iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 7h

It’s 61° in Milwaukee right now. Baseball should be played outside.

Reposted by Aaron Connelly

jesus christ - Myanmar state television has broadcast footage of the migrants on the journey home, being led in aerobics classes on a ship deck and wearing T-shirts saying: "Happy voyage back to motherland".

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Australia has signed two mutual defence treaties, with Fiji and Papua New Guinea, over the past year—the first new alliances in the Asia-Pacific since the early days of the cold war. Our report, from Fiji's surprisingly chilly capital of Suva, ahead of this weekend's Pacific Island Forum in Palau:

Map of Australia's relationships with Pacific island countries, dividing them by allies, those negotiating an alliance, and those which have or are negotiating security agreements.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Our story on Winston Peters’ odious anti-Asian rhetoric.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

The last son of a Civil War veteran died only last month: suvcw.org/real-sons-an....

suvcw.org

Real Sons and Daughters | Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

A raid outside Jakarta on 8 July turned up 74kg of gold and $20m in cash. Hours later, armed soldiers appeared outside Police HQ at 3am. What a corruption scandal tells us about competition between Indonesia's feuding security forces and President Prabowo's style of governance:

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Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

In retrospect England should have batted on rather than declaring. ENGvFRA

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

I love the complaints from northern Europeans about the conditions in Miami. As though it’s somehow inhumane to force Harry Kane and Erling Haaland to play in conditions in which more than a third of the world lives. Make them suffer. Good for the sport.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

It seems that the round of 16 was a bridge too far…

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Jason Karsh @jkarsh.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Just a sensational ball by Salah, but an even better save to keep Australia alive.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Australia has always been known for great Beaches

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

The last big international confrontation in Seattle

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James Hell Brooks @kleinman.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Now we appeal the Balogun suspension in the Northern District of Texas

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Ankit Panda @nktpnd.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

"US is preparing subs right now" - Things you want to hear during a soccer game and not a nuclear crisis.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Even allies of Myanmar’s junta, like China and Thailand, have long found junta chief Min Aung Hlaing difficult to work with. They hoped that this week’s putative transition to civilian rule would dilute his power by forcing him to name a new armed forces commander.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

“When Boris Johnson was foreign secretary, the British embassy in Bangkok was sold for £420m ($580m). The grand old building was demolished to make way for offices and shops… The staff decamped to a nondescript corporate tower nearby.”

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

The Washington Post's description of the bodycam video of his arrest last year, and the translation of Mr. Shah Alam's comments, is gutting. Remember, he was entirely blind in one eye and could only see three feet in the other, and he spoke virtually no English. He spent a year in jail for this.

Body-cam footage from the incident, reviewed by The Post, shows Shah Alam standing near the door of the shed holding two black poles. Officers shout at him and order him to drop the poles, reportedly curtain rods he’d fashioned into walking sticks. Shah Alam repeatedly says, “Sorry” while adjusting his grip on the poles and walking toward the officers. The officers continue to shout and warn that they will fire their Tasers. At one point, Shah Alam responds, “No,” then points the rods at the officers.

The officers both fire their Tasers and tackle him. Two officers report being bitten in the scuffle. After Shah Alam is restrained, the officers remark that they smell alcohol.

In the footage, Shah Alam can be heard speaking in Rohingya and Malay. He asks for God’s help and tries to explain to the uncomprehending officers that he lives nearby and was going to the store. He pleads with the officers not to throw away his phone.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

For a long time Australia seemed immune to the rise of populist right wing parties around the world. No more. One Nation is now the country’s most popular conservative party.

Chart showing One Nation’s share of the primary vote rising above the Liberal-National Coalition’s in surveys.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

TIL: Attu Island, Alaska is south of Edmonton and west of Auckland.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Watching The Candidate for the first time and very belatedly realizing that Marvin Lucas is… the dad from Everybody Loves Raymond.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

I was just saying the other day that even Curtis had been silent.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

"Mr O’Hara, the police chief, called for protesters to stay peaceful. If they manage that, they will have demonstrated considerably more restraint than the armed officers of the federal administration."

economist.com

Another horrifying shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis

What happens when armed men are given impunity

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

“It is a theory best described by that noted terrorist and underrated political strategist Osama bin Laden: “When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature they will like the strong horse.” economist.com/britain/2026...

economist.com

Reform UK risks blowing a once-in-a-century moment

Nigel Farage’s party is filled with Tory throwbacks

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

“In West Bengal it is impossible to get away from Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister, whose image is plastered across walls and public spaces with a devotion usually reserved for Bengali mothers.” Cults of personality pervade all levels of Indian politics economist.com/asia/2025/12...

economist.com

Cults of personality pervade all levels of Indian politics

The focus is on individuals over institutions

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Our leader on the “Donroe Delusion”.

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Judah Grunstein @judah-grunstein.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

The precedent here is obviously Panama, and while that was certainly illegal under international law, the US had a military base in the Canal Zone, there was a legitimate arrest warrant for Noriega, and there was at least the pretext of an American servicemember killed at a Panamanian checkpoint.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Katha is the town in Upper Myanmar where George Orwell spent his Burmese Days. This week it has become the setting of a pitched battle between the forces of democracy and military rule. Summary of Burmese-language reports, via Frontier Myanmar:

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

I just listened to this podcast, having missed it when we first aired it in August. It’s well worth your time.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

Ahead of tomorrow's sham election in Myanmar, I want to tell you about Tayzar San, the most wanted man in Myanmar. That's him at centre, fist raised, in the post below.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

“Were the Decembrists anything more than glorious failures? … From one point of view the men of 1825 were hopeless dreamers, too aloof or naive to see that Russia’s size and history mean it is doomed to eternal misrule. Or perhaps it is still too early to say.” economist.com/christmas-sp...

economist.com

Two centuries ago, Russian revolutionaries tried to change the world

Bloodied and exiled, the Decembrists failed. But they made a start

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

Does anyone still want to help the Uyghurs? economist.com/china/2025/1... Thailand, Germany and Turkey all refouling Uyghurs, and the Trump administration flirting with the possibility.

economist.com

Does anyone still want to help the Uyghurs?

Chinese pressure and migration backlashes may result in many being sent back to China

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Nahal Toosi @nahaltoosi.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Samizdat

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

A good ABC podcast on Harold Holt’s disappearance. Goes into all the unusual politicking in the run-up to the fateful swim, including Vietnam, conscription, and the HMAS Melbourne investigation. youtu.be/w-v7Luq0UcA?... Assumes little listener knowledge, so accessible even to non-Australians.

youtu.be

The day Australia lost its Prime Minister

YouTube video by ABC Australia

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

This is really good work by the FT on Indonesia’s food security projects in South Papua. Check out the 500km scale at the top right. The forest areas affected are huge. www.ft.com/content/27a6...

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

New post out: @ldfreedman.bsky.social talks to @kschake.bsky.social - who's worked at senior levels in the US defense and state departments - on how the military should deal with Trump, Hegseth and illegal orders. (Free to read) samf.substack.com/p/the-state-...

samf.substack.com

The State and the Soldier

How should the US military react to a "unprincipled principal"?

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

Checking back in on our polling and modeling on Donald Trump’s approval rating, it really is astonishing how unpopular he is. Feels like we don’t hear too much about that. www.economist.com/interactive/...

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Extraordinary reporting and storytelling by my colleague Avantika.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

There is something pleasingly obsessive and British about this old-school blog post: diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-...

diamondgeezer.blogspot.com

diamond geezer

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Duncan Robinson @duncanrobinson.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Really interesting shift from Starmer basically saying Reform are beyond the pale of normal politics. An active threat, unlike Conservative Party

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

“But few big-country governments are explaining to voters why defence must take precedence over social spending.” economist.com/europe/2025/...

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Really interesting cover story on the undervalued Taiwan dollar and how it is an outdated tax on ordinary Taiwanese, by my colleague @ethanywu.bsky.social. It's also inflating property prices and creating systemic financial risks. www.economist.com/leaders/2025...

economist.com

The hidden risks in Taiwan’s boom

A weak-currency policy is punishing consumers and storing up financial risk

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

What is there to say about APEC? It is a zombie international organization. Long stripped of its motivating life force, it ambles on. That’s not an original analysis, or even an a very new one: the late Allan Gyngell and Malcolm Cook wrote it up in 2005. www.lowyinstitute.org/publications...

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