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Justin Ling

@justinling.ca
52K followers 1.7K following 7.7K posts

Uh-oh!!!!!!! Columnist/journalist @thestar.com, sometimes @wired.com, @foreignpolicy.com Newsletter: www.bugeyedandshameless.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/@JustinLing Signal: JustinLing.42

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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 1h
In case you missed it, this week's newsletter features my love-letter to Tom Driberg: A columnist, notorious homosexual, Soviet spy, British spy, churchman, and a "candid friend" to Churchill. www.bugeyedandshameless.com/p/good-leade...
bugeyedandshameless.com
Good Leaders Need Candid Friends
Legitimate opposition spurs innovation, even if it irks
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 3h
That FN party shooting up in the polls is Roberto Vannacci's National Future, a neo-fascist party. Last month, his party participated in a skinhead rally with possible links to neo-Nazi terror group Blood & Honor. www.repubblica.it/politica/202... Not great!
repubblica.it
Futuro nazionale di Vannacci al raduno neonazi di Camelot a Trento
Il referente trentino del partito di Vannacci parteciperà all’evento in programma dal 3 al 6 settembre organizzato dal Veneto Fronte Skinheads c…
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 4h
For what it's worth, those kiosks are brilliant (when they work)
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 4h
If you can, pick up a copy of the Star in print on Saturday: This will be much more pleasant to read on dead trees.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 4h
Here's a gift link to it: www.thestar.com/gift-redeem?...
thestar.com
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 4h
I spent the summer trying to understand what makes Mark Carney's government tick. What I found is a C-Suite obsessed with efficiency — which is trying to ignore what's deeply broken. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
thestar.com
Justin Ling: Who does Mark Carney really listen to? I asked the insiders
It’s become clear that the prime minister would much rather circumvent problems than fix them.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 22h
From the team that brought you AI John Cena Who Sexts Your Kids comes a profoundly bad new way to hoover up your data.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/09/2026
🤡 Schmitt beclowns himself 🤡 Schmitt concocted an elaborate conspiracy theory that Smith traveled to Atl for a Hawks game and to collude with Fani Willis, & flashed his "evidence" before accusing Smith of perjury. There's just one problem -- his facts were totally wrong. Here's the whole sequence:
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 28/09/2026
"from now on we only do diplomacy with america"
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 28/09/2026
Thank you!
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 28/09/2026
NEW DISPATCH: When the going gets tough, legitimate opposition is needed more than ever. www.bugeyedandshameless.com/p/good-leade...
bugeyedandshameless.com
Good Leaders Need Candid Friends
Legitimate opposition spurs innovation, even if it irks
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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
From @justinling.ca who sat in on some of the foreign policy focus groups, a similar caution If anything, Canadians want to engage more with the world now. They don’t want to hunker down and focus on ourselves www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
thestar.com
Justin Ling: Mark Carney may appeal to vast swathes of the country, but there are some things about Canadians he doesn’t seem to get
Rather than merely address global policymakers and CEOs, the prime minister needs to talk to more everyday voters.
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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 25/09/2026
The Bulwark community has raised more than $100,000 for the Haitian Support Center in Springfield, Ohio, which is helping families with food, transportation, legal assistance, and other basic needs. If you’re able, please consider donating.
lnk.thebulwark.com
The Bulwark Community Stands With Springfield
Over the past year, we’ve been telling you about what is happening to Springfield’s Haitian community, and about the extraordinary people there who have stepped up to help their friends and neighbors through an incredibly difficult time. Now we’re asking the Bulwark community to step up with them. We’re raising money for the Haitian Support Center, which is on the ground in Springfield helping families with food, transportation, legal assistance, and other basic needs.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 25/09/2026
That's been my read from French media, too, when they can ever be bothered to talk about the Americans.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 25/09/2026
But it's not just a slight update. As I break down in the column, it is a pretty substantial increase to the U.S' positioning on Greenland.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 25/09/2026
The deal over Greenland shows that Europe is still trying to placate Trump, even as readies for a world without America. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
thestar.com
Justin Ling: Europe has to choose: Bend the knee to Trump, or join Carney’s new world order
The decision should be pretty clear. Unfortunately, Europe doesn't seem ready to make it.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 24/09/2026
Fair enough! I suppose we'll see soon.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 24/09/2026
That's all right there in the article! But there have been some big changes to Israel's justice system since last time.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 24/09/2026
Israel has banned two major Arab parties from running in the upcoming elections. www.jpost.com/israel-news/...
jpost.com
Election panel bars Arab party Ra'am from running in October elections | The Jerusalem Post
The CEC's decision is temporary pending a ruling from the Supreme Court.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 24/09/2026
Macron says Russia is getting ready for a significant mobilization, and may launch more (semi-)clandestine strikes on Europe. www.lefigaro.fr/politique/en...
lefigaro.fr
EN DIRECT - Emmanuel Macron estime qu’il est «possible» que la France soit ciblée par une tentative d’attaque russe comme celle à l’aéroport de Leipzig
Le président de la République est interrogé ce jeudi soir au journal télévisé de TF1 et France 2. Il a déclaré que la Russie est «en train de s’organiser» pour mobiliser 300.000 hommes dans la guerre ...
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 24/09/2026
The French had their own Nazi puppet régime! You can call her Vichy-y
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 24/09/2026
Le Pen got a $10 million Russian loan, which was instrumental in getting her party to where it is now.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 23/09/2026
I'm absolutely obsessed with Tom Driberg. I'm writing a bit about him in my newsletter this week.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 23/09/2026
Sometimes you come across a paragraph which you wish could be an entire book. (From "The Soul of Indiscretion: Tom Driberg: Poet, Philanderer, Legislator and Outlaw" by Francis Wheen)
Two months later, on 13 September, Tom was transferred to a corner of the paper where his social contacts could be exploited more often - as assistant to Colonel Percy Sewell, author of a daily column of social chit-chat called "The Talk of London'. He was at last given a proper contract of employment. His salary was raised to seven guineas a week.
Sewell was a lonely, mysterious, melancholy figure. He believed that every man is born with a fixed number of orgasms in his body and that when you've come this number of times you're finished sexually'. In spite of their differences of opinion on such matters, Tom and the colonel liked each other. (According to Tom, one rumour advanced to explain Sewell's hangdog demeanour was that he had fallen irrevocably but unrequitedly in love with a lesbian.) Sewell would spend most of his afternoons on the golf course or at the races, leaving Tom to fill whatever space was left.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 23/09/2026
A couple blocks east of here — on one of those unnecessarily wide/hostile streets which open onto Crémazie — I got full hit while crossing. Driver wasn't even considering that there might be pedestrians: I wound up on the hood, go pushed right into the middle of the street before she realized.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 23/09/2026
Canada's employment rate is up 1 point over last year. The unemployment rate (graph below) is pretty static. Below the toplines, Canada is seeing a surprising boom in manufacturing.
Trump Truth Social post: "Canada is destroying itself by allowing millions and millions of people into the Country, essentially unchecked and unvetted, and who are causing problems that will soon be too big to handle. It is a Liberal takeover that will end very badly. Already showing up in their numbers. Big unemployment. ‘Oh Canada! President DJT"Chart showing ~23,000 new jobs added in manufacturing in AugustChart showing unemployment remaining statistic through 2026, but trending down
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Brandy Zadrozny @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Bonus for whoever wrote this chyron
Trump speaking at UN — MS NOW chyron reads: Trump touts being a peacemaker while asking if he should annihilate Iran
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 22/09/2026
The whole speech is an insane bit of warmongering, including one of the most brazen attacks on the Geneva Convention ever delivered at the UN. It's pretty bad.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 22/09/2026
Trump, at the UN, just thanked the proud nation of Cassakistan.
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Kevin Rothrock @kevinrothrock.me · 21/09/2026
The Donald Trump: The U.S. is working on a “major deal” to buy Belarusian potash! Eat shit, Canada! Lukashenko, hours earlier: Belarus has no potash to spare for Western markets, “even if we wanted to.” news.zerkalo.io/economics/13...
news.zerkalo.io
Лукашенко заявил, что Беларусь не смогла бы поставить на западные рынки калий, «даже если бы захотела»
«Насколько я информирован премьер-министром и правительством, нам удалось переориентироваться на восток. Свидетельством тому являются переговоры с американцами».
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 21/09/2026
Oh it was just: "Tout! Le monde! De-test-er l'IA!" Much catchier, I think.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 21/09/2026
The AI doomerism being pushed by the tech oligarchs is meant to reinforce the idea that AI is inevitable, unstoppable, and impossible to regulate. But it's not. It's just going to require that we go back to global cooperation, hard as it may sound. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
thestar.com
Justin Ling: It’s the nuclear bomb of the 21st century. This is how we can control it
Reining in AI will take international co-operation.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 20/09/2026
Oh, this is a big deal. www.vanguarddefence.ca/p/canada-for...
vanguarddefence.ca
Canada formally applies to join UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force
Canada is moving from observer status to membership in a rapid-reaction defence pact built around the North Atlantic, Baltic and High North
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amanda moore 🐢 @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
"The worst place ever I've been in my life," Sakariye Abdi Mohamed, a Somali immigrant, told me over the phone from Guantanamo Bay last week.
Sakariye is a 22 year old asylum seeker who had work authorization. He was driving a truck for work when he was
arrested in Alabama last year."I TOLD HIM AT THE TIME TO STOP WORKING, BECAUSE ICE WAS ARRESTING EVERYONE," SAKARIYE'S COUSIN TOLD ME.
BUT SAKARIYE REFUSED.
"HE BELIEVED ICE WAS LOOKING FOR CRIMINALS."
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 17/09/2026
oh man, read his books (if you haven't already.) He believes everything but reality.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 17/09/2026
I think they know it. They seem too afraid to operationalize it. I think today might actually help change that!
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 17/09/2026
and here's a gift link: www.thestar.com/gift-redeem?...
thestar.com
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 17/09/2026
Over the last two weeks in Europe, I heard lots of solidarity around Trump's threats against Canada — and painfully little recognition that the American president is an existential threat to Europe, too. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
thestar.com
Justin Ling: On his latest trip abroad, Carney needs to warn Europe: Trump is coming for you next
During my own recent Euro trip, I kept meeting people terrified by the U.S. president's autocratic turn yet blithe to the threat he poses to them.
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Tabatha Southey🇨🇦 @tabathasouthey.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
“European leaders have utterly failed to explain to the voting public just what is at stake. Irate voters, meanwhile, are turning to Trumpian figures and their magic-bean promises…” Lots worth reading in this from @justinling.ca in @thestar.com.
thestar.com
Justin Ling: On his latest trip overseas, Carney should warn Europe: Trump is coming for you next
During my own recent Euro trip, I kept meeting people terrified by the U.S. president's autocratic turn yet blithe to the threat he poses to them.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 15/09/2026
The MAGA line continues to be that America needs to seize Greenland to protect against Russia. But listen to the actual advocates for the neo-colonial plan, and it's clear that they want to take Greenland *in order to better cooperate with Russia.* www.propublica.org/article/thom...
propublica.org
How a MAGA Influencer With Ties to Russia Became Trump’s Arctic Adviser
As head of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, Thomas Dans has backed a takeover of Greenland and other items on President Donald Trump’s list. But it’s not always clear where the administration’s ag...
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Polling Canada @canadianpolling.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
"How would you describe the vibes when it comes to the United States?" Bad Vibes: 79% Good Vibes: 13% Pollara / Aug 13, 2026
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Polling Canada @canadianpolling.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
"How would you describe the vibes when it comes to Canada?" Good Vibes: 62% Bad Vibes: 28% Pollara / Aug 13, 2026
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Janet Bufton 🍁🌻 @janetbufton.ca · 08/09/2026
@justinling.ca on the trade war as an information war and what Canada might hope to accomplish is worth your time.
open.substack.com
The Game Theory of a Trade War
How do you win a trade war? Let’s find out
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Tim White @twmcltd.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Day 1658 of this terrorism being inflicted on an innocent country. Ukraine is fighting for its life & the lives of every one of its inhabitants. Just hours ago, this happened in Kyiv, a western-looking, freedom loving, European capital city. This may come to you soon. Today's🧵
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 08/09/2026
Absolutely damning reporting here, from @haaretzcom.bsky.social. Worth reading the entire thing. www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
haaretz.com
Netanyahu got an explicit warning before Oct. 7. He didn't brief security chiefs
In September '23, UAE President bin Zayed called Netanyahu to deliver a harsh warning. Netanyahu did nothing. An extensive investigation, conducted for a new book, reveals the PM's failures surroundin...
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 07/09/2026
"Witkoff and Kushner essentially said that after Russia's State Duma elections, Russia would allegedly become more willing to negotiate, and that in this context preparations should be made for a fresh start to the negotiations." You rubes. You Russian assets.
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NOELREPORTS @noelreports.com · 06/09/2026
❗️The Kremlin signaled it has no intention of abandoning its military goals in Ukraine, Bloomberg reports. Kremlin-linked sources said Putin is ready to end the war only on his terms and that Moscow's demands are getting tougher because it believes it holds a military advantage over Ukraine. #Ukraine
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 05/09/2026
Thanks! I hoped to make it to The Hague, but timing doesn't work, alas. Next time!
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 04/09/2026
And here's her gay pal William Arondeus, who helped bombed the Dutch public records office to help Jews flee Nazi terror. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_...
As a gay artist, Willem Arondéus had always felt like an outsider. But during the occupation, he finally felt he could make a difference. Together with friends, Willem concocted a plan to destroy the Amsterdam Registry Office. The Registry Office contained the files used to check whether a person's identity card was genuine or false. For their plan, the group needed a map of the building, the guards' schedule, explosives and police uniforms to disguise themselves. It took five months to prepare. On 27 March 1943, they successfully carried out the attack. The spectacular action was the talk of the Netherlands! Yet not every personal index card was destroyed. And the attack came too late for the many Jews who had already been deported.

Someone betrayed them, and Willem and 11 other co-conspirators were arrested and shot. A friend of Willem's later said that, shortly before his execution, he asked her to tell the world that homosexuals are not weak.

Between 10,000 and 15,000 German gay people were imprisoned in concentration camps. In the Netherlands, the persecution of homosexuals was limited. Only one Dutch man is known to have been sent to a camp for being gay.Collection of photos and letterhead featuring a man in a suit and tie and a carnation in his lapel
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 04/09/2026
Today, at the Dutch Resistance Musuem, I learned about Freida Belinfante — all around badass. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frieda_...
After the liberation, resistance fighter Frieda Belinfante returned from Switzerland, to which she had fled. She was a self-assured lesbian woman, but now she felt lost. "You didn't hear a word about the resistance fighters who had risked their lives. People iust did their thing: earned money, built a life for themselves. It was a harsh wake-up call."
Like many members of the resistance, Frieda had hoped for a greater sense of community after the war. "We thought everything would be better, including politically, but nothing had changed at all." Disappointed, Frieda emigrated to the United States, where she achieved success as one of the few female orchestra conductorsPhoto of a woman I'm a suit and tie, smoking a cigarette
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