Martin B

Sometimes we forget how the PRC peacefully influences the world in wars and conflicts.

This New York Times piece is worth your time. Here’s what is happening, as simply as I can put it. Back in January, Trump sued the IRS, an agency he controls, demanding $10 billion over the leak of his tax returns a number of years ago. IRS lawyers did their jobs. They wrote a memo laying out the defenses that could beat the suit, including the fact that Trump filed too late. His own lawyer was in court when the leaker pleaded guilty in October 2023, more than two years before Trump sued. The Justice Department never showed up to court. Never argued back. Never used the defenses sitting on their desk. The judge got suspicious and ordered both sides to explain whether they were actually opposing each other or just colluding. The day before that brief was due, Trump dropped the suit. Same day, his Justice Department announced a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded “anti-weaponization fund.”  Trump gets a formal apology. The IRS agrees to drop any audits of him and his family, even though a 2024 Times report found a loss in an ongoing audit could cost him over $100 million. The acting Attorney General, Trump’s former criminal defense attorney, picks the five commissioners who decide who gets paid. Trump can fire any of them. Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are not ruled out. This is the most corrupt thing I’ve ever seen from an American president. Where in the hell are my Republican colleagues? nytimes.com/2026/05/19/adm…

Two RAF F-35B jets have been stranded at Lajes Airport in the Azores for two months after mechanical faults on their maiden flight from Lockheed Martin's factory in Texas. The £88m jets remain Lockheed Martin's property until repaired. It's the latest in a string of F-35 reliability problems for the RAF. Another jet was stuck in India for a month last year, one crashed into the Mediterranean in 2021, and a 2025 audit found the fleet could only perform a third of required missions. Source: The Telegraph

@Mylovanov Vance talks. A lot. But the MAGA White House’s actions speak louder than anything he says.

Vance: The US cannot police the world. Europe must stand on its own two feet — Trump said this in his first term and he means it now. Troops stay in Europe, but Europe carries its own weight. That's the policy. 1/

@wisemanswisdoms @stellapolaris10 RU EW har blivit bättre på att trycka UA UAS västerut.

Keep the fires burning!

Latest David Frum Show: @PhillipsPOBrien argues that it's not just Trump and Hegseth who failed vs Iran, the uniformed military has been caught by surprise again and again in ways difficult to excuse. youtube.com/watch?v=TLjlyI…

Striving for relevance, Putin once again announces that he will nuke the planet.

Den svenska framgången med att kombinera hög levnadsstandard med stadigt minskade utsläpp är i världsklass. Också de konsumtionsbaserade minskar. Territoriella utsläpp är negativa. Med fortsatt elektrifiering och utbyggnad av fossilfri elproduktion kan resan fortsätta. Ett föredöme i världen.

Watching a pan-Nordic discussion program on Finnish TV with Nordic ministers and researchers. One clear outcome is that if Southern European countries had helped Ukraine relatively as much as the Nordics, Ukraine would have already won.

If I was going to send an emissary to Greenland, to promote the benefits of American statehood, it certainly wouldn’t be a governor from a state that ranks the lowest in income, education, healthcare and life expectancy.

💥 Russia: Ukraine struck Syzran Oil Refinery, over 900km from the border in Samara region. Processes 8.5 million tons of crude oil annually - 170,000 barrels per day, accounting for 2.6% of Russia's total refining capacity.

@Panchenko_X It could end today. Ask your friends in the Kremlin. #PanchenkoPropagandist

Bloody Deception 7 years ago Zelensky was inaugurated and promised Ukrainians a better future. He vowed to: - End the war in Donbas - Defeat corruption - Make “unpopular decisions” for the sake of peace - Unite the country instead of dividing people What we have as a result? Ukraine’s population decreased by 9 MILLION people. Corruption increased, while elections were canceled. War in Donbas escalated into the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II. Thousands of people are being persecuted for their language, religion, and political views. When will this nightmare end?

Taiwan makes almost 70% of the world’s semiconductors and more than 90% of the most advanced chips powering your phone, your car, and the AI race. If China controls Taiwan, the Communist Party gains leverage over the world’s most critical tech supply chain. That’s not just a threat to Taiwan’s 23 million people living in a thriving democracy — it’s a threat to global freedom, security, and the future itself.

@wartranslated Grok: Salli Raiski (born Finland) moved to Russia in 2025, sought asylum , and now regularly appears in Russian state media in camouflage as a supposed "Finnish activist" criticizing Finland. In reality, she's seen in Finland as a Kremlin propagandist, not a Finnish voice

@wartranslated Finnish activist with a Russian flag, living in Russia since 2025, a real living Russian propagandist in Russian state media. Cheers.

Watch the Russian propagandist. Nah, don't.

Finns do not wear Russian flags. She speaks Finnish with a distinct accent, has a Russian mother, works for Russia, and likely lives there now. Do not be fooled by her clips. She is not a Finnish activist and does not represent Finland in any way

De ukrainska drönarna väller i vågor in över Ryssland. 🔥

@widarandersson @perteng1 Förutsägbart

Helt obegripligt.

Baby hedgehogs look pretty much different from the grown up ones. They are born a pale pink colour, and over the first few weeks of life, fur grows, and the skin gradually darkens as the brown spines come through.