The 27-Year-Old Diplomat Waging Trump’s Cultural War With Europe

Five years out of college, Samuel Samson has driven the Trump administration’s push to upend America’s postwar relationship with Europe.

The New York Times

#AI #deepfakes #propaganda #astroturfing #politics #GiftArticle

'The artificial-intelligence-generated fake influencers have surged on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube in an apparent bid to hook conservative voters.'

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/business/media/artificial-intelligence-trump-social-media.html?unlocked_article_code=1.cFA.OMz9.Ih5Jub6rM65r&smid=url-share

Hundreds of Fake Pro-Trump Avatars Emerge on Social Media

The artificial-intelligence-generated fake influencers have surged on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube in an apparent bid to hook conservative voters.

The New York Times

"Using language that would until recently have been unthinkable, Zelensky has indicated that he no longer views the United States as a reliable ally and, even more astonishingly, that all of Europe needs to start moving on from the transatlantic relationship."

#GiftArticle #Ukraine
https://t.co/cJMTC2ppDJ

Ukraine Has Finally Given Up on Trump

Zelensky has written off the United States.

The Atlantic

#GiftArticle

The Inside Story of 5 Days That Remade #SCOTUS

Secret memos obtained by The NYT illuminate the origins of the court’s now-routine “#ShadowDocket” rulings on presidential power.

Just after 6PM on a February evening in 2016, the Supreme Court issued a cryptic, one paragraph ruling that sent both #climate policy & the court itself spinning in new directions.

#law #LegalEthics #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #compromised #IllegitimateCourt
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket.html?unlocked_article_code=1.b1A.W0_1.54-PmsieNhyB&smid=nytcore-ios-share

Inside the Supreme Court’s Risky New Way of Doing Business

Secret memos obtained by The New York Times illuminate the origins of the court’s now-routine “shadow docket” rulings on presidential power.

The New York Times
You want to wash your hands of the NY Times, but then they come out with exceptional work like this. Thx to Jeffrey for #giftarticle

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:r3snvxjdij6cmko7zw37byay/post/3mjrdt7pxfs2l

“After obtaining the papers, The Times confirmed their authenticity with several people familiar with the deliberations and shared them with a spokeswoman for the court. The Times posed detailed questions to the justices who wrote the memos; they did not respond.”

So after getting caught they didn't feel the need to explain themselves about the power grab? Got it

Burn it down. Create a new Supreme Court. This one is rotten.

#giftlink #giftarticle

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket.html?unlocked_article_code=1.b1A.VZ-J.KJvI4xyUieoK&smid=url-share

Inside the Supreme Court’s Risky New Way of Doing Business

Secret memos obtained by The New York Times illuminate the origins of the court’s now-routine “shadow docket” rulings on presidential power.

The New York Times

Might be posted already. But here's a #GiftArticle on the that thing stuck in our craw, but has all the MilBoiz so excited.

#AusPol #AUKUS
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/share/23086/VPsCW9hm

Exclusive: Keating’s AUKUS sit-down with the new defence chief

In late January 2023, barely a year into the Albanese government’s first term, Defence Minister Richard Marles took chief of navy Mark Hammond – one of Australia’s most experienced submariners – to call on Labor’s most vocal AUKUS critic, Paul Keating. Marles’s mission was straightforward, if optimistic. He was hoping Hammond, a true believer in the $368 billion nuclear submarine program and one of its most persuasive advocates, might soften Keating’s withering opposition to the trilateral security pact, or at least win his silence.

The Saturday Paper

"Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information and private conversations, they described Patel’s tenure as a management failure and his personal behavior as a national-security vulnerability. They said that the problems with his conduct go well beyond what has been previously known, and include both conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences"

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/?gift=AwR_TGzSRSLueG5W7xh0ResXNy-HwbaDp8IodBg6FCU

#GiftArticle #GiftLink #KashPatel

Kash Patel’s Erratic Behavior Could Cost Him His Job

Kash Patel has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.

The Atlantic

This admin is a damn joke

The #FBI Director Is MIA

#KashPatel has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking & unexplained absences.

#GiftArticle

#Trump #law #NationalSecurity
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/?gift=guxsrl_dAdXUP9zqbQPWxRj40bt5Tcdpsjr9rTdgd3Q

Kash Patel’s Erratic Behavior Could Cost Him His Job

Kash Patel has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.

The Atlantic