Sandy Hendry

‼️ Tech giants get ESG wake up call over AI impact. ‼️ 45 US data center projects blocked or delayed in 2Q. ‼️ Texas halts new permits. NY, EU enact AI safety rules. ‼️ Microsoft emissions jumped ninefold 2013-2025. ‼️ Data center electricity demand may double by 2030. 🖥️ Clients can read on FFM <GO>.

In exchange for Musk giving us a few minutes of unwatchable slop, we have given Grok 1000s of acres of land, millions of gallons of potable water, untold electricity, and the trip mining of rare earth and other minerals. Really people, stop using AI.

- Yuan deval is hurting EU industry "Another factor contributing to China’s competitiveness & resulting pressures is exchange rate policy. It actively restrains appreciation of RMB that a surplus of this size would normally trigger, keeping exports artificially competitive."

Mao is no laughing matter for many reasons....

Former FBI director James Comey has been charged with allegedly disclosing national defence information, the third criminal case brought against the outspoken critic of US President Donald Trump.

This week’s main story is about how more and more white nationalists, antisemites, and Nazi sympathizers seem to be integrating into the Republican Party, how some of them are currently running for office, and how old you can be for JD Vance to consider you “a very young boy.”

Wait, what?! Aren’t you the guys who are IN FAVOUR OF AI?!!!

25-year-old combat medic Eva was killed in Kyiv during a Russian double-tap strike while attempting to save victims.

A far-right party and a further-right party are the likely victors in Israel....

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he wanted the UK to rejoin the EU during his lifetime, as he called for an “honest” discussion about the impact of Brexit. Read more: bloom.bg/3Ug5MCW 📷: Temilade Adelaja/AFP/Getty Images

The same US president who treats our friend Canada as an enemy is trying to give Alaska to Russia, a country whose absolutely overt foreign policy is to destroy us. This superpower suicide has to be stopped. www.ft.com/content/e9cf...

❗️Bloomberg reports Russia is expanding military recruitment in Africa, including first-time recruiting in Madagascar. Ukraine says Russia recruited 699 men from Burundi and 530 from Zimbabwe in the first nine months of 2026 as Moscow seeks more foreign manpower. #Russia

Simon Heffer in The Daily Telegraph has a zero star review of Liz Truss's Bank Job, but gives it the accolade: "Of all the books I have ever reviewed that purported to offer a serious thesis, this is without question the most deranged". www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fi...

Solar has overtaken nuclear. A decade ago it supplied 1% of the world's power. In 2025 it met three quarters of global demand growth. Almost nobody saw it coming. I spoke to Jocelyn Timperley at BBC Future about why. www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

Team Dictatorship's trojan horse is moving from the EU to the UN...

Most young people are very worried about their future as climate change accelerates. Working with young people, I see this regularly but they may not vocalise it as much away from school. Be aware of this and be kind. I can’t begin to imagine what it’s like compared to my carefree youth.

Everybody is talking about Lula, but actually the victory in Serbia of a student-led, anti-government group fronting candidates from across society is almost more interesting for what it says about the potential to genuinely transform politics with the right movement at the right moment.

Russia has never stopped being a colonial power.

🇭🇺🇷🇸🗳️Three common themes in Hungarian and Serbian seismic elections (not gonna even try to analyse Brazil; I know my limits): 1. Catalyst Events 2. Rule of Law 3. Angry Young People. While both countries have their own peculiar characteristics, some elements appear in both stories - a thread.

Dawn of a new era on Oxford Street this morning.

Long overdue

Lula: "We had to overcome foreign interference through digital platforms, which we will have to regulate. A crime in the digital world must be treated the same as a crime in the real world. We cannot have monstrous companies earning millions... not paying taxes... wanting to steer elections."

BREAKING: Lula wins Brazil’s runoff, securing a fourth term. This is more than politics,it’s a lifeline for the Amazon. Under Lula, Amazon deforestation has fallen to its lowest level since satellite records began in 1988 (down 71% from the 2022 peak). The world’s largest rainforest stays

Under Lulu, Amazon deforestation rates have been plummeting—by 41%. The planet won tonight. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Nerd Reich failing to buy elections...

Polls just closed in the Brazilian presidential run off. Things are looking messy. Bolsonaro-affiliated mayors sabotaged public transport in at least ten states. São Paulo reportedly has 29% of buses out of service. The Brazilian ⁠Supreme Court has just ordered ⁠voting hours ⁠extended by ​2 hours.

The US government has stopped doing something it denied ever doing. But the world's trust surely is doubly blown.

Jared Kushner, UAE ruler Mohamed bin Zayed and Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, converged at an auspicious moment. MBS wanted to be crown prince. MBZ wanted to blow up Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, and Kushner wanted both to help him force the Palestinians into a deal that Israel would accept.

This is UNBELIEVABLY damning on Jared Kushner but don't lose sight about what this says about Rubio, Ratcliffe and the rest of Trump's senior diplomatic and intel team. www.vanityfair.com/story/jared-...

🧵 The Navy and Marines are keeping trans service members like Sgt. Damien Contreras, contra Trump and Hegseth orders. "The Trump administration claims that trans troops, who account for about 4,250 people or about 0.1 percent of the military, are a costly burden on military effectiveness —

Russia requires a security guarantee that Ukraine will not defend itself the next time we attack it.

Piketty argues for tax on French super rich to solve education shortfalls. Public debt has risen from 20% of GDP in 1970 to 120%. But private wealth grew more dramatically from 300% to 600% of GDP, with extreme concentration among the wealthiest. thomaspiketty.wordpress.com/2026/10/20/h...

What has AI ever done for us?

Jared Kushner has been accused of holding two secret bank accounts in the Middle East that were exposed by Russian operatives who hacked his phone.

Repression of political opponents is common for authoritarian regimes. Putin does it, Erdogan does it, Orbán did it. But Trump’s repression of political opponents has a distinct American flavor: racism. It is directed primarily at non-white politicians.

*NEW* Colossal Biosciences’ Ben Lamm and Anduril’s Palmer Luckey team up on a new startup to genetically engineer war dogs for the military. Warhound comes out of stealth at $1.2B valuation For @forbes.com with @iainmartin.bsky.social and @mhunterhart.bsky.social www.forbes.com/sites/amyfel...

⚡️️️️️️️Amid Starlink crisis, Finnish tech giants announce plan to help Ukraine build its own sovereign satellite system. "Ukraine needs secure, sovereign, and high-performance satellite communications systems that it controls," ICEYE CEO Rafal Modrzewski said.

“.. There has been zero clamouring,’ said one of the people. ‘All the prior times [OpenAI] have been on there’s been a frenzy. This time is a bit of a thud.’” @financialtimes.com www.ft.com/content/bb56...

Nerd Reich circling the wagons

I am officially gaslit.

‘Pure arrogance’: anger in Finland as Google illegally fells 250,000 trees for datacentre

Tesla is missing investment targets and Elon Musk wants it to merge with SpaceX because each one of the EV and robotics company's new ventures aren't succeeding as quickly as analysts had hoped.