@vackscenegaming.bsky.social we starting over again huh?

Naval warfare was ruined when aircraft and missiles became a thing and spoilt all the fun of firing big fuck-off guns from floating castles.

Intellectuals dissect the gears of international systems. Leaders forge them with blood, risk, and sleepless nights.

And there is a vast difference between the perspective of an analyst and that of a leader in the trenches.

Gen Z isn't lazy. They're demoralized. To call a generation lazy is to ignore the systems that failed to inspire them. The demoralization of youth is the symptom, not the cause, of a society unsure of its future.

Could Spain and Portugal conquer China? (Part 2) Debunking another angle to yet another unrealistic historical take.

Without money and bureaucracies to sustain them, victories vanish as quickly as they are won.

Spain and Portugal in the 16th century did not have the financial means or political support to invade China.

Final part explaining why they couldn't.

open.substack.com/pub/pplsarto...

You can spot someone insulated from reality by how poetic their politics sound. The unscarred turn collapse into moodboards. The scarred count the risks and consequences.

What is freedom of navigation? If you’re serious about geopol strategy, pay attention to where the ships go

Freedom of navigation is not only movement, but what that movement denies.

At its core, freedom of navigation refers to a country’s ability to send ships, aircraft, or submarines through international waters without permission.

New article out. Read it here:
open.substack.com/pub/pplsarto...

Changing it to Himmler would've been funny.

Inability to seize political opportunities and turn to a narrative advantage is a failure.

It shows they can't follow up and shape the narrative. Then dictate the tempo.

U.K. Tries to Mend Fences in Europe to Defend Against Threats The country of Brexit is shoring up alliances close to home in the face of Russian aggression on the continent and an erratic White House.

The U.K. government is increasingly stitching itself back into the political fabric of Europe, strengthening alliances with key EU states.

Further confirmation from ICE HSI officers that they have been told to stop investigating pedophiles, human traffickers, and drug smugglers.

Officers have been told NOT to take new criminal cases so they can instead go round up more random migrants. Morale is plummeting, especially at HSI.

Trump about to add a 100% reciprocal tithing on the Vatican.

Many of the big social media companies do this. LLMs made this common.

Bots don't need to like everything. Just push it enough to get real ppl to engage.

Worse if the platform owner has their own LLM with a rec system? They can use these to manipulate public opinion.

Twitter now is cooked with how many interesting accounts have become kangers.

People are incentivized by bot traffic. Which automatically likes to keep the engagement going.

Getting 100 likes a post for days is a great way to get addicted.

Electronic Arts Lays Off Hundreds, Cancels ‘Titanfall’ Game The video-game publisher cuts between 300 and 400 jobs

BREAKING: Electronic Arts is laying off between 300 and 400 staff, including around 100 at Respawn, and canceling a Titanfall extraction shooter that was in early development, according to people familiar. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Amazon planned to display cost of Trump's tariffs.

Trump complained — Amazon backtracked.

This of course comes after Bezos donated to Trump's inauguration and Amazon bought a Melania documentary.

And remember that Amazon is being sued by FTC for antitrust violations.

Hello?

Autumn in Wuhan.

Jiefang Park, Hankou District.
Wuhan, China.

Subway Station, Hanyang.

Breakfast.

One 热干面 is 5 rmb. Less than 1 USD.

Why does the internet not feel fun anymore?

I need to reread him. It's been years.

Past, present, and future.
Wuhan, China.

Wuhan, Tianhe Airport Station

Jack Dorsey, lol.

We are very much so. Just not in the US way. More subtle. Great powers need influence and build them for geopol power. BRI is part of that.

As much as I enjoy Global South talk, I think it's important not to devolve to Cold War paternalism to carve out spheres of influence.

Very often debates around a multipolar world end up being about accts wanting a unipolar one. With their favorite great power in charge.

Multipolarity is about diplomacy and balance of power. Rather than outright domination of influence.

This is a good point. And a big one I talk about. Multipolarity discussions end up replacing one great power with another. Rather than talking how different spheres of influence interact.