Empatii to Trumpowi nawet nie amputowali tylko wyrwali z korzeniami

The normalisation of Kremlin in Paris, London, Berlin, Hague and Copenhagen was indeed a disastrous own goal. We kept treating the Kremlin as a rational player right until February 22. And in some ways we still do.

But isn't that exactly what we are repeating with China today?

Following the money.

There Was a Moment to Prevent This War. The West Chose Not To. The war in Ukraine is not just Russia’s decision—it is also the result of Western hesitation.

There Was a Moment to Prevent This War. The West Chose Not To.
Russia truly lost its mind after the annexation of Crimea.
That was the moment when lies became state ideology, and aggression became the system’s only mode of existence.
open.substack.com/pub/sergeist...

In order to succeed, the Zeitenwende will need more political guidance than we see at the moment.

No “Fazit” this time, but my final words of our #SicherheitshalberLive in Mainz.

Sicherheitshalber LIVE - Zeitenwende-Halbzeitbilanz: Ist Deutschland bald wehrhaft? YouTube video by phoenix

Full debate here

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GkP...

Trump is desperate to reopen the negotiation. But will Iran play along if Trump continues to refuse to ease the US counterblockade

The electronic budget system shows a 6.93 trillion ruble deficit as of 20 April 2026

With the Iran war appearing no closer to ending, Tehran has benefited significantly from autocratic partners’ help, writes Josh Kurlantzick.

"China and Russia, among others, have continued to provide critical support to Iran during the war, part of a growing trend of authoritarian cooperation."

Texas gerrymandering backfires big time.

Beijing tightens its grip on AI firms that try to shed their Chinese ties A Chinese government probe of a Meta-acquired company, Manus AI, reveals a new red line.

Exclusive: Chinese authorities are taking stronger steps to try to stop rising AI start-ups from leaving the country to seek capital and markets in the West, according to people working in the sector inside and outside China.

1/ Russia is entering a full-scale debt crisis, according to newly published official figures. Non-payments have reached an all-time high equivalent to nearly 4% of GDP or a fifth of the entire federal budget. It's a fresh sign of a deepening economic crisis worsened by war. ⬇️

🧾CHOICE team was pleased to provide a briefing to EU Commissioner @andriuskubilius.ec.europa.eu on current developments in China-Russia relations. Many thanks for giving this topic the space it deserves.

🇧🇬 Bulgaria’s eighth parliamentary elections in five years of political gridlock finally produce a single-party government but leave in place the networks that captured the state, writes GMF’s Dimitar Keranov in his latest analysis.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4ttQTcC

How Independent Journalism Outlasted the Orbán Regime - VSquare.org Budapest is celebrating the fall of the Orbán regime. Preliminary data confirms a massive generational shift: for many, Orbán’s 16-year rule had spanned their entire adult lives.

💥 Budapest is celebrating the fall of the Orbán regime. Driven by a surge of young Hungarians—first on the streets, then at the ballot box—the message was a deafening “Russians, go home.”

VSquare.org

Russian drones consist of 90% Chinese components

Hackers gained access to a closed-door meeting of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, where the issue of dependency on China was discussed. It is alleged that over 90% of the key components for Russian drones are supplied from the North Korea

Officials believe the cost of not reacting to China’s economic policy outweighs that of any counterpunch, but there has been a growing effort to work below the parapet and without ceremony.

But the plan, which was made without public announcement and which has not been previously reported, also reflects new thinking in Brussels among those dealing with Beijing, several sources confirmed. This can be summed up as: do more, say less.

It dovetails too with heightened security fears that China, seen in large parts of Europe as a geopolitical rival, could cut power to the grid should relations worsen.

Inverters are the essential power electronics at the heart of solar and wind systems. Industry groups estimate that Chinese companies led by Huawei control more than 220 gigawatts of Europe’s installed solar capacity via inverters.

Exclusive | EU to cut funding for Chinese inverters in change of tack from Brussels Without fanfare, Brussels will stop funding for projects that use the Chinese-made devices as part of a ‘do more, say less’ strategy.

Exclusive: EU to stop funding EU projects with Chinese inverters, as grandstanding on Beijing gives way to quiet offensive

My report on a quiet decision taken by von der Leyen and her college that suggests the work of de-risking continues apace

The China balance according to the FT Editorial Board. A slowly dawning realisation that its rise cannot be stopped or ignored, and thus the world will never be the same again. Far more significant in the long term than a mad US President. www.ft.com/content/d62f...

China debate in the western media is unfortunately dominated by commentators yelling "it's not fair" "but but but imbalances" or "security" who have no good solutions other than to hope the world somehow returns to somewhere around 1998.

Between 2015 and 2025, academic freedom declined in 50 countries, whereas only 9 countries experienced improvements.

In the period 2015–2025, several countries have experienced substantial and significant declines in all dimensions of academic freedom.

Præcis. Trump siger fanme så meget. Hold op med at stenografere hvert eneste ord, han siger, og nøjes med at skrive, hvad han gør. Og hvad virkeligheden er.

Xi tells Putin of ‘changes not seen for 100 years’ | Al Jazeera Newsfeed YouTube video by Al Jazeera English

🫣 The core of China-Russian relations.

Xi: "Right now there are changes the likes we have not seen for the last 100 years. And we are the ones driving these changes together".

Putin: "I agree".

Russian Orthodox Christianity and Power: The Cultural Code the West Refuses to See Faith as Power, Obedience as Virtue, Empire as Destiny.

Russian Orthodox Christianity and Power: The Cultural Code the West Refuses to See.
There is a phrase often attributed — though never formally documented — to Western observers of Russia: that the Russian ruler is both king and pope in one person.
open.substack.com/pub/sergeist...

Competitors vs. Enemies: A Strategic Confusion in U.S. Policy Oil revenues will not only sustain Russia’s war in Ukraine — they will fuel its broader campaign against the United States.

Competitors vs. Enemies: A Strategic Confusion in U.S. Policy.
China seeks dominance.
Russia seeks destruction.

Do you see the difference between a competitor and an enemy?
open.substack.com/pub/sergeist...

🫣Washingtonestablishment just a year ago:

"American institutions are too strong to be tipped over by Trump".

Kontroversiel amerikansk virksomhed har adgang til fortrolige oplysninger hos dansk politi Leverandøren af Politiet og PET’s såkaldte ’supervåben’ har forbindelser til de amerikanske efterretningstjenester og Trump-regeringen

At man overhovedet købte software fra Palantir viser - igen - den danske stats håbløse naivitet og infantile godtroenhed. De embedsmænd, der stod for indkøbet dengang har hverken sat sig ind i datasikkerhed eller Peter Thiels anti-demokratiske sindelag.

Plenty of AI slop during the first day of the election campaign in Denmark.

Most of it is benevolent, satirical, even self-deprecating.

But: using it, normalises it.

And it legitimises uncontrolled usage by party supporters, opponents, and anti-democratic domestic and foreign actors.