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

The post that got me kicked off Facebook. When I posted and discussed this feature in the Times about Careless People by former Facebook Global Policy director Sarah Wynn-Williams, with quotes from it, Facebook instantly pulled the plug on my page. A must read. www.thetimes.com/article/11d5...

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Nathan Brown offers the first serious English-language discussion of the new Syrian constitution, which provides for Sharia law... but also features Ottoman style communitarian systems. It could tilt either way. carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/...

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Enquiring minds want to know which of the three judges appointed by Donald J Trump is it that he now terms a liberal traitor?

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One of the very few serious discussions of the struggle between the once politically powerful Alawites and the new powers in charge in Damascus. To some extent, this is predictable. But it places a cloud over the new government's promise of a new communitarian Syria. newlinesmag.com/spotlight/ho...

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Democracy, not. In Turkey, President Erdoğan orders the arrest and imprisonment of Ekrem İmamoğlu, set to become the main opposition nominee for president this weekend, who seems set to best him in the coming elections. 36 leaders of İmamoğlu's political movement also land behind bars.

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Europe now realizes that any reliance on a Moscow-friendly Elon Musk constitutes a huge vulnerability and rushes to dump Starlink and other Musk-controlled technologies. www.ft.com/content/8634...

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After lengthy discussions with Putin, Trump is suddenly very keen to take control of Ukraine's power stations. Wonder what Putin has in mind with this ploy. www.ft.com/content/d1a9...

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A look at the legendary Italian paper and appliance maker Fabriano and its efforts to find a place in a rapidly changing economy. www.ft.com/content/e374...

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Netanyahu has enmeshed the country's military in interminable conflicts across the region. But that's his calling card.

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Netanyahu's decision to breach the ceasefire accord and resume war in Gaza has harsh domestic consequences for Israel, whose military commitments have already been taxed to the limit. The country's economy will suffer severely, says the FT. www.ft.com/content/4079...

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Who knew the global economy was more complex than a zero-sum game? Perhaps businesspeople aren’t so rational after all. Their faith in Trump — call it “Trump Derangement Syndrome” — looks like a cultural phenomenon begging for anthropological study. www.ft.com/content/ace7...

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How Jeff Bezos, the son of a 17-year-old unwed mother, became a MAGA-spouting broligarch. It was easy, as it turns out, because the only things that matter to Bezos are the accumulation of money and power. www.ft.com/content/00e8...

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Ha'aretz observes the perfectly obvious about Netanyahu's decision to violate the ceasefire agreement and resume war: this is all about his desire to hold power perpetually and to avoid any form of accountability for the events of Oct 7. www.haaretz.com/opinion/edit...

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The good news for Tesla just keeps coming.

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Chris Hayes shares the story of Sarah Inama, a 6th grade teacher in Idaho who is standing up to injustice in her school and state. youtu.be/EJxRtjma7lc?...

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Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune

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The post that got Rick Wilson banned forever from Twitter. open.substack.com/pub/therickw...

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Canadians now think that Mark Carney can manage Trump and Pierre Poilievre can't. And that's all that matters.

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Given a choice between aligning itself with Europe or the US, Canada has no hesitation about its choice: with Europe. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/w...

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A "supergiant" deposit of high-quality gold ore containing an estimated 1,000 metric tons (1,100 US tons) of the precious metal was discovered in central China in late 2024, according to Chinese state media. english.news.cn/20241121/cc5...

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David Fahrenthold chronicles this history of Elon Musk's completely fraudulent claim of an $8 billion savings at ICE. Musk has acknowledged the mistake, but the number still stands there atop his "wall of receipts" alongside many other fraudulent claims. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/u...

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The Fed's new projections show that America's economic prospects have dramatically soured entirely as a result of Trump's tariff policies. www.wsj.com/economy/cent...

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For Germans who lived through the thirties, all this has a very familiar ring. Trump, in office less than two months, launches a massive vendetta against judges, prosecutors, lawyers, law firms and the organized bar. He rages with furor agains the entire justice system and calls himself a victim.

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German citizens are arrested and one is brutally tortured by Trump's CBP for no apparent reason. Germans are made to feel that they are no longer welcome in the United States. The German Foreign Office is preparing to issue stark warnings about travel to the United States.

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On Rupert Murdoch TV, vintage fascist techniques are used to attack comedians. Hannity: Kimmel’s show is run by Disney. Disney is run by Bob Iger. Bob, are you okay with this? Is this the inclusive woke, the ABC Disney brand? Bob Iger, are you proud of this? Jimmy Kimmel is an unhinged loser.

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The Next Assault on Gaza Will Be Worse open.substack.com/pub/peterbei...

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Sgt William Carney, another great American military hero erased from our military websites. Trump’s pointless, counterproductive culture war is hurting our military and denigrating the service of our veterans. taskandpurpose.com/news/soldier...

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Hooded ICE agents snatched Indian-born Georgetown postdoc Badar Suri from Rosslyn street Monday, per court filing. Like Khalil, linked to pro-Palestinian views & Rubio 'foreign policy' power, lawyer says. Then whisked to Louisiana. These are police state tactics, particularly associated with Russia.

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particularly due to the efforts of Bryce DeWitt. Whatever the scientific merits of MWI, it has been a godsend for modern writers of science fiction, allowing for complex plot convolutions. 2/

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Hugh Everett III's Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI), proposed in 1957, was initially ignored and even ridiculed. Everett's Ph.D. advisor, John Archibald Wheeler, tried to suppress it to avoid controversy. It wasn't until the 1970s that the MWI gained more attention, 1/

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Ruth Marcus: “If we live in a country where judges’ orders can be ignored by an Administration bent on amassing unchecked power, we no longer live in a democracy.” www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...

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From SecDef Pete Hegseth, a quick about face. Pentagon removes, then restores webpage on Jackie Robinson's military career. www.cbsnews.com/news/jackie-...

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But DOJ actually conceded that the personnel who were being separated made significant contributions with no significant downside. This is really puzzling. Either the DOJ lawyers are incompetent or they were trying to torpedo their own case... or there was simply no evidence to offer. 2/

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The most striking thing that emerges from Judge Reyes opinion and the record is the severe failure of proof in the submissions of the DOJ. Reyes repeatedly invited them to produce evidence they had that the decision was motivated by a desire to improve the quality of the uniformed services. 1/

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“The Military Ban is soaked in animus and dripping with pretext,” Judge Reyes wrote. “Its language is unabashedly demeaning, its policy stigmatizes transgender persons as inherently unfit, and its conclusions bear no relation to fact.“ Good discussion of the decision here.

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“'It feels like veterans are being personally attacked by Elon Musk,' said one veteran. 'I did not put my life on the line for some tech bro billionaire from South Africa to come in here and try to destroy our country,' said another." www.thebulwark.com/p/veterans-g...

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The Trump administration continues its preparations for war on Mexico. The Navy is deploying a second destroyer to the southern border by the end of the week. This second DDG will deploy from the west coast and join the Norfolk-based USS Gravely that set sail Saturday.

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Nepobaby run NYT thinks it's horribly unfair that politicians refer to a South African nepobaby named Elon Musk as a South African nepobaby. Apparently this is a Trump-style tactic. Nope. But it does serve to remind us what NYT is.

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Facebook is an increasingly dark and creepy place, and that's largely Zuckerberg's doings. His Marketplace on FB is particularly a sheltering spot for sickos. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/m...

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Rupert Murdoch TV does a whole segment on Teslas spontaneously bursting into flames and suggests that this is acts of arson against Tesla. But this has been happening for 15 years now.

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Pam Bondi and DOJ are incensed to threats against the property of the world's wealthiest man, South African billionaire Elon Musk. But it's shameful that she has nothing to say about threats and acts of violence against judges which have been incited by... Pam Bondi and Donald Trump.

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A French researcher traveling to the United States for a conference was denied entry by CBP because a border agent searched his phone and found comments he had authored expressing criticism of Fearless Leader Donald J Trump. www.lemonde.fr/internationa...

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Just a reminder that Elon Musk has spent years trying to incite riots and civil war in numerous countries, engaging in conduct so severe that it triggered criminal investigations. He's just that kind of guy.

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The insolent language used by DOJ lawyers to Judge Boasberg is extraordinary. To call it rude would be a gross understatement. It's more like actual contempt, quite apart from their decision to disobey his order. They are coasting into severe sanctions territory.