Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Clever headline in the French daily, Libération - a reference to Jean-Marie Le Pen’s infamous quip that the Nazi gas chambers were a “detail” in WWII history. That was before France’s far-right National Front party rebranded itself as the National Rally. 020
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Active-assailant insurance, brought to you by the ravages of relentless gun violence in the United States. www.ft.com/content/5ad7...ft.comThe booming business of insuring against US gun violenceCompanies, political campaigns and even schools are taking out policies to shield themselves from litigation that can follow attacks 023
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026From The #NYTimes: When #Trump met with # Xi in the Oval Office, the WH « allowed a limited number of photojournalists, but no print reporters, to attend. During the event, Mr. Trump made a remark about how the Chinese had the friendliest #press corps, according to photographers who were present. » 000
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 20/09/2026The Economist with the U.S. #midterms caveat piece: “Republican chances to hold the chamber [the House of Representatives] are at 10% and not 1% for plausible reasons. And Americans have seen Mr #Trump’s Houdini act before.” 020
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Happy 175th (and one day) anniversary to the #NYTimes, my lifelong lodestar. It’s why I got into #journalism. And it’s why I’ve stayed in this profession through all its iterations, keeping me honest - or striving to be honest - in a field where ethics vary wildly. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/o...nytimes.comOpinion | A.G. Sulzberger: The Story of America, Told in 15 Million First Drafts of HistoryThe Times has witnessed the country’s transformation. It will keep its eyes open. 040
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Some important resources in the ongoing fight against 911 conspiracy theories. False narratives, those refuted by facts, delegitimize democratic government and demonize innocent groups, James Lindsay, of the Council on Foreign Relations, writes. www.cfr.org/articles/ten...cfr.orgTen Resources Debunking September 11 Conspiracy Theories | Council on Foreign RelationsTwenty-five years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the crash of United Flight 93, conspiracy theories about what happened that day continue to flourish. 021
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Vladimir #Putin was the first foreign leader to call George W. Bush on the day of the 9/11 attacks. According to recently declassified transcripts, he told the U.S. president, referring to the attackers: “We need to destroy them like rats, or buy them off.” nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-boo...nsarchive.gwu.eduThe Bush-Putin Transcripts: How Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush Bonded Over TerrorismWashington, D.C., January 7, 2026 - Russian president Vladimir Putin was the first foreign leader to call George W. Bush on his birthday in July 2001 and on the day of the 9/11 attacks, and the two pr... 021
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 03/09/2026The #NYTimes’s Adam Kushner on “a weird summer for the #Pentagon”. #Hegseth 020
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 15/08/2026The #NYTimes does a deep dive on the questions raised by a “presidential ruse”. #journalism #journalisticethics www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/i...nytimes.comHow The New York Times Reported on Trump’s Air Force One Ruse in TurkeyPresident Trump’s Air Force One subterfuge duped potential adversaries — and the press. Here’s what happened. 020
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 13/08/2026The #NYTimes: “President #Trump’s Air Force One subterfuge…pales in comparison to the secrecy surrounding President Vladimir V. #Putin…whose activity is shrouded in so much mystery that journalists have tried to track it by assessing the wilting of his office plants.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/w...nytimes.comFor Trump, Secret Flight Was a Stunning Ruse. For Putin, ‘a Regular Tuesday.’President Trump’s Air Force One subterfuge pales in comparison to the secrecy surrounding Russia’s president, whose fixation on security has reached new heights in recent years. 021
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 08/08/2026“ #Greenland Energy has retained Phil McGraw, better known as Dr Phil, a prominent rightwing former chatshow host who served on #Trump’s religious freedom commission, to make a documentary series that will ‘capture the mission of these modern-day wildcatters’.” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...theguardian.comGreenland issues ‘strong warning’ as Trump-linked oil firm prepares to drillIsland’s government says no approval given after Greenland Energy brings kit ashore for exploratory drilling 020
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 06/08/2026The “miracle” of #Krasnoyarsk. #Putin makes an impromptu appearance in the Siberian city - and suddenly there is gas at the pump and prices fall! #petrol #Russia www.lemonde.fr/internationa...lemonde.frEn Russie, là où Poutine passe, le prix de l’essence baisseA l’occasion d’une visite du président russe à Krasnoïarsk, en Sibérie, lundi 3 août, les habitants de la ville ont eu la surprise de constater la chute subite des tarifs du carburant. Une mise en scè... 030
Reposted by Douglas HerbertPew Research Center @pewresearch.org · 05/08/2026Democrats are about twice as likely as Republicans to say learning a language other than English is important. Do you think learning a second language is important? 💬 5337
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 03/08/2026The “New-Yorkification” of US #newspapers: “By 2025, 1 out of every 12 U.S. newspaper jobs (8.3%) was based in #Manhattan. What was once one of America’s least centralized industries is increasingly squeezed into a few square miles of Midtown.” www.niemanlab.org/2026/08/u-s-...niemanlab.orgU.S. news jobs are more than 3× more likely to be based in Manhattan than they were 25 years agoTen years ago, I wrote a piece on how the internet was sucking journalistic resources out of the middle of the country and concentrating it on the coasts — primarily New York City. While digital publi... 000
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 03/08/2026“Commander in Cheat?”. (via The Associated Press) #Trump #golf apnews.com/article/c0bf...apnews.comCommander in Cheat? New book recounts golf misdeeds by TrumpWASHINGTON (AP) — Colluding with Russia? The special counsel says no. Cheating at golf? Well, that's something else. 051
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 02/08/2026Badly needed perspective from The #NYTimes that lays bare, in a stark way, the dramatically shifting attitudes towards #migrants in Europe in just over a decade. #immigration #farright www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/w...nytimes.comEurope’s Far Right, Once Marginal, Now Sets Tone on Spain Migrant CrisisEurope sheltered many refugees in 2015. Its hard-line reaction to a new crisis in Ceuta shows how, 11 years on, the far right has reshaped European attitudes. 021
Reposted by Douglas HerbertScott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 28/07/2026The Trump administration has assessed that the Pentagon's drug interdiction program, which has now produced enormous casualty numbers, is having no affect on the actual interdiction of drugs from Latin America to the US. Its purpose is pure entertainment value, apparently.washingtonpost.comDeadly U.S. boat strikes have failed to curb cocaine supply, Pentagon and DEA officials sayThe president says Operation Southern Spear has virtually ended drug trafficking by sea. Pentagon and DEA analysts have concluded otherwise. 67749
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 22/07/2026Journalism is all about great #storytelling - capturing the human experience in all its multi-faceted complexity. This #NYTimes account of an extended #NorthKorean family’s flight to freedom is a masterclass in its genre. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/21/w...nytimes.comA Family’s Daring Escape From North KoreaTheir resolve for freedom hardened during the pandemic, when they lived through a crippling food shortage and were forced to witness frequent public executions. 010
Reposted by Douglas HerbertJana Zikmundova @jzk55.bsky.social · 16/07/2026Sadly, this means spending large parts of summer, now a deadly season, indoors. Until when ❔️🟥 145
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 15/07/2026Poynter’s senior #media writer, Tom Jones, asks: “Should networks turn over airtime for #Trump to push unproven claims of a rigged election from six years ago? Should they give him free rein on the air to continue peddling #misinformation about election results that he has never accepted?” 011
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 11/07/2026Environmentalists are calling this “the most severe erosion of protections for wildlife in half a century”. #NYTimes #environment www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/c...nytimes.comTrump Cuts Habitat Protections for Endangered SpeciesThe rule change ends a safeguard that had been in place for 50 years and could hasten the demise of imperiled animals. 010
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 07/07/2026If anyone’s come across a better editorial cartoon at the juncture of the #WorldCup and #geopolitics, I’d love to see it. 061
Reposted by Douglas HerbertDave Keating @davekeating.substack.com · 03/07/2026Following reports that the US ambassador ordered Belgian police to remove two journalists from the massive "🇺🇸Freedom 250" event in Cinquantenaire Park on Sunday, now there are reports that the enormous fireworks display there damaged the historic buildings in the park.belganewsagency.euInvestigation into damage in Brussels' Jubelpark after American ambassador's celebrationAn investigation is underway to determine whether fireworks from the American ambassador's celebration damaged the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels. Among those who identified the damage e... 715069
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 03/07/2026“…few far-right voices aligned with Mr. #Trump have criticized him over the scale of his personal haul, reported this week, or the conflict inherent in his status as a major #cryptocurrency industry operator and its top policymaker.” (#NYTimes) #ConflictOfInterest www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/u...nytimes.comMAGA Base Stays Quiet After Trump Reports Billions in Personal Gains 041
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 26/06/2026“The sweltering night-time temperatures currently harming people’s sleep are about 100 times more likely today than in 2003.” (The Guardian) #climatechange #heatwave www.theguardian.com/environment/...theguardian.comEuropean heatwave is worst ever and impossible without climate crisis, scientists sayStudy also finds high humidity means people in hundreds of cities are enduring their worst ever heat stress 034
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 24/06/2026“The #Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.” (Financial Times) #Hegseth www.ft.com/content/b293...ft.comUS defence secretary Pete Hegseth forces out top army officer in EuropeGeneral CD Donahue will announce his retirement on Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter 020
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 23/06/2026The Guardian reports: “A generation of young Britons who were locked out of the 2016 #EU referendum because of their age now believe that #Brexit has failed, with a majority demanding a fresh vote to rejoin the EU, exclusive polling shows.” #GenZ www.theguardian.com/politics/202...theguardian.comThree in five gen Z Britons would like new vote to rejoin EU, poll findsExclusive: Data reveals 60% of 18 to 28-year-olds would vote to rejoin bloc if given the opportunity 0103
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 21/06/2026The “unquiet American”, indeed. The NYTimes reports on the serial offensive behavior that has made Charles Kushner, #Trump’s son-in-law and the ambassador to France, a pariah here in #Paris. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/20/w...nytimes.comThe Unquiet American: Charles Kushner Brings Trump Diplomacy to France 010
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 20/06/2026A moving tribute to Barack #Obama’s legacy, leavened with hope for the future, by Michelle Obama - with a tearful Barack looking on. The highlight of the week, and perhaps the year, so far. #MichelleObama www.google.com/search?q=pbs...google.comGoogle Search 010
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 20/06/2026“I don’t believe in building #libraries or museums. It’s most likely going to be a hotel with a beautiful building underneath and a 747 Air Force One in the lobby.” - Donald #Trump, in March, on the proposal for a $1 billion, 50-floor Miami skyscraper, with gold statues of himself. 020
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 19/06/2026An AI-generated tongue-in-cheek photo posted on the X platform shows “the Oval Office after Trump’s return from Versailles”. 031
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 16/06/2026French #newspapers (in stark contrast to quality American news outlets that take pains to wall off fact from opinion) aren’t shy about proclaiming their political orientation. It’s part of #France’s journalistic culture and, in the case of left-leaning Libération, makes for some great headlines. 020
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 16/06/2026NYTimes Opinion Columnist Michelle Goldberg nails it in her factually airtight style. “…the confluence of America’s failure in #Iran and #Trump’s Temu colosseum should paint a clear picture of decadence, rot and weakness trying to conceal itself behind macho kitsch.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/o...nytimes.comOpinion | A Garish Spectacle of American Decline 010
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 14/06/2026One U.S.-based political commentator said #Trump’s “carnival of violence” on the South Lawn of the White House epitomizes the “chaos” and “self-serving” of the president’s second term. MS Now digs deeper into what critics see as a cesspool of presidential #corruption. #UFC www.ms.now/news/trump-u...ms.nowHow Trump and his allies could profit from the UFC fight at the White HouseThe president bought stock in UFC’s parent company before announcing the fight, designed branded medallions for sale and is holding a $1 million-per-plate fundraiser the night before. 040
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 11/06/2026Ahead of next week’s G7 summit in Evian, Pierre Haski discusses a new study among 15 #European countries showing a total collapse in Europeans’ perception of the U.S. as an “ally”. Perhaps not surprising, but clearly an appalling own goal by the U.S. under #Trump. www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/...radiofrance.frIl n’y a plus qu’un Européen sur dix pour considérer les États-Unis comme un « allié »A l'approche de sa venue -en principe- en France pour le Sommet du G7, une étude dans 15 pays européens montre un effondrement de la confiance dans les États-Unis. Comment le président américain se co... 122
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 09/06/2026The punny headline in Libération combines the #WorldCup trophy with an expression meaning to hold something under one’s control. The subhead reads: “President Donald #Trump has succeeded in making the tournament his own, pushing the sport itself into the background in favor of business interests.” 000
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 05/06/2026Quotable: “The world has not grown tired of #Ukraine, as you long hoped it would. But there is growing fatigue with #Russia.” -Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr #Zelensky, in an open letter to Vladimir #Putin calling for face-to-face talks 021
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 29/05/2026And then this happened. #Trump #GolfCourse #Vietnam giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...giftarticle.ft.comVietnam moves its dead for Trump golf courseProject has become symbolically important for relations between Washington and Hanoi 122
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 26/05/2026Outstanding data-driven journalism by The New York Times, which analyzed how much time his #Cabinet members spend flattering or praising Donald #Trump - or criticizing his political opponents - during marathon Cabinet meetings. #NYTimes www.nytimes.com/interactive/...nytimes.comHow Trump’s Cabinet Speaks to Him: Praise, Accolades and Lots of Criticizing OpponentsThe New York Times reviewed over a dozen hours of cabinet meeting footage to analyze how President Trump’s administration speaks to him. Many pack their speaking time with praise and flattery. 031
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 25/05/2026Some might see the headline below and conclude that American foreign policy is lacking in compassion. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m... #Trump #deportationtheguardian.comWhite House pauses removal of detainees to DRC as Ebola outbreak widensBut Trump administration will not return detainees deported to third countries in disease-stricken region 000
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 20/05/2026And then this happened. #Trump #MAGA (via #PBS) www.pbs.org/newshour/wor...pbs.orgTrump administration plans to admit more white South Africans as refugees this yearThe Trump administration plans to admit up to 10,000 more white South African refugees into the United States, citing discrimination against Afrikaners. 010
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 18/05/2026Editorial cartoon in #China’s state-controlled press. Text reads: “Relax, I’ve got this under control.” #Trump #Xi 020
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 18/05/2026A call to boycott #Generative #AI may strike some as draconian, but it’s at the heart of a growing debate here in #France and across Europe and much of the world. #technology www.linkedin.com/posts/boycot...linkedin.comBoycotter l'intelligence artificielle, c'est "de la légitime défense" | France Inter | 54 commentsAbel Quentin lance "un appel citoyen" de "légitime défense" contre l'intelligence artificielle générative. L'écrivain était au micro de Florence Paracuellos et Benjamin Duhamel à l'occasion de la sor... 010
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 17/05/2026A reality check. (source: #NYTimes): “ #Russia has a lopsided economic relationship with #China. China supplies more than a third of its imports and buys more than a quarter of its exports, but Russia accounts for only about 4 percent of China’s international trade - a smaller share than Vietnam’s.” 010
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 17/05/2026Editorial cartoon by Nick Anderson. #VotingRightsAct #Trump #SCOTUS 021
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 15/05/2026Sobering perspective from MS NOW’s James Downie. #Trump 000
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 15/05/2026And then this happened. #Xi #Trump www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...independent.co.ukTrump says Xi is ‘very tall’ and Chinese people ‘tend to be a little bit shorter’‘If you went to Hollywood and you look for a leader of China, to play a role in a movie, he’s central casting,’ the president told Fox News’ Sean Hannity 000
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 13/05/2026Donald #Trump posted on social media fifty-five (55) times over the course of THREE hours last night. open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...open.substack.comMay 12, 2026The biggest story in the country, today and always, is that the president of the United States is mentally unwell. 000
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 11/05/2026Gentle reassurance for those who tend to doom spiral in times of uncertainty. #hantavirus time.com/article/2026...time.comHow to Manage Your Health Anxiety About HantavirusA deadly hantavirus cluster on a cruise ship is reviving pandemic-era fears. 000
Douglas Herbert @dougdecodes.bsky.social · 08/05/2026“‘I assume this is what North Korea looks like,’ one critic wrote on the Globalist website.” (via the #washingtonpost) #Trump #authoritarianism www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...washingtonpost.comColumn | Trump demands gratitude in D.C. So he put up banners thanking himself.Signs appearing around the capital twist appreciation and patriotism into an authoritarian knot. 020