Pacific Standard 🚜🌻☂️

The cognitive warfare is warfare.

The "unipolar moment" is one of those things that looks quite overstated in hindsight. Couldn't stop a Rwandan genocide. Couldn't stop the Chechen wars (twice!). Couldn't get the most important allies aboard the Iraq invasion. Couldn't even get Russian troops out of Moldova!

I was pleased to host Maria Corina Machado, whose coalition soundly won the 2024 election, at the United States Capitol earlier this year. Her return to Venezuela is welcome news that should decidedly move the country toward a clear path to free & fair elections next year.

Trying something new - my op-Ed in the @washingtonpost.com is based off extensive reporting on Uyghurs in Syria, and Beijing’s chance to break a cycle of violence www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Among the first "risk factors": "If we are unable to secure adequate compute or if we fail to direct our compute effectively across our workloads, we may be unable to train models that remain competitive with those of our competitors or adequately serve our customers." www.sec.gov/Archives/edg...

Vladimir Putin is resorting to desperate measures as Russian recruiters prey on the sick to fight his disastrous war in Ukraine.

Russia could save a step by only recruiting the already dead to serve in their army fighting (and losing) in Ukraine.

Puma Shen has managed to re-invent two of the most basic campaign acts in Taiwan: markets visits and motorcades. In both cases, he has successfully combined real-life & online aspects to create events which have propulsed his popularity even outside Taipei, helping other DPP candidates by proxy.

Taiwan election 2026: Puma Shen's motorcade rally in Keelung this evening has drawn impressive crowds again, in his joint appearance with DPP mayoral candidate Tung Tzu-wei. I love Taiwan's campaign motorcades. Also nice touch with the GPS tracking the motorcade and drone view.

WaPo - An AI start-up founded by ex-DOGE staffers quickly broke into Anthropic.

Peskov said that the continuation of trilateral talks between the United States, Ukraine, and Russia "does not imply a pause in hostilities." He also claimed that the ceasefire in the area of Russian-occupied Oleshky could allegedly serve as a model for agreements in other sectors of the front.

EU & Temu reached an agreement on its DSA breaches Brussels agreed to Temu's 5-point plan to better identify illegal products, evaluate content moderation systems & examine how its algorithms & platform amplify illegal listings. Temu now has 4 months to implement action plan

Taiwan election tidbits: At the big Keelung rally, very politically savvy of DPP mayoral candidate Puma Shen to mention his wife used to live in Keelung, he talked about her commute between Taipei and Keelung and the crowd was really into it. Love the giant cat in the harbor behind them.

Taiwan election tidbits: What's the KMT strategy for Taipei? Well on TVBS the hosts say the blue strategy now is to circle the wagons, pack an area to show strength for Chiang (but don't do it in a street to avoid comparisons with Shen's own 10/4 rally) and rally your own base.

“What I will offer you instead is something simpler, and perhaps harder: a vision of life under liberalism, as distinct from the political project.” www.liberalcurrents.com/liberalism-i...

Yesterday, former Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić conceded defeat to the Student List, a student-led movement, in the country's snap parliamentary elections. The defeat of Aleksandar Vučić's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the October 2026 parliamentary elections is seen in Russia itself

Xi Jinping "resserre la discipline" depuis 2012. Avec des résultats toujours aussi médiocres. Le fonctionnement du PCC, c'est une logique de Shadoks.

The U.S. military has restricted vehicles made by the Chinese car manufacturer BYD from its Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture over security concerns.

False. Taiwan was not "restored" to China (it was never part of China). It remained under Japanese sovereignty til Apr 28, 1952, when San Francisco Peace Treaty came into effect. Since then its status is unresolved and it belongs to no nation. The current "imperialism" is the PRC lust for Taiwan.

Congratulations to my friend Lula on his electoral victory. Democracy and multilateralism have won in Brazil. Europe’s partnership with Brazil is thriving. We will remain by your side for the years to come.

A top U.S. Democratic lawmaker says a victory by his party in the midterm elections could give Congress a stronger voice in shaping U.S. policy toward Japan and Taiwan, amid uncertainty over the White House's approach.

China’s ruling Communist Party is holding its most important meeting of the year. Xi is using the Fifth Plenum to tighten control ahead of party congress www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

None of those purged will have had any semblance of due process, and their political demises will put justice for those they harmed further out of reach—and give Xi breathing room. ‘Pull Out the Sick Trees’: Xi’s Constant Purges Pave Way for Next Term www.nytimes.com/2026/10/26/w...

In one day, two politicians - Bolsonaro in Brazil and Vucic in Serbia - with ties to Trump have lost surprise elections thanks to high turnout. The rise of the international far-right is not inevitable.

What Jason Crow says. Indeed, isn't it obvious? How can a self-respecting country cede control over vital military systems in the middle of a war to a foreign drug addict? And how could this not be a defining issue in the midterm election? Yet US corporate media want to simply look the other way.

From Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen's English-language interview with Catherine Chang, calmly saying that figures acting for Beijing were known to be following him and his family, including his 5 yr old daughter, in Taiwan in 2025.

The former CEO of a naval defense contractor told FBI agents he cut cash-for-contracts deals with South Carolina’s two most powerful members of Congress — Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. James Clyburn.

Pension reform, important for Taiwanese left behind by the AI boom. "A slow-motion crisis... the DPP has plenty of time to address it. The leadership needs to sit down with labor leaders and hammer out widely acceptable reforms long before the next election." www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...

Taipei Times editorial on militarism, messaging #Taiwan www.taipeitimes.com/News/editori...

My column for today on the PRC student who was deported for visa violations #Taiwan www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...

East Asia Forum: Tom Wilson on proofing against foreign interference in Taiwan #Taiwan eastasiaforum.org/2026/10/23/t...

TSMC in Arizona: "What is unfolding is an unprecedented social experiment fueled by the largest foreign direct investment in American history, making it groundbreaking both financially and in terms of immigration. ..." www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...

As a side note, when I lived in China nearly 20 years ago, this was a common talking point among regular people in regards to Tibet. Often its purpose was the kind of whataboutism that served as a trump card or silencer in a debate, but it also had a flavor of “why can’t we do what yall did” too

Formosa, Taiwan, what's in a name? www.taipeitimes.com/News/editori... #Taiwan

A small campaign you can join and make a difference — helping to save lives at the front. And the patches are nice. www.help99.co/patches/corn...

"Taiwan needs these weapons for its defense — backing down in the face of such pressure would signal to every ally and adversary that American commitments are negotiable" @bradyafr.bsky.social Dan Blumenthal www.nationalreview.com/2026/10/why-...

Xi’s belief was that “if people don’t do what I say and how I want them to do it, we’re never going to get there”, Davey said. “This has been a problem that has plagued Xi Jinping since he came to power — he has yet to find a way to solve it.” www.ft.com/content/d11b...

Taipei election 2026: I don't think I've ever seen a mayoral candidate do this, Puma Shen livestreamed a hackathon and also discussed AI and the impact of technology on cities with specialists and CEOs from the IT industry. news.ltn.com.tw/news/politic...

"The 'problems' of Songshan airport are its advantages: it suppresses property values and building heights, creating more pleasant areas of small buildings that have less traffic... we owe Songshan a great debt for helping to keep Taipei built to a human scale." www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...

Taiwan election races thread (Oct 24): Jaw Shao-kang defends the Dai Li-an poll showing Puma Shen ahead of Chiang Wan-an and says he doesn't think it's fake. He calls on the KMT to self reflect rather than blame polls. /1 news.ltn.com.tw/news/politic...

The question is: Why did Trump derail peace talks?

A wild story: the CEO of a US energy company whose plans were discussed during the Witkoff-Kushner-Putin negotiations resigns. Why? He learned that his company's main investor is a sanctioned Russian company, not the UAE www.nytimes.com/2026/10/23/u...

As Democrats’ midterm expectations soar, history advises only a lowercase, cautious optimism. www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...

archive.ph/2026.10.22-2...

The amendments to the SENIOR Citizens Welfare Act were passed 60-39 in the Legislature on Friday by lawmakers from the opposition KMT and TPP. It wouldn't have passed without the support of the TPP, a party that campaigned in 2024 on prioritizing YOUNG people's economic concerns.