"The defence of humanity is not a metaphor. It is the political task of our time – and democracy remains the only framework in which that defence can be meaningfully mounted."
"The Minister of Energy and Mines said that the Russian fuel had run out. He summarized the electricity generation problem this way: “(Mariel has no fuel at all, Havana has no fuel at all (…). We have absolutely no fuel oil or diesel.” Despite this, the regime has continued prioritizing control. But fear could not silence the outraged voices of dozens of Cubans who took to the streets demanding electricity and freedom."
On fossil fuels: The American epoch of oil is collapsing. What comes next could be ugly https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/may/17/america-china-energy-oil-renewables
On tech: The old world of tech is dying and the new cannot be born https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2026/the-old-world-of-tech-is-dying/
American politics is the management of decline. Maybe JVL gets this but I dunno if any of the other Bulwark folks do.
America's wealth depends on the world's genuflection. That is over in a way that has entirely washed over progressive America.
The GOP have destroyed 'America'. So when I hear Newsom at Davos telling the world 'everything will return to normal once we get power again', echoing Biden's inauguration, I know Dems are clueless to what has happened. Because who is challenging this assumption. Who is explaining the extent of the damage and the fix required.
The world is watching Democrats offering nothing. For whatever reason. And this has consequences. Ask a Canadian if they trust Democrats to behave better than Republicans. Ask a Brit. Ask a Australian. Ask a Filipino.
Your wealth depends on a global hegemony that the GOP are dismantling and Democrats seem oblivious to debating.
London and New Jersey deal with their respective toxic swamps in interestingly different ways.
*There is an American who Evan cites here who is claiming, I swear to G*d, that Europeans wanting to walk to the World Cup final is "white supremacy".*
Just gets better and better.
British Transport Police said a woman reported she was racially abused and had her hair grabbed as she entered the station with her sister and two young children at 19:30 BST on 11 October.
US national Melissa Rein Lively, 40 - a "Maga" (make America great again) influencer - has been charged with assault by beating. Her partner, German national Philipp Ostermann, 37, has been charged with three public order offences, two of them racially aggravated.
From Reddit London:
"Reminder that old girl already had prior form as a toxic, drug-addled, racist, conspiracy theorist nutcase." Receipts > https://www.reddit.com/r/london/comments/1te47fo/comment/om18btx/
An outlandish scenario to refuse to seat newly elected blue state representatives just became more plausible
"The lack of a confirmed broadcast agreement with India or China is unusual at this stage.
In past World Cups, including 2018 and 2022, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV secured the rights well in advance and began airing promotional content and sponsor-driven advertisements weeks before the tournament.
The 2026 tournament kicks off on June 11, leaving barely five weeks for a deal to be finalised, broadcast infrastructure to be set up and advertising inventory to be sold."
"The key factors that make rescuing American democracy extremely difficult are the Supreme Court, the Senate, gerrymandering, and the Constitution itself."
Excellent piece.
Was just watching GTL's comments on the "when you are ready" robo-messaging and was thinking that Americans have no sense of what it will take to restore global trust. None. Put simple, so we can believe this mayhem will not happen again. Am writing from London.
Forhad Hussain got 25,538 total votes.
Mehmood Mirza, for Newham Independents Party came second with 20,234 votes, with the Green Party’s Areeq Chowdhury in third with 8,999 votes.
Cubans applying for a US visa will now find themselves between a rock and a hard place. When consulate officials ask them if they fear what might happen to them in their home country, they will face the dilemma of lying—which would result in a permanent prohibition on entering the country—or telling the truth, in which case the visa will be denied.
Embassies and consulates received a diplomatic cable this week from the State Department indicating that visas should be denied to those who declare fear of their country’s regime.
Jeremy Corbyn MP is our guest on this May Day morning. Now an independent MP and the leader of Your Party, Jeremy has been in Westminster for 43 years - for 41 of those as a Labour MP. He was leader of Labour Party from 2015 to 2020, and fought two general elections in 2017 and 2019. He talks about this to Gyles in this episode, and about the bitter divisions and recriminations that followed the final defeat.
He also talks about his childhood, growing up in Wiltshire and Shropshire, with free-thinking parents who encouraged him to make things and gave him a lot of freedom. He talks about being an academic under-achiever, his formative experiences with VSO in Jamaica as a teenager, and travelling in revolutionary South America. He talks about being awkward, his love of reading, and his continuing commitment to making the world a better place.
Whatever your politics, we hope you find this an inspiring, interesting and illuminating listen with one of the longest-standing and most committed of our politicians.
With our thanks to Jeremy Corbyn for his time, energy and conversation.
Travel advisories have been issued to World Cup visitors travelling to the United States. This is insane. It's the sort of thing you see governments issuing for hostile and unstable countries, not human rights groups for the world's largest and most open economy. Yet this is the reality of Trump's America - visitors are not necessarily safe to travel.
Added: Here is the travel advisory that Phil is referring to.
'Over 120 Civil Society Groups Issue Travel Advisory for U.S. Ahead of FIFA World Cup
Groups warn that deteriorating human rights situation in U.S. could put people in host cities at risk, citing ICE abuses, suppression of speech, and more'
Here is Fox News: 'ACLU, NAACP accused of trying to 'sabotage' US tourism with 'fearmongering' campaign' https://www.foxnews.com/politics/aclu-naacp-accused-trying-sabotage-us-tourism-fearmongering-campaign
>Davis Ingle, a spokesperson for the White House, emphasized to Fox News Digital that "international visitors who legally come to the United States for the World Cup have nothing to worry about."
>While emphasizing that foreign visitors must be "proactive" in preparing their travel documents ahead of time, he dismissed the advisory as "ridiculous scare tactics driven by liberal activist groups and the left-wing media."
>"What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is whether or not they are illegally in the U.S.— full stop," he explained. "Speculation to the contrary is ill-informed."
Had the word 'class' blaring in my head while watching this.