incredibly shameful. Demonstrators turned the hell out to say NO. Huge admiration for these students and faculty members and alums.

A big win for press freedom and the public - and another loss in court for Trump.

Judge orders Trump administration to restore White House access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico | CNN Politics

Federal Judge Timothy Kelly has reinstated CNN, MS NOW and Politico’s access to the White House after they were banned from the premises by President Donald Trump.

cnn.com

As if forcibly removing people from the US without proper legal procedures and shipping them to totally unfamiliar places isn't bad enough, even more horrific is the torture and violence people are now suffering in these "third countries." The human rights crimes of Trump 2.0 are incalculable.

A Central African Hotel Has Become a Nightmare Prison for U.S. Deportees (Gift Article)

Witnesses say men were hooded and beaten in Equatorial Guinea. The autocratic government there is a partner in President Trump’s deportation program.

nytimes.com

I gave a talk yesterday at a clean tech in incubator, and this was literally my thesis.

fluids_guru@fluidsguru.bsky.social · 3w ago

I don’t understand the hand-wringing reaction to claims that nueral networks have a 10% chance of destroying civilisation. Fossil fuel companies have a 100% chance of initiating a mass extinction event. Maybe we could address that?

Step 1: Slip Trump a copy of the 1951 Defense Agreement, but with the name changed. Step 2: Describe it in the most favorable light possible, since he won't read it anyway. Step 3: Trump goes on "Truth Social" and proclaims himself a genius negotiator.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3w ago

Trump: "We will immediately begin the process of developing a large Military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland, of which there are many"

Guardrails in a democracy are laws, norms and institutions that *prevent* political leaders from abusing power. Not the leaders themselves, and definitely not someone like Trump trying to turn the United States into a personalist dictatorship.

Trump says the only AI guardrails the U.S. needs is him as president

He's opposed such efforts and claims doing so could cause China to eclipse America on AI development.

pbs.org

So this is illegal, and also a con, as many smart people have pointed out. It’s also a new frontier of personalizing the party. Not the GOP dividend, the Trump dividend.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last mo.

Trump: "We're making a fortune. So if the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000. It will be called the Trump Dividend. Congratulations."

Every time Trump posts a Hitleresque image that captures his fantasies of expanding the territory of the United States, it looks to me like he's admitting total failure at improving life for the American people and thinks a little chest thumping will reverse his sinking public approval rating.

'Absolutely Bonkers' and 'Unacceptable': Trump Posts Map Showing US Takeovers of Other Nations | Common Dreams

US President Donald Trump sparked global outrage with a map showing the US flag over multiple other countries, elevating fears of his imperialist "Donroe Doctrine."

commondreams.org

Re: Lake Ontario Nothing in the Constitution grants the president the power to name places - not even on official federal maps, let alone maps by tech companies. Congress could stop the madness by taking over the Board on Geographic Names, which currently operates out of the Dept of the Interior.

Close all the concentration camps. History will judge this era in the United States harshly, with its continuing human rights crimes and our collective failure so far to stop them.

ProPublica@propublica.org · last mo.

NEW: We obtained recordings of 160+ emergency calls made from or about an immigration detention center where three people died within six weeks. “They will not give them medical treatment,” one caller said, seeking help for a detainee with kidney stones.

I’m still trying to process how the president of the United States somehow talks tougher about Canada than North Korea.

"There is no American interest that I can see in this. On all levels it makes no sense. It undermines the South Koreans, undermines the Japanese, frightens the Taiwanese, unnerves NATO and emboldens the Chinese, not to mention the North Koreans." - Former US diplomat Dan Fried, speaking to the AP

Trump's slight of South Korea in favor of the North raises broader US security concerns

Trump explained his decision by citing South Korea’s refusal to join his war against Iran and pointing to what he said was his good relationship with North Korea’s reclusive dictator, Kim Jong Un.

apnews.com

In one sense Trump's scaling back US-South Korea military exercises is the latest case of Trump trashing allies - even one whose president, Lee Jae-myung, gave Trump a gold crown last fall. On the other hand, Lee is seeking conciliation with North Korea, so Trump's move could give him an opening.

Trump orders military to ‘substantially reduce’ joint exercises with South Korea

The president cited the U.S. ally’s refusal to join the war in Iran and his “very good” relationship with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un as reasons for curtailing the annual drills.

nbcnews.com

How Trump's immigration policy is driving away students from Korea - and worldwide - who spent years preparing to attend college and pursue careers in the US. With new time limits on student visas, plus a possible $100,000 fee for a work permit after graduation, their American dream is now blocked.

'American dream' becomes nightmare as U.S. visa uncertainties unsettle Korean students

New U.S. rules and proposals are prompting Korean students and families to rethink study and work plans in America.

koreajoongangdaily.com

And was later feted by the White House press corps.

Garrett M. Graff@vermontgmg.bsky.social · 2mo ago

STUNNING: Trump left the White House press corps in Turkey as a decoy to be attacked by Iran—and instead flew out on a secret plane: wapo.st/4i1OByh

Spotted on Martha's Vineyard. Couldn't agree more.

Again, a reminder that a mere 35 years ago, a Republican POTUS led a broad international coalition, under United Nations auspices, to reverse the illegal & unprovoked violation of the territorial sovereignty & the seizure of the oil resources of another country.

Mediaite@mediaite.com · 2mo ago

Trump Brags He’s Taking ‘Billions of Barrels of Oil From Venezuela’ Because ‘To the Victor Belong the Spoils’ 

Good for ABC for taking on Trump's FCC. It's ridiculous that broadcasters are getting hassled and threatened for filling their role in a democracy producing news and entertainment programming while people like Elon Musk get a free pass for spewing out lies, hatred and bigotry on social media.

ABC accuses FCC of ‘attempted censorship’

The network says the loss of its TV licenses would send a message to all media: “Accommodate the Administration’s view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price.”

politico.com

NEW FROM ME: A frenzy of cruel and unusual ICE flights over the last few days suggests the Trump admin is ratcheting up its ethnic cleansing campaign. And it may be increasingly desperate to find willing collaborators. My breakdown: gillianbrockell.com/frenzy-of-cr...

Frenzy of cruel and unusual ICE flights shows Trump’s ethnic cleansing campaign is escalating – again

Seven apparent ICE removal flights in the last few days – including third-country removals, prolonged shackling, and failed deportations – reveal an agency ratcheting up.

gillianbrockell.com

How the latest wave of hate speech from Elon Musk threatens America and the world, from @jamellebouie.net In my mind, Musk's reckless advocacy of violence should fall outside the free speech protections of the First Amendment, and he should face legal, political, social and economic consequences.

Opinion | Why Do We Tolerate Elon Musk’s Racist Commentary?

Why does the owner of X get a pass for what he says and does there?

nytimes.com

Trump's nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia signals to any national leader: you too can work your way to nuclear weapons if you set up business ties with Trump or his family. So much for nonproliferation. Sends a terrible message to US allies and the intl orgs the US set up after WWII to keep the peace.

News outlets that covered the US-Saudi nuclear deal without mentioning that Jared Kushner, Trump’s top foreign policy advisor, is getting paid by the Saudi government: WSJ NYT AP Reuters CNN NBC ABC CBS The Guardian Semafor Washington Post Fox News New York Post BBC Newsweek MS NOW

A nuclear deal for the Saudis. A media blackout for Kushner’s corruption.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration signed a 30-year nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia that paves the way for the kingdom to enrich its own uranium.

popular.info

Classic example of how Trump's policies end up being lose-lose: international students give up their lifelong dreams of studying in America and go elsewhere, while the United States loses out on all the talent, energy and wealth these students bring to university campuses and local communities.

Korean students, parents face uncertainty over tightened US visa rules - The Korea Times

Korean students preparing to study in the United States are now grappling with growing uncertainty after the Trump administration announced a new v...

koreatimes.co.kr

Beautiful, España. Good for you, good for sport, good for the world.

Ossoff is really good at this. He doesn't couch his criticism in policy wonk nonsense or post it on social media in tiny font unreadable memes. He says it plainly, over and over, to the biggest mics he can find.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3mo ago

Ossoff: "Here's what's going to happen tonight: the world's most famous sore loser will deliver a prime-time presidential sour grapes address to pursue his 6-year-old grievances about the 2020 election, while his war in the Middle East spirals out of control & the cost of living continues to rise.."

This article on Trump's business relationship with a South Korean company underscores how his conflicts of interest as president span the entire globe. All in all, Trump's holding company took in $125 million in 2025 directly from non-US sources in at least a dozen countries. It should be illegal.

Trump Paid $2 Million by South Korean Company Facing Trade Investigation

The payment illustrates the minefield Mr. Trump has created by maintaining personal financial ties with foreign businesses while he is in office.

nytimes.com

Now that ICE has killed again in Maine, reupping: The creators of this horrifying new reality are Trump and Stephen Miller. They pretended to want it done quietly this time, but that's just spin. The whole project is intrinsically geared toward exactly this outcome. newrepublic.com/article/2129...

Horrible. Yet again: abolish ICE, redo US immigration policy, and prosecute the officials authorizing and using violence.

Man fatally shot by ICE officer in Maine wasn’t the target of arrest warrant, senator’s spokesman says

A local advocacy group identified the victim as a 26-year-old Colombian man who was authorized to work in the United States.

nbcnews.com

So it's no longer enough for Trump and Rubio to keep the United States exempt from the International Criminal Court. Now they're trying to bully other countries into abandoning and dismantling it. Tragic that America has given up any semblance of benevolent global leadership to become a predator.

Marco Rubio launches campaign to dismantle international criminal court

Trump’s secretary of state claims the global tribunal is interfering with US military and law enforcement operations

theguardian.com