iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 1h

I reckon an obvious caveat here, beyond the polite smiles and hand shakes, is whether anyone attending takes Elbridge Colby seriously given the whole "he's a buffoon" thing*.

politico.com

Pentagon excludes key allies from NATO meeting

Some of Europe’s biggest defense spenders — and U.S. allies — were not invited to a Pentagon-led meeting to discuss the alliance.

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Keir Giles @keirgiles.bsky.social · 5h

Splitting NATO is just another objective shared by the Kremlin and the current US administration. www.politico.com/news/2026/09...

Screenshot from linked story about splitting NATO

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

2 headlines highlighting the centrality of economic data to Russia’s info war, Reuters depicts an ever larger economic juggernaut*, the Kyiv Independent, not so much

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

US military official: Preposterous! Also US military official: Who we murdering in the Caribbean tonight boys? Also also US military official: You say racist, misogynist, ideological purge of the US military's senior ranks, I say career opportunities! Also also also US military official: "Iran"

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

All those (mostly American) security and international relations experts who rabbitted on about the CIA bloke's surprise trip to Moscow being so he could have stern words with Putin about this, that and/or the other, when instead the US is on a sustained campaign to normalize Russia *

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

"Donald Trump – during a press conference at the UN with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy – said that Keir Starmer’s rhetoric had been “too tough” towards Moscow and that London “needs to be a little bit careful”. Downing Street pushed back on the US president’s remarks"

theguardian.com

New UK agency to fight ‘information warfare’ from likes of Russia, Burnham tells UN

PM aims to ‘stem poisonous tide’ of disinformation and deepfakes with National Centre for Information Defence

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

It's noticeable that Russian bank liquidity is being discussed publicly. While "uneven distribution" is referenced, you'd expect every bank to participate in repo auctions to avoid any one appearing weak. Also, jings!

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

An irony here is that opposition to data centres could prevent/limit the oversupply, that would destroy the residual values this article notes are now being guaranteed to secure cheap loans.

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Helpful analysis. Documents a clear balloon squeezing effect with the shadow fleet becoming an ever larger and more institutionalised "parallel trading system". But, the author mostly presents this as a single West vs the Rest despite the significant policy differences between the US and EU/UK

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Despite repeated rate cuts, the credit quality of MKB’s corporate loan book * continued to deteriorate in Q2 2026. Distressed assets recorded in the Bank's quarterly IFRS accounts increased from 23% in March to 28% in June.

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Sberbank press release on planned mortgage backed securitizations makes clear these will be comparable to i.e. compete with OFZs and come with a long-term commitment to pay 15.5% or 16% p.a., less than the current 16.4% yield on a Russian 10 yr govt bond, but more than the Russian govt wants to pay.

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

America: Fighting to save the UK and Europe from civilizational erasure Also America: How to marital rape

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Ignoramus American president aside, this is the uncut dumb that informs actual US trade policy and influences trade negotiations, because the current US administration takes it seriously enough to inflict on other nations.

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The hedgehog @the-hedgehog.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Ukrainian soldier Stanislav Osman says Russian forces in Dnipro-side areas of Kherson Oblast are forcibly recruiting men into “DPR” and “LPR” units. He claims residents are isolated, denied aid and prevented from leaving, with those attempting to escape reportedly killed by gunfire or drones.

From the areas of Kherson Oblast along the Dnipro, the Russians have begun forcibly recruiting people into “DPR” and “LPR” units.

They usually send them to cross rivers or occupy positions where our operators destroy everything that moves.

Oleshky, Hola Prystan, Nova Zburivka, Stara Zburivka, and other settlements along the river are in complete isolation.

People are not allowed to leave, humanitarian aid is not delivered, or is brought in for the media. Anyone attempting to leave these areas is shot or killed by drones.

The occupiers are carrying out what is described as a full-scale genocide of the local population. All men who want to escape are offered contracts with the Russian Armed Forces.

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Fun fact 1: The EU is the largest importer of Russian gas. The US Russia sanctions bill, empowers Trump to sanction the largest importers of Russian oil and gas. Fun fact 2: The US/Canada dispute keeps getting presented in terms of trade, not the American assault on Canada's sovereignty that it is.

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Offers an alternative form of political reporting. Instead of taking each outburst at face value then working thru its implications, categorize/count them, then discuss variations over time. Heck, you could even make forecasts and ask questions e.g. are we due single digit victory claims this month?

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The US (and the EU) sanctioned VTB Bank in 2022 *. It would be helpful if the Americans parked their rah-rah bullshit and explained what's new/the limitations of the pre-existing measures.

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George E. Osborn @georgeosborn.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I think we're at the point where we can incredibly comfortably say that your attitude towards Reform, Restore, MAGA, the AfD etc is how you'd have responded to fascism in the 1930s

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Some brilliant spots in this thread (and a great introduction to the wacky world of financing state owned Russian corporations). And, taking the purpose of the bonds at face value, a financial measure of the emerging crisis in Russian aviation due to sanctions*.

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

No matter what Trump says, ostensibly pro-Ukraine American commentators remain largely in denial about the actual US position on Russia & Ukraine. You saw this in the wishful thinking about what the CIA bloke said when he was in Russia. Then there’s the military/strategy experts exaggerating the

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Sarah Kirchberger @sarahkirchberger.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

💥 German investigators already have a detailed picture of the Leipzig airport drone attack incident: 🔹2 suspects have been identified, Belarussian Andrei K. and Russian Oleg L. 🔹 Oleg L.‘s DNA was found on glove material on the atenna construction. His DNA was registered previously in 🇫🇮 and 🇱🇹. 🧵

welt.de

Sabotage: Deutsche Behörden identifizieren russische Agenten hinter Drohnenangriff von Leipzig - WELT

Geheime Ermittlungsunterlagen, die WELT AM SONNTAG exklusiv vorliegen, führen zu zwei Verdächtigen. Einer wird dem russischen Militärgeheimdienst zugerechnet.

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Stanimir Dobrev @delfoo.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

The Russian Central Bank has again surprised us. It has kept the interest rate at 14% which means it's back to properly reading the Russian inflation data as it's coming out. Even Rosstat has inflation this year headed to well over 6%.

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The US stifling free speech at home ...

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

To criticize Kushner/Witkoff is to miss the point. The US moved from supporting Ukraine under Biden to not supporting under Trump. The Kushner/Witkoff clown show helps distract from/fill the void left by that transition, panders to US narcissism and gifts journalists a soap opera to write about

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The Witkoff and Kushner roadshow had one upside, exposure to actual journalists made clear Witkoff is a grasping, amoral sycophant and Nepo-princeling Kushner is so far out his depth he presumably gets ear-bleeds.

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

A reminder having N.Korea as an ally signaled Russian weakness, was and remains a dumb idea, because 1) Lots of cheap ammunition 2) Even more cheap ammunition 3) And heavy armour and missiles 4) Cannon fodder 4) No strings attached, reliable (supply) and, as it's outsourcing production, reduces

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Janis Kluge @jakluge.de · 05/09/2026

"At the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin tried to dispel concerns about the state of Russia’s public finances. But the numbers tell a more troubling story for the Kremlin." - my short analysis of Russian state finances: www.swp-berlin.org/en/publicati...

swp-berlin.org

Russian military spending soars, upending the Kremlin’s budget plans

At the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin tried to dispel concerns about the state of Russia’s public finances. But the numbers tell...

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Sam Wilson @samwilson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Damning silence from Labour on their Napoleon III exhumation policy

Tom Harwood tweets:

BREAK: Nigel Farage says under a Reform government the body of Napoleon III could be returned from England to France.
The last French emperor's final resting place is in The Imperial Crypt at St Michael's Abbey in Farnborough.
He died in exile in England in 1873 following the fall of the Second Empire. His body was never returned to France because they didn't want it, and due to his wife's wishes. She was later buried alongside him.

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

BBC outdoing itself today as the propaganda wing of the Reform party. Presumably having Reform write their articles saves licence payers money.

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

1/4 The US is running a Russian playbook against Canada, denying its sovereignty, belittling it, inventing grievances, staging provocations and using economic pressure to pursue political ends, all while casting itself as the victim and working to turn Canada into an enemy in the popular imagination

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Compare/contrast with the brand new $533m US ammunition plant in Texas that made zero artillery shells in 2 years, and appears to have prompted as many resignations *

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Even if fuel doesn't raise transport costs, the danger money will.

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Janis Kluge @jakluge.de · 02/09/2026

🎥 New WSJ mini documentary "Inside Russia's War Boomtowns" by Milan Czerny is out! It shows how the influx of war money is changing poor Russian regions such as Buryatiya. Full video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifVQ...

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

1/3 The value of new Russian mortgage lending fell back in July, after the reduction in new subsidised mortgages more than offset the increase in market rate borrowing.

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Him with the beard = Backpfeifengesicht (so does him without the beard)

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

It's not surprising Russian veterans who are ex-convicts or returned to impoverished areas struggle to find civilian work, but this study also indicates, despite the political risk and a tight labour market, many employers just don't want to hire them.

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

America, too "exceptional" to grasp blackmail and being mad as a racist box of frogs don't win friends, is butt hurt Europe isn't buying more American materiel (that it's already failing to deliver).

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Wildberries previously benefited from free liquidity/working capital due to the delay between an item being sold and sellers paid. This just reads like screwing sellers because of the liquidity issues you'd expect having to service/repay existing debts after a big % of your business was blown up

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Tim White @twmcltd.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

1/2 Here is Andy Burnham's speech from Marynskyi Palace in Kyiv, in full (in two parts) A very good, strong speech from the new UK leader:

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Ozon share price down another 20% today as Ukraine gets into the weeds of Russian oligarchs and their wealth. A week after the 1st Wildberries warehouse was destroyed, Alexander Chachava bought 28% of Ozon from Vostok. Of the remainder Vladimir Yevtushenkov’s AFK Sistema owns 32% leaving 33% public

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

1/2 Fox News presenting Canada as a Trojan horse for Chinese "transshipments" and as such an unreliable ally to be controlled, is a better guide to what America wants from the trade war it started with Canada, than the New York Times (or BBC) fixation with what goods will be subject to tariffs.

foxbusiness.com

A powerful country on the other side of the world is quietly shaping Trump's latest trade fight

President Donald Trump's tariff standoff with Canada deepens as Ottawa strikes a deal with Beijing on electric vehicles, steel, and market access.

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

If Americans won't describe their trade war with Canada accurately, here's an Australian instead.

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Half-Brick McCurdy @halfbrickmccurdy.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Incredible denialism in the New York Times, describing the unprovoked trade war launched by the US on Canada exclusively in terms of "tit for tat". No reference to the US imposing tariffs for reasons that have included wildfire smoke and a TV advert, or their legaility.

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