Anything & Everything

Every single Ghanaian person with a conscience (be they within the country itself or, like me, in the diaspora) should sign this petition. campaigns.allout.org/ghana-reject-t…

That news story about five players from the Iraqi men’s national football team being denied visas to the USA for the upcoming World Cup was false. thenewregion.com/posts/5353

It's surreal to think that before Jason Collins checked into a game 12 years ago, there had never been a (recognized) openly-gay person who had played in any of the four major US mens sports leagues. A genuine trailblazer.

May he rest in peace.

I said this years ago, but this piece is a good reminder. When Peter Thiel decided to smash Gawker he inadvertently spread a lot of its DNA across all of legacy media. hollywoodreporter.com/business/digit…

29 years old is far, far too young for anyone to depart this earth.

May he rest in peace.

Lamine Yamal 🇵🇸 💙 ❤️ 💛

Today marks four years since my aunt, Shireen Abu Akleh, was killed by an Israeli sniper in Jenin. An iconic journalist, and one of the most empathetic and sweetest people. This is who they killed. She loved life, but they stole hers from her.

The U.S. left should have started its own political party post 2016. Something like an American version of @FranceInsoumise. Instead, we were arrogant enough to think that we could turn the Democratic Party (a deeply capitalist, imperialist institution) into a left-wing one.

Watch | BBC cuts criticism from BAFTA speech by Gaza documentary team The BBC edited down parts of the BAFTA acceptance speech delivered by the team behind "Gaza: Doctors Under Attack", after the filmmakers publicly criticized the broadcaster for refusing to air the documentary. Executive producer Ben de Pear questioned the BBC during the ceremony, saying: “Given that you dropped our film, will you drop us from the BAFTA TV screening later on tonight?” The documentary, focused on Israeli attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system and medical workers, was later aired by Channel 4 after the BBC declined to broadcast it citing “impartiality concerns.”

I wish data center proponents would just say they believe in sacrificing some ecological zones, rather than pretending a project of this scale won't have significant environmental effects sltrib.com/news/environme…

VAR basically deciding the Premier League title is going make a lot of already very normal people even more so.

“FIFA increasingly behaves less like a governing body and more like a global entertainment platform with Silicon Valley assumptions about scale and monetisation.” nytimes.com/athletic/72605…

“The 2026 World Cup is probably the most American World Cup ever staged, not just geographically, but ideologically: expanded tournament, dynamic pricing, half-time shows, celebrity integration.”

@Millar_Colin oh.

Newcastle United (27) have dropped more points from winning positions this season than any other Premier League team. Newcastle have also picked up the fewest points (3) from losing positions in the league of any side.

@RnaudBertrand Ghana being listed as one of the most democratic countries on earth is odd, given that they’re trying to do this: hrw.org/news/2026/03/1…

Let's start with what's always the highlight of the report: the actual ranking of countries based on democracy perception by their own people. Which, this year, as a French man, is utterly depressing: France is now, according to the French people themselves, one of the least democratic countries in the world, alongside countries like Kazakhstan, Yemen or Zimbabwe. It's insane but sadly unsurprising given the fact that Macron made a complete mockery of the results of the previous elections, and altogether only has utter contempt for his people. Also fascinating, like every single year, is the fact that China is - according to the Chinese people themselves - one of the most democratic countries in the world. According to the ranking, the world's most democratic countries are: Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, Ghana, Sri Lanka, India and... China! Every year I get the same argument back so let me preempt it: no it's not because the Chinese people would be "afraid" to express their opinion. If that were the case you'd see the same dynamic in other presumed "authoritarian" countries. But Russia scores -21, Belarus -9, Kazakhstan -31. If "fear of the regime" explained China's +14, why aren't Russians and Belarusians equally "afraid"? Professor Jason Hickel - an economic anthropologist - also wrote a fascinating article on exactly this topic titled "Support for government in China: is the data accurate?" (open.substack.com/pub/jasonhicke…) in which he systematically dismantles the "fear bias" argument by examining studies that used anonymized and implicit methodologies. The verdict: across every methodology tested, Chinese people mean what they say. So, for better or worse, as far as people's perceptions are concerned, we now live in a world where China is one of the most democratic countries in the world and France one of the least. How does the US fare? Not great, far below China (although better than France): its ranking is "neutral" meaning there's roughly an equal amount of U.S. citizens who think they're a democracy as those who don't. For the self-proclaimed "leader of the free world," that's not exactly a ringing endorsement...

Every year, this has to be the one report I look forward to the most: the Democracy Perception Index, compiled by the Alliance of Democracies Foundation (in partnership with Nita Data). In fact, my yearly thread on the report is apparently such a tradition that, this year, its lead researcher personally sent me the report with this message: "every year, I look forward to your thread about it!". That's how you start wondering whether you tweet too much 😅 Why do I like this report so much? A few reasons: 1) The Alliance of Democracies Foundation, the organization behind the report, cannot even remotely be suspected of being some sort of anti-West outlet: it was started by an ex-NATO Secretary General (Anders Fogh Rasmussen) and its stated purpose is "to unite world democracies" 2) It's surprisingly honest and the methodology is actually democratic. Unlike other reports on democracy the scoring isn't done by the report's authors (like the report by Freedom House or The Economist's "Democracy Index"). It simply asks people what they think and, when it comes to democracy, that's kind of the point 🤷‍♂️ 3) I love the expression "perception is reality" because, like it or not, what people believe about their system is what determines its legitimacy. A democracy that nobody actually experiences as one can't credibly claim to be one. And conversely, a so-called "autocracy" that its people overwhelmingly believe is actually a democracy might... actually be a democracy. Anyhow, this year's edition did not disappoint. The data is absolutely fascinating and frankly, a little terrifying. So here you go: my thread on the 2026 Democracy Perception Index 🧵

@NHLFlyers Run it back.

Let’s fucking go

Any lasting ceasefire has to involve Russia giving back all of the annexed land (including Crimea) to Ukraine. Anything less than that would be an abomination.

A VICTORY TO SOLIDARITY We welcome the news that Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila will be released from illegal captivity by the israeli regime in occupied Palestine. The world has risen once again against the blatant illegal state of affairs, amounting in public, political and diplomatic pressure to demand their release. We rise and keep mobilizing to pressure for the release of all Palestinian and political prisoners, Demand accountability for the israeli crimes and their accomplices now! End the blockade! End genocide! Free Palestine!