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Joined November 2017
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A short thread on what I think is happening - for future ref. To be clear, I think this is a disaster, but I think it's happening.
1 - US reverts to pre WW1 international behaviour. Isolationism, tariffs, rejection of international treaty organisations, 'spheres of influence'.
RA retweeted
He is accurate that Chinese MAGA type men already go to Africa en masse,
There’s a kind of Chinese male type who’s legit ex prison or kind of delinquent in China, from some loser tier 4 or tier 5 northern Chinese city, but who’s down to hustle, wants land, and has some basic micro industrial knowledge.
Moves to Africa, marries a local, buys up land, gets rich as fuck, and just enjoys dominating in Africa.
It reminds them of the China of the 1980s in a sense in how just hustling very hard leads to outsized rewards.
But I suppose for Western MAGA Types, grokking your mind like that is impossible. You need a real actual colonization mentality, not just moaning on the internet everyday and expecting rewards from heaven.
RA retweeted
Ian Berry, the only photographer who documented the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, a critical turning point in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, and who went on to cover conflicts in Vietnam, Israel and Eastern Europe, died on Sept. 13 at his home in Salisbury, England. He was 92. nytimes.com/2026/11/03/obitu… via @NYTimes
RA retweeted
I appear to have outwitted the algorithms at X. Which, frankly, is rather like outsmarting a toaster.
Normally, when I write “Trump is a…” followed by something less than flattering, the post limps along with 4,000 or 5,000 views.
But this time, I announced, with all the ceremony of a royal wedding: “Ladies and gentlemen! The President of the United States 🇺🇸”
And suddenly, the algorithm went absolutely nuts. 1.3 MILLION views.
Presumably, the magnificent machinery at X decided this was a stirring tribute to America’s glorious leader and opened the floodgates.
Unfortunately for them, as anyone who watched the video will appreciate, it was nothing of the sort.
I’ve effectively persuaded Trump’s own cheerleading machine to distribute the joke to an enormous audience.
Rather a splendid catch, if I may say so myself.
RA retweeted
Lost his life this day 3rd. Nov. 1940.
S/Ldr. David Alwyne Pemberton. DFC.
One of THE FEW.
bbm.org.uk/airmen/Pemberton.…
At dawn this day he was flying back from Collyweston to Wittering in his Hurricane when he did a slow roll in his Hurricane and flew into the ground.
Age 28.
RA retweeted
Reminder that flying in a chartered jet is 9x more deadly than flying in a commercial aircraft and flying in a privately owned jet can be as 50x more deadly than a commercial aircraft.
General aviation pistons (ie Cessna) are 200x more deadly that commercial aircraft and are as risky as motorcycles.
There are 2-3 fatal accidents involving an airplane every single week.
I’m a pilot and know that I am taking a substantial risk every time I go up. Almost every pilot I know with more than a few hundred hours has a story of a close call that almost ended it all. It’s a risk we all are aware of and accept.
The most common cause for fatal accidents involves weather.
Unfortunately, there is nothing unusual about the accident.
It involved icing + thunderstorms, a deadly combo.
RA retweeted
🔸On the 3rd of October 2011, I returned to Zimbabwe after some time working and studying abroad. I stepped off the plane into the warm embrace of crisp Harare air, golden hues of sunshine preparing to close the blue curtain of day and a sense of optimism about the future that lay ahead.
For a young professional in search of a platform to build on a legal career, it was the best of times and the best of times. A government of national unity had been installed with fresh Ministers at the helm of key ministerial departments including Finance and Education. The nation was in the throes of crafting a new Constitution. Most importantly, the economy had dollarized after a torrid period of hyperinflation.
Though not perfect, it was a different Zimbabwe from the one that I had left behind at the end of 2008.
One of my enduring memories of the drive home was the sight and scent of Jacaranda trees lining Harare’s sprawling streets and avenues. Like a silent but unending fireworks display, the purple blooms spilt their colour across the sky. Beneath them, the ground was a powdery purple carpet laced with the intoxicating fragrance of hope, opportunity and a light vanilla musk.
This was nothing like the wet, grey, mourning London weather that I had left behind - even though the enthralling violet beauty was punctuated by bees that came, not as guests, but as invaders that swarmed the atmosphere like an irritating hum with teeth.
Every October, reminded by the Jacaranda branches draped in blossoms, I take stock of my decision to return. I count the years and wonder whether, if I had known then what I know now, I would still have chosen to come home. This is my fourteenth year of such ritual reflection and my answer is still a resounding yes. The one promise I made to myself before leaving London was that, no matter what I found obtaining in Zimbabwe, I would always hold myself to the same professional standard I had held myself to in London.
I had seen seamless, champagne-quality advocacy practiced at the Royal Courts of Justice and I was keen to replicate it. I had observed forensic yet silky cross–examination at the Old Bailey and I was keen to replicate it. I had watched barristers at the highest level retain their curiosity, passion for the craft and quest for growth and I was keen to replicate that. I have not let myself down.
Yet, while the beauty pulls, the madness stings. But this is not a piece about the bees.
The annual symphony of Jacaranda bloom is so much bigger than an irritating hum with teeth.
We need new leaders.🇿🇼
RA retweeted
POLITICAL REALITY CHECK:
Republicans hold Senate with 52-53 seats. Demcorats win House but with lower margin than they have DSA member reps. The Squad is enlarge such that the Democrats will not have enough votes to have a majority without their participation in the vote.
First issue, naming a speaker of the "Democrat House majority." The old guard will need DSA members' votes to get a majority. DSA radicals will hold out relentlessly for a radical speaker. Flask back to Freedom Caucus blocking GOP Speaker for days. Does anyone think any of the DSA members will cave due to promises of committee assignments, pet projects, etc.? No way...
Results: grid lock or radical house leadership that will promote the crazy shit and alienate voters.
Second issue, Trump vetoes the crazy shit (assuming it even can get to the floor of the Senate, which will require 60 votes). 2/3 of both Houses necessary to over-ride and that will never happen.
Third, the net impact will be an out-of-touch Democrat party that will get nothing done but destructive House votes on unpopular measures. By 028 cycle, many traditional Democrat members will be disillusioned and leave office (maybe resigning in some cases and but many will elect not run in 2028 against DSA candidates or to stay on board the crazy train.
Bottom-line: the Democrats will benefit short-term from the fuel price spikes which will go away. But they are incapable of controlling their radicval base which will dominate
rthe House events going i nto 2028.
RA retweeted
A lovely obituary of my father in @nytimes : That Giant HDTV That Fits in Your Living Room? Thank Cyril Hilsum. nytimes.com/2026/11/01/techn… via @NYTimes
RA retweeted
The monster responsible for holding our Irish-Israeli sister hostage after she witnessed unspeakable horrors inflicted on her family and friends on October 7th, when she was just eight years old, is dead.
He is gone. She is still here. She survived.
Éirinn go Brách, Am Yisrael Chai! 🇮🇪🇮🇱
RA retweeted
‼️ Warum kein zivilisiertes Militär und eigentlich überhaupt niemand bei Verstand es zulässt, dass irgendwelche Spinner ihre Kalaschnikow in die Luft halten und nach oben feuern, hat viele Gründe, aber ein wesentlicher ist der folgende:
Wenn man beispielsweise mit einer Kalaschnikow in die Luft schießt, dann beschreibt das Geschoss eine Parabel. In einem Vakuum würde es auf dem Boden mit der gleichen Geschwindigkeit auftreffen, mit der es abgefeuert worden ist (700–715 m/s für die 7,62×39-mm-Patrone = 2574 km/h). Durch den Luftwiderstand wird das gemildert. Die tatsächliche Endgeschwindigkeit (terminal velocity) beträgt aber immer noch um die 60–90 m/s (ca. 200–300 ft/s bzw. 220–320 km/h), wenn sie taumelt. Stabiler fallend (z. B. Basis voran oder bei extremer Windstille) bis ca. 100–150 m/s.
Diese Endgeschwindigkeit reicht aus, um Haut zu durchdringen (Schwelle grob 45–60 m/s) und bei Treffern am Kopf auch den Schädel. Es gibt zahlreiche dokumentierte Verletzungen und Todesfälle durch „celebratory gunfire“ – gerade weil die Geschosse häufig von oben auf den Kopf treffen. Die Sterblichkeitsrate bei solchen Treffern ist höher als bei normalen Schusswunden.
Das zeigt keine Dummheit, denn mit Waffen sind die Leute in Gaza vertraut. Es zeigt die unfassbare Rücksichtslosigkeit und die komplette Gleichgültigkeit gegenüber menschlichem Leben und Eigentum.
Und alle Arschlöcher hier im Westen dürfen sich mal fragen: Nach angeblich drei Jahren „Vernichtungskrieg“ und „Genozid“ hat eine paramilitärische Truppe in Gaza, wo ja angeblich nix reinkommt, genügend Munition, um einfach mal so in die Luft zu ballern? Ernsthaft?
Die Kosten einer einzigen Patrone für eine AK 47 werden wegen des Schwarzmarktpreises in Gaza auf 8–10 US-Dollar geschätzt. Einer einzigen Patrone. Munition ist teuer, wenn ich sie illegal reinschmuggeln muss, noch teurer. Deswegen darf ich auch mal jeden fragen, wer so etwas bezahlt und warum man sich das einfach mal so leisten kann?
This was a disturbing and deeply embarrassing scene in Gaza City today during the funeral of a man killed in an Israeli airstrike for allegedly being affiliated with Hamas. Members of his clan fired thousands of rounds into the air, initially causing panic and confusion among residents who did not understand what was happening. The spectacle of armed men recklessly discharging weapons sparked widespread anger and contempt among many Gazans, who viewed it as yet another example of the destructive behavior of powerful clans in the Strip.
The incident renewed calls to disarm Gaza's clans and militias and remove weapons from civilian hands to reduce crime, curb intra-Palestinian violence, strengthen the rule of law, and break patterns of behavior that fuel radicalization, intimidation, and the dominance of armed actors over civil society.
Many Palestinians bitterly note the irony that these same clans and armed strongmen, so eager to display their power before fellow Palestinians, tend to disappear when confronted by the Israeli military. Time and again, tribal militias, criminal gangs, and other armed actors avoid direct confrontation with the IDF, yet readily turn their weapons on other Palestinians, whether against Palestinian Authority forces in the past or, at times, even against Hamas itself.
There should be no tolerance for lawlessness. Neither "martyrs" nor their families have the right to terrorize an entire society in the name of archaic notions of honor, death glorification, or tribal privilege. Hamas and Gaza's powerful clans alike must be disarmed, for the sake of Palestinians and Israelis alike.
RA retweeted
שבוע טוב.
מספר דברים ממני אליכם, אחיי ואחיותיי הישראלים, לקראת הימים הקרובים:
ספירת הקולות הסתיימה והבחירות נגמרו. בכל דרך בה מסתכלים על המספרים, רוב אזרחי ישראל, בהפרש של יותר מחצי מיליון קולות, הצביעו נגד ממשלת השבעה באוקטובר וההשתמטות, ובעד שינוי - רוב בקרב כלל אזרחי ישראל, ורוב בקרב הציבור הציוני המשרת.
הגדרתי את הבחירות הללו בשנה האחרונה כגורליות ביותר בתולדות ישראל ותוצאותיהן ברורות, אף שיש מי שפועל להטיל בהן דופי. הבטחתי לחבר מחדש את ישראל ולשים סוף לתרבות השקר שהוביל נתניהו ופירקה אותנו מבפנים. הבטחתי שתחת הנהגתי, צד א׳ לא יכריע את צד ב׳, שתם עידן ״אנחנו״ ו״הם״. לאור הבטחות אלה אמשיך לפעול גם בשבועות הקרובים.
במקביל, בכוונתי לפעול למימוש הרוב הפרלמנטרי המובהק באופן מיידי, לטובת כלל אזרחי ישראל. לפעול להקמת ועדת חקירה ממלכתית, קידום חובת שירות לכל ופעולה מיידית להגדלה וחיזוק היקף המשרתים בצה"ל, תגמול והוקרה ראויה למשרתים, ביטול חוקי ההפיכה המשטרית ועוד. אל תתנו לאף אחד להטעות אתכם: במדינת ישראל הכנסת היא שנותנת את אמונה בממשלה, ולא להפך.
במהלך קמפיין הבחירות הצבתי מטרה להקים ממשלה ציונית ממלכתית עם הסכמה לאומית רחבה ככל האפשר שתביא לריפוי ושינוי יסודי בכיוון אליו ישראל הולכת.
הצבתי באופן עקבי 4 עקרונות שיחזקו את ישראל, לכל שותפות:
1. הכרה בישראל כמדינה יהודית, דמוקרטית, ליברלית ושוויונית.
2. מחויבות לערכי מגילת העצמאות.
3. חובת שירות לכלל אזרחי ישראל - צבאי, לאומי ואזרחי.
4. הכרה בחמאס כארגון טרור ובחובה להשמדת הכוח הצבאי-שלטוני שלו ברצועת עזה.
על בסיס עקרונות אלו, בכוונתי להקים ממשלה ציונית וממלכתית, רחבה ככל האפשר. לצורך כך אפעל בתיאום עם שותפיי ואפעל להרחיב את השותפות, על מנת לממש את רצון הבוחרים ולשפר באופן מיידי את מצבה הפנימי והבינלאומי של מדינת ישראל.
כל חבר כנסת שמוכן לחתום על עקרונות אלו, הוא שותף אפשרי בדרך לכינון ממשלה חדשה וטובה לישראל. דלת הממשלה שנקים תהייה פתוחה לכל נבחר ציבור שמקבל את עקרונות אלו ונכון להתעלות לגודל השעה.
ברור כי אחוזי ההצבעה הגבוהים, כמו גם האתגרים שעל הפרק, מחייבים מאמץ עילאי על מנת להימנע מבחירות נוספות וכניסה למשבר פוליטי מתמשך נוסף בכל דרך. ב-27.10 הציבור אמר את דברו וההחלטה על הרכבה של ממשלת ישראל הבאה היא של אזרחי ישראל בלבד, ללא מעורבות ומניפולציה - כך ראוי שיהיה. כעת מוטלת עלינו, נבחרי הציבור, החובה לעשות הכל על מנת לתרגם את רצון העם.
מחדל השבעה באוקטובר ובהמשכו המציאות הביטחונית, הפנימית, הכלכלית והבינלאומית מחייבים החלטות אמיצות ובהקדם. אפעל בכל דרך להביא הסכמה לאומית רחבה ככל האפשר על מנת שנוכל להתחיל בתיקון ושיקום.
לסיום, המלחמה נגד אויבינו לא תמה. מטרות המלחמה לא הושגו. עד להקמת הממשלה אתן גיבוי למהלכים צבאיים רק במידה ויהיו איומים ישירים ומיידיים כנגד ישראל שלא יכולים להמתין עד להשבעת הממשלה.
לא נשלה את עצמנו. אנו בפני שבועות עמוסים, מורכבים ועתירי ספינים ושקרים.
בכוונתי לפעול באומץ ומתוך מחויבות גדולה לבוחר ולמדינה על מנת לממש את רצונו - בשקט וביצירתיות.
נעשה ונצליח, למען כולנו ולמען מדינת ישראל. אני מתחייב.
RA retweeted
Many of you still think soldiers die like heroes in clean, decisive moments. This footage from Height 105-106 shows the actual pattern: short, brutal close encounters in trenches and treelines where both sides take heavy losses in seconds. The foreign volunteers (US, Canadian and others) who went into Alfa and Bravo did not stroll in as invincible veterans; they closed with the enemy under fire, cleared positions, and finished the fight at arm’s length. Officials on both sides will call the dead martyrs or heroes. That is a cliché that softens reality for people who have never watched these frames.
This is not the Middle East style of engagement most Western veterans trained for. Iraq and Afghanistan experience does not automatically transfer. Standard training and past tours do not prepare you for the density of fires, the constant drone threat, and the pure infantry meat-grinder of these European fields. You can be a veteran of Kandahar or Fallujah and still not last long if you trust only old skills. As the Afghan proverb says: everyone is gang until they go to Kandahar. The ones who actually went into those trenches found out quickly that talk and prior service do not change the arithmetic of short-range killing. Most of the fallen on either side were not dying as storybook heroes. They were simply there when the next burst of fire arrived.
RA retweeted
Now you know why Putin dropped the hammer on Donny.
The Russian government's cash crunch now finally extends to the military, as Russia's Ministry of Defense has announced that all officers not currently serving at the front will be skipping their December salary.
No reason has been given. This waa uncovered this morning by Russian media outlet Verstka.
RA retweeted
RUSSIA, CHINA, and IRAN are building kamikaze drones to hunt American soldiers in the next war. I'm building SENTRY to stop them, so no American is killed by an attack drone.
You've seen the videos from Ukraine: a soldier alone in a field, a drone closing in behind him, nowhere to run. That's what war looks like now. A drone that costs a few hundred dollars can kill a soldier we spent years training, and they come in waves.
This isn't about taking sides in someone else's war. It's about making sure every American who puts on the uniform comes home. And it's getting closer to home: cartels already fly drones across our southern border. It's only a matter of time before those drones are armed.
Here's what most people don't realize: almost every counter drone system out there protects a place, not a person. Bases, ships, convoys. Radar, jammers, guns, missiles. The soldier on foot gets a handheld jammer that can't stop a fiber optic drone, a shotgun, and luck. And shooting million dollar missiles at few hundred dollar drones is a losing trade for the taxpayer.
SENTRY is air defense for one soldier. Here's how it's designed to work:
A sensor pack on the soldier's back is always listening and looking for incoming drones. When one is spotted, an interceptor drone launches from a cartridge on the pack, rushes the attacker, and wraps it in a net, taking it down away from the soldier. It doesn't rely on jamming, so it's designed to stop the drones jammers can't touch. Then the soldier slots in a fresh interceptor, ready for the next one. The version in this video is the biggest SENTRY will ever be.
It's designed to fit how soldiers already fight, with almost no extra training, and to be affordable enough for every soldier, not just every base. Every squad on patrol should carry a few. Every soldier walking alone should have SENTRY watching their six.
Peace through strength starts with protecting the people we send to fight. The next war will be decided by who can put the most drones in the air, and who can keep their soldiers alive underneath them.
I never want to see a video of an American soldier being hunted down by a kamikaze drone. That's why I'm building SENTRY.
RA retweeted
This is not true. The Greens have not been taken over by pro-Palestinian activists.
The pro-Palestinian position is liberation from Hamas, comprehensive deprogramming, and acceptance of the existence of Israel as a Jewish state next-door. That's the only way to achieve peace and prosperity for Palestinians.
The Greens have been taken over by Hamas activists.
Senior Greens warn party being taken over by pro-Palestinian activists thetimes.com/uk/politics/art…
