Settler colonial states have a terminal shelf life. Israel is no exception.

The presidential election in November looks set to pit Donald Trump, who will most likely dismantle what is left of our decayed democracy, against Joe Biden, who is a full partner in the genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza. Not, for most of us, a palatable choice. The two ruling parties, who have foisted these candidates on the public, have at the same time conspired with their corporate sponsors to block third parties and independents, along with mavericks such as Bernie Sanders, from running viable campaigns. The only groups that consistently win in our elections are the militarists, corporations and the billionaire class, who, of course, fund and stage manage the electoral farce. On all of the major issues – endless war, trade deals, deindustrialization, government surveillance, the steady decline of social services including a for-profit health care system that allows corporations to prey on the sick, the bloated prison population and militarized police – there is little daylight between the two ruling parties. How can we reclaim our democracy and provide real and meaningful political alternatives? Are we forever condemned to the diminishing returns offered by the least-worst option? Is there a way to create an electoral system that is not captive to big money and dominated by groups such as the Israel lobby? Joining me to discuss the state of our anemic democracy – a system the political philosopher Sheldon Wolin referred to as inverted totalitarianism -- is Dennis Kucinich. Dennis served as U.S. Representative from Ohio’s 10

Sometimes you change the subject, and sometimes the subject changes you

My new book, forthcoming 17 September

Wars rarely go to plan, especially if you believe your own rhetoric

Escalation, Red Lines, Risk and the Russo-Ukraine War This piece is my Alexander Dallin Memorial Lecture delivered to the Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies, Stanford University, 18 April 2024, which explains why it is somewhat longer than my usual posts.

On the days of revelation

A brief newsflash about things I'm up to this year

15 May was no 'party'... but the inquiry should look at 20 May... MPs should learn and enforce PUBLICATION of covid 'plans'

The war didn't start in February last year. It started in 2014… President Putin declared in the autumn of 2021, and actually sent a draft treaty that they wanted NATO to sign, to promise no more NATO enlargement. That was what he sent us. And was a pre-condition for not invading Ukraine. Of course we didn't sign that…So he went to war to prevent NATO, more NATO, close to his borders. (

Ministry confirms funding pulled for new insulin pumps & glucose monitors, raising carer fears of 'Dead in Bed syndrome'; Simmonds didn't tell Cabinet of funding halt designed to help pay for tax cuts

Luxon’s first reshuffle exposes his own weaknesses; Over 200 staff helping disabled kids & rangatahi sacked to help pay for tax cuts; 26 reviews into emergency management since 2019 & no progress

Analysis of two new interesting findings from both the U.S. and Ukraine military sphere.

The ink has yet to dry on the signed Ukrainian aid, but it has finally passed both House, Senate, and the final Biden rubberstamp. As predicted here, the list of new items is “long” but mostly constitutes the secondary munitions types which aren’t as easily expendable and therefore still exist in some quantity. The primary ones, i.e. artillery shells and such, are still heavily backlogged.

The scale of Ottawa's defeat is a jarring and continuing indictment of the capacity of the Canadian state, and the state must reverse this situation, decisively.

Are pro-Palestinian protests out of control? Or is the now internationally infamous protest something more complicated?

The End of Media, Chapter 2: Everything Everywhere

The veteran Alberta pol on hindsight, foresight and a troubled world

They promised high-skill immigration. We got something else entirely

What the latest evidence tell us about the future

Welcome back to Lucid, and a big hello to all new subscribers. I started Lucid in 2021 to separate the signal from the noise in politics and provide big-picture thinking about authoritarianism and threats to democracy in the US and around the world. I use my skills as a historian to identify the patterns and dynamics at work in the news that comes at us every day.

And an image of Milan's Navigli district

Ingen i uppropet för Gaza brydde sig när den största massakern på judar sedan Förintelsen ägde rum. Inte heller bryr de sig om barnen som Hamas tagit som gisslan. Dubbelmoralen är kväljande.

Anna-Karin och Ivar diskuterar varför barn mår allt sämre och om det beror på sociala medier, skärmtid eller det som en ny bok av Abigail Shrier – "Bad Therapy" – föreslår: en ny, terapeutisk kultur.

Many people in the West have been surprised by the events of the last week in which American TV presenter Tucker Carlson followed his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin with a series of increasingly bizarre videos. Tucker discovers that Moscow Metro stations are grand and impressive, that Russian supermarkets have shopping carts that can be rented with a coin that you can retrieve on returning the cart, and that food is cheaper in Russia. I don’t wish to bore the time-starved reader by addressing this silliness but if you’re interested, read this footnote

I’ve had to keep this one quiet for a while but, as you can imagine, I am delighted to be joining Jordan on his “We Who Wrestle With God Tour”. The brief he gave me is that he wants me as a prominent agnostic to challenge, if I can, the conclusions that he has reached about the role of faith, religion and God in real time.

The US assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani heaps substantial tension onto an already very tense US-Iranian relationship.

Stories from Israel-Palestine, Chad, Ukraine, and elsewhere

Jonathan Haidt thinks so. I’m not so sure.

Plus: America’s techno-industrial complex, a debate with Coleman Hughes, AI as social scientist, West Bank ethnic cleansing update, dangerous poop-eating chimps, and solar-powered AI.

It told us nothing about the Royal Family and much more about Meghan, Harry and America

What I told the NatCons at the conference the Brussels police tried to shut down

About those truckers…

What I Told National Conservatives in Brussels

This week, the Federal Court of Australia will hear a case with profound implications for women's rights and trans rights. It involves a women's app whose creator is being sued for discrimination by a trans woman because the app is exclusively for biological females. Here, the defendant shares her story.

It's always a treat when Professor Joel Pearson stops by for The Buzz, to blow our minds about our minds. On this visit, Joel and Josh wrestle with how you experience time. Why does time sometimes seem to move fast, and slow? Are some people naturally better at different times of day? How fooled can you be by tricks of time? Is there a biological timer i…

Do Any Of You Even Remember What You Tried To Do To Us All?

Plus WARRIOR CREED Podcast

Part 1: How feminine aggression works

My guest today is the author, journalist, and veteran women's rights campaigner Julie Bindel. We spoke about the feminist sex wars of the 1980s, the clashes between gay men and lesbians over the years, and the ongoing class conflicts within feminism.

US-Russian joint tactical victory, European and Ukrainian defeat

Prolonging An Unnecessary (But Inevitable) War in Ukraine, Rufo vs. Yarvin, The Heroes of Undersea Cable Repair, North African Angst in France, Getting Marina Abramovic

Also: OYL race heats up, Hazel scalpers, close but no cigar on health deal, a ministerial puppy and loads more

Jama drama, big bucks for Honda and more

This week: some notable Christmases, and some festive maps. But first: sorry, I’m going to get soppy on you.

This week: the abortive start of BBC2; the English mayoral elections; and which Europeans harbour lingering expansionist ambitions?

And roars in the face of collectivist parasites at the World Economic Forum in Davos

From Boric to Milei: The mountainous divide between freedom and progressivism in South America...

From Elon Musk to Elizabeth Holmes and Donald Trump, many very rich people are effective at convincing us of a myth: they're secretly a genius, and you're just too dumb to understand. Are they right?

The origin story of the name "Bluetooth" and the logo used for that technology is a fascinating tale, connecting Viking history, the English civil war, and a curious saga of scattered royal bones.