lyleaustin.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

This is what people in the West do not want to face, but it is true that nations that think they are still an empire with “historically justified” imperial claims can only be pushed back by real defeat.

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

Absurd levels of cringe. "Young US men are joining Russian churches promising 'absurd levels of manliness'" www.bbc.com/news/article...

submitted 13 hours ago • 0 comments

If anyone ever needs a step-by-step guide to destroying democracy, just see what Viktor Orbán and his government have been doing in #Hungary. www.hrw.org/the-day-in-h...

submitted 3 days ago • 4 comments

Today, 21 May, is the Circassian Day of Mourning, commemorating the day on which the ancient land of Circassia was annexed by Russia and its remaining population expelled from their homeland.

submitted 3 days ago • 2 comments

what does trump's foreign policy mean for separatists and secession movements around the world? our new piece with @ryan-griffiths.bsky.social argues breakaway regions could find new opportunities but also a lot more risks www.foreignaffairs.com/world/new-pr...

submitted 5 days ago • 2 comments

Really insightful piece on the potential ramifications of a Trumpian foreign policy. 'For independence movements, the new rules of secession mean a more volatile and uncertain future.'

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

Putin is happy to let the war continue, and I'm sure he believes his chances of victory are better with Trump in the White House. Trump seems to want to stop the war so he can get a trade deal with Russia and perhaps a Nobel Peace Prize, but he is really just prolonging the bloodshed.

submitted 5 days ago • 0 comments

“Putin is tired of this whole thing,” Trump said on Fox News. “He’s not looking good. And he wants to look good.” In reality, it is Trump who is tired of “this whole thing,” Trump who’s not looking good, and Trump who wants to look good. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

submitted 5 days ago • 80 comments

Congratulations to Nicuşor Dan for winning the Romanian presidential election. It's great to see a gold medallist from the Maths Olympiad rise to such a position. He will face many challenges as president, but he's clearly more capable than the alternative. www.imo-official.org/participant_...

submitted 5 days ago • 0 comments

Ukraine says 9 people were killed when a Russian drone hit a passenger bus in the Sumy region (only a few hours after the underwhelming conclusion of peace talks in Istanbul.)

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

“Sooner or later, all the peoples of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace.” - Martin Luther King Jr. On #InternationalDayofLivingTogetherinPeace and every day, let's build on his work as we continue working for a better world.

submitted 8 days ago • 4 comments

The United States' credit rating is slipping. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

Major Silicon Valley tech companies - Google, Meta, Microsoft, Tesla, and, of course, Amazon - are all compromised, and it's not surprising they're becoming increasingly authoritarian. It's time for serious competition to develop in other parts of the world.

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

Some of the tech industry’s biggest corporations are cracking down on employees who criticize their policies, stifling worker activism that was once ubiquitous in Silicon Valley. The companies are rejecting worker petitions, firing employees, and removing critical posts on internal message boards.

submitted 8 days ago • 52 comments

Survival released a report 6 months ago about the potential genocide the uncontacted Hongana Manyawa people of Halmahera Island, Indonesia, are facing because of nickel mining.

submitted 8 days ago • 1 comment

Again, this isn't an issue of left vs right, Republican vs Democrat, but authoritarianism vs democracy. You have to decide what side you're on, and fight.

submitted 10 days ago • 20 comments

The privileges committee, headed by Judith Collins, has suspended three members of Te Pāti Māori for periods of one to three weeks for performing a haka in the New Zealand parliament last November. They will be absent from parliament when the 2025 budget comes up for debate next week.

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

New Zealand MPs who performed haka in parliament given unprecedented punishment

submitted 10 days ago • 20 comments

Progress is being made with digitising Abkhaz. I hope this helps ensure its long-term survival. I also hope that Circassian and Abaza will follow, along with Ossetian, Chechen, and other Caucasian languages. jam-news.net/programmers-...

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

After the Andijan Massacre in Uzbekistan 20 years ago, the EU and US at first condemned the killings. But within a few years, they were cooperating with the mass murderers. My Daily Brief today looks at the massacre and the duplicitous diplomacy that followed: www.hrw.org/the-day-in-h...

submitted 12 days ago • 0 comments

Today is the twentieth anniversary of the Andijon massacre, when Uzbek security forces fired indiscriminately on unarmed protesters in the city of Andijon in the Fergana Valley in the east of the country, killing hundreds. www.hrw.org/report/2005/...

submitted 12 days ago • 1 comment

20 years ago today, Uzbekistan government forces killed hundreds of unarmed protesters in #Andijan, a town in eastern #Uzbekistan, following an attack by armed men. Over 500 people fled into neighboring Kyrgyzstan. www.hrw.org/report/2005/...

submitted 12 days ago • 1 comment

Kurdish group PKK says it is laying down arms and disbanding www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

submitted 13 days ago • 9 comments

The Democratic Republic of Balochistan has declared its independence and called for international recognition. I wish them luck in achieving the self-determination they were denied in 1947. www.indiatoday.in/amp/world/st...

submitted 13 days ago • 0 comments

Today, Tehran, Pyongyang, and Beijing are key backers of Russia’s war of expansion. But they share a deeper history: under the last tsar, Iran, China, and Korea themselves fell prey to its colonial appetite. My latest for @newlinesmag.bsky.social on Russia’s imperial record in the Global South.

submitted 16 days ago • 2 comments

I missed the old good days when the Swan Lake was the only music you needed to know to figure out what's going on in Moscow

submitted 14 days ago • 1 comment

The haze of disinformation

submitted 14 days ago • 0 comments

Bad journalism from @theguardian.com, which says Israel is 'following through on its promise to protect the Druze'. The Syrian authorities did NOT attack the Druze, so Israel is simply attacking Syria, not protecting anyone.

submitted 23 days ago • 3 comments

Unsurprisingly, Georgia tumbles further down the Press Freedom Index - from place 103 to 114 of 180 countries, scoring 50.5 points. Under Georgian Dream, Georgia's press freedom peaked in 2020 at place 60 with 71.5 points. Since then, it has been in free fall. civil.ge/archives/678...

submitted 23 days ago • 1 comment

#Syria: last night Israel bombed with 2 airstrikes the outskirts of the Presidential Palace in #Damascus, officially describing the attacks as a "warning message" following Druze-related hostilities. Few hours b4, a deal was reached in Jaramana & another one - despite Druze divisions - for Suwayda.

submitted 23 days ago • 0 comments

Many Americans seem to be completely ignorant about how alliances and trade agreements have helped the U.S. become the richest and most powerful country in human history. The stupidity, arrogance, and greed of Trump and his supporters is absolutely frightening.

submitted 23 days ago • 0 comments

Let me state the obvious again: Nobody has ripped the US off as Trump so mendaciously claims. On the contrary, the US has benefitted from an exorbitant privilege, that his predecessors & sound US institutions have imbued trust in the US $ & US treasuries. /1

submitted 23 days ago • 13 comments

#Syria: clashes ended in one place, and started elsewhere. Tribal fighters/Bedouins are now shelling (Druze) village of Soura Kebira, located in #Suwayda province & close to Khakhalah Airbase.

submitted 24 days ago • 0 comments

The spark happened last night. Unidentified gunmen killed between 8 and 11 Security members deployed in Sahnayah (Damascus suburb with Druze community). Full scale clashes now happening, involvinf Druze fighters, Security but also local gunmen seeking revenge. Situation is out of control.

submitted 25 days ago • 1 comment

Sectarian tensions are immense in #Syria, after 14 years of war and massacres. A simple spark can trigger a broader conflict. Some perfectly know it and are trying to ignite new conflicts (sectarian ones being the worst).

submitted 26 days ago • 0 comments

There's been serious violence in Damascus in the last few days targeting the Druze minority. This article gives some good background information. f24.my/B8He

submitted 24 days ago • 0 comments

Worth noting how far right MAGA US intellectuals often now claim that Canadian national identity is fake and Mexicans are not capable of managing a state. All reminiscent of the predominant narratives in Russia claiming that Ukrainian identity does not exist and Kazakhs are incapable of statehood

submitted 25 days ago • 23 comments

The famous Georgian-Russian sculptor Zurab Tsereteli passed away last night at the age of 91, seemingly from a natural death. Tsereteli was well known for many extravagant pieces of art, close to megalomania. I may sum up a minor overview later today. www.radiotavisupleba.ge/a/33392251.h...

This is what people in the West do not want to face, but it is true that nations that think they are still an empire with “historically justified” imperial claims can only be pushed back by real defeat.

Absurd levels of cringe. "Young US men are joining Russian churches promising 'absurd levels of manliness'" www.bbc.com/news/article...

If anyone ever needs a step-by-step guide to destroying democracy, just see what Viktor Orbán and his government have been doing in #Hungary. www.hrw.org/the-day-in-h...

Today, 21 May, is the Circassian Day of Mourning, commemorating the day on which the ancient land of Circassia was annexed by Russia and its remaining population expelled from their homeland.

what does trump's foreign policy mean for separatists and secession movements around the world? our new piece with @ryan-griffiths.bsky.social argues breakaway regions could find new opportunities but also a lot more risks www.foreignaffairs.com/world/new-pr...

Really insightful piece on the potential ramifications of a Trumpian foreign policy. 'For independence movements, the new rules of secession mean a more volatile and uncertain future.'

Putin is happy to let the war continue, and I'm sure he believes his chances of victory are better with Trump in the White House. Trump seems to want to stop the war so he can get a trade deal with Russia and perhaps a Nobel Peace Prize, but he is really just prolonging the bloodshed.

“Putin is tired of this whole thing,” Trump said on Fox News. “He’s not looking good. And he wants to look good.” In reality, it is Trump who is tired of “this whole thing,” Trump who’s not looking good, and Trump who wants to look good. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Congratulations to Nicuşor Dan for winning the Romanian presidential election. It's great to see a gold medallist from the Maths Olympiad rise to such a position. He will face many challenges as president, but he's clearly more capable than the alternative. www.imo-official.org/participant_...

Ukraine says 9 people were killed when a Russian drone hit a passenger bus in the Sumy region (only a few hours after the underwhelming conclusion of peace talks in Istanbul.)

“Sooner or later, all the peoples of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace.” - Martin Luther King Jr. On #InternationalDayofLivingTogetherinPeace and every day, let's build on his work as we continue working for a better world.

The United States' credit rating is slipping. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Major Silicon Valley tech companies - Google, Meta, Microsoft, Tesla, and, of course, Amazon - are all compromised, and it's not surprising they're becoming increasingly authoritarian. It's time for serious competition to develop in other parts of the world.

Some of the tech industry’s biggest corporations are cracking down on employees who criticize their policies, stifling worker activism that was once ubiquitous in Silicon Valley. The companies are rejecting worker petitions, firing employees, and removing critical posts on internal message boards.

Survival released a report 6 months ago about the potential genocide the uncontacted Hongana Manyawa people of Halmahera Island, Indonesia, are facing because of nickel mining.

Again, this isn't an issue of left vs right, Republican vs Democrat, but authoritarianism vs democracy. You have to decide what side you're on, and fight.

The privileges committee, headed by Judith Collins, has suspended three members of Te Pāti Māori for periods of one to three weeks for performing a haka in the New Zealand parliament last November. They will be absent from parliament when the 2025 budget comes up for debate next week.

New Zealand MPs who performed haka in parliament given unprecedented punishment

Progress is being made with digitising Abkhaz. I hope this helps ensure its long-term survival. I also hope that Circassian and Abaza will follow, along with Ossetian, Chechen, and other Caucasian languages. jam-news.net/programmers-...

After the Andijan Massacre in Uzbekistan 20 years ago, the EU and US at first condemned the killings. But within a few years, they were cooperating with the mass murderers. My Daily Brief today looks at the massacre and the duplicitous diplomacy that followed: www.hrw.org/the-day-in-h...

Today is the twentieth anniversary of the Andijon massacre, when Uzbek security forces fired indiscriminately on unarmed protesters in the city of Andijon in the Fergana Valley in the east of the country, killing hundreds. www.hrw.org/report/2005/...

20 years ago today, Uzbekistan government forces killed hundreds of unarmed protesters in #Andijan, a town in eastern #Uzbekistan, following an attack by armed men. Over 500 people fled into neighboring Kyrgyzstan. www.hrw.org/report/2005/...

Kurdish group PKK says it is laying down arms and disbanding www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Democratic Republic of Balochistan has declared its independence and called for international recognition. I wish them luck in achieving the self-determination they were denied in 1947. www.indiatoday.in/amp/world/st...

Today, Tehran, Pyongyang, and Beijing are key backers of Russia’s war of expansion. But they share a deeper history: under the last tsar, Iran, China, and Korea themselves fell prey to its colonial appetite. My latest for @newlinesmag.bsky.social on Russia’s imperial record in the Global South.

I missed the old good days when the Swan Lake was the only music you needed to know to figure out what's going on in Moscow

The haze of disinformation

Bad journalism from @theguardian.com, which says Israel is 'following through on its promise to protect the Druze'. The Syrian authorities did NOT attack the Druze, so Israel is simply attacking Syria, not protecting anyone.

Unsurprisingly, Georgia tumbles further down the Press Freedom Index - from place 103 to 114 of 180 countries, scoring 50.5 points. Under Georgian Dream, Georgia's press freedom peaked in 2020 at place 60 with 71.5 points. Since then, it has been in free fall. civil.ge/archives/678...

#Syria: last night Israel bombed with 2 airstrikes the outskirts of the Presidential Palace in #Damascus, officially describing the attacks as a "warning message" following Druze-related hostilities. Few hours b4, a deal was reached in Jaramana & another one - despite Druze divisions - for Suwayda.

Many Americans seem to be completely ignorant about how alliances and trade agreements have helped the U.S. become the richest and most powerful country in human history. The stupidity, arrogance, and greed of Trump and his supporters is absolutely frightening.

Let me state the obvious again: Nobody has ripped the US off as Trump so mendaciously claims. On the contrary, the US has benefitted from an exorbitant privilege, that his predecessors & sound US institutions have imbued trust in the US $ & US treasuries. /1

#Syria: clashes ended in one place, and started elsewhere. Tribal fighters/Bedouins are now shelling (Druze) village of Soura Kebira, located in #Suwayda province & close to Khakhalah Airbase.

The spark happened last night. Unidentified gunmen killed between 8 and 11 Security members deployed in Sahnayah (Damascus suburb with Druze community). Full scale clashes now happening, involvinf Druze fighters, Security but also local gunmen seeking revenge. Situation is out of control.

Sectarian tensions are immense in #Syria, after 14 years of war and massacres. A simple spark can trigger a broader conflict. Some perfectly know it and are trying to ignite new conflicts (sectarian ones being the worst).

There's been serious violence in Damascus in the last few days targeting the Druze minority. This article gives some good background information. f24.my/B8He

Worth noting how far right MAGA US intellectuals often now claim that Canadian national identity is fake and Mexicans are not capable of managing a state. All reminiscent of the predominant narratives in Russia claiming that Ukrainian identity does not exist and Kazakhs are incapable of statehood

The famous Georgian-Russian sculptor Zurab Tsereteli passed away last night at the age of 91, seemingly from a natural death. Tsereteli was well known for many extravagant pieces of art, close to megalomania. I may sum up a minor overview later today. www.radiotavisupleba.ge/a/33392251.h...

Indigenous river campaigner from Peru wins prestigious Goldman prize

Will JD Vance be meeting Putin now pretty please?