Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 29/07/2025Winston Churchill, after being outmaneuvered at Yalta, warned that feeding the crocodile does not guarantee it will eat you last. In the current case, the EU has fed the crocodile and called it diplomacy. www.theindex.media/p/the-crocod... 110
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 24/07/2025This is Trump's conundrum: Once people become convinced that something is being hidden, evidence to the contrary simply confirms the concealment. The logic becomes circular: any lack of evidence is the evidence. www.theindex.media/p/jeffrey-ep... 030
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 11/06/2025The American state survives on three things: • The dollar (still trusted) • The myth (still sacred) • The interface (still responsive) None of those require actual state capacity. Just the simulation of it. www.theindex.media/america-is-a... 061
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 08/06/2025We have arrived at a moment where the description of cruelty is more controversial than the cruelty itself. This is not a neutral imbalance. It is a structural one. And it is being exploited. www.theindex.media/theres-no-ci... 081
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 04/06/2025The climate crisis has become a narrative crisis. We reach for redemption arcs: breakthroughs, prodigies, miraculous fungi. But this is not a story with a hero. It’s a system with no brakes. www.theindex.media/the-climate-... 011
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 02/06/2025The collapse of trust in modern governance didn’t happen because people stopped caring. It happened because they did care - for decades - and saw how little it mattered. Cynicism isn’t an attitude. It’s a scar. 030
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 27/05/2025The more public health works, the more people think they don’t need it. That’s how anti-vaxx became a luxury belief: Safety becomes ambient, and ambience invites sabotage. www.theindex.media/the-herd-imm... 022
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 23/05/2025Ross Douthat turned “Interesting Times” into a complimentary transcription service for fascism. When your “interview” reads like a campaign brochure, you’re not a journalist—you’re a publicist. www.theindex.media/the-soft-sel... 010
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 21/05/2025It’s not just that Trump officials don’t know how government works. It’s that they think you are the fool for expecting them to. www.theindex.media/the-unlearni... 011
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 19/05/2025The GOP didn’t get Trumped. It got everything it ever asked for: white, loud, cruel, and allergic to accountability. www.theindex.media/the-inevitab... 031
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 15/05/2025Trump’s birthday party gets tanks. Your grandma loses Medicaid. That’s the deal. www.theindex.media/an-america-o... 011
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 12/05/2025The Trump doctrine: tweet tariffs into being, walk them back when the market flinches, and pretend volatility is strategy. www.theindex.media/the-tariff-d... 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 07/05/2025The president is confused, slurring, repeating himself, fixated on Obama, and openly unsure if he’s bound by the Constitution. The diagnosis is on display. The crisis is cognitive. And nobody around him dares to say it out loud. www.theindex.media/donald-trump... 021
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 06/05/2025Lila Rose in the Daily Caller: the abortion pill is “poison.” No. It’s FDA-approved, globally recommended medicine. What’s poisonous is turning anti-abortion theology into public health policy and laundering it through right-wing media. www.theindex.media/the-abortion... 071
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 04/05/2025Musk and Trump represent the same delusion: that money and media dominance translate into political inevitability. But the audiences they built online aren't electorates. And the world is no longer buying the story that American wealth is synonymous with wisdom. www.theindex.media/rebuke/ 052
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 02/05/2025They’re calling it a win for Ukraine. It looks more like a prototype for postwar strip-mining. This isn’t diplomacy. It’s debt collection—disguised as development. And it’s coming soon to every scarred nation with lithium. Full piece: www.theindex.media/the-cost-of-... 131
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 30/04/2025The executive order says “protect the innocent.” What it means is: Kill reform. Shield abuse. Punish resistance. Trump just signed an authoritarian wishlist—and we’re breaking it down, line by line. www.theindex.media/trumps-execu... 021
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 29/04/2025“Do food stamps make people fat?” No. But publishing lazy classist propaganda to flatter your rich readers definitely makes you a hack. www.theindex.media/a-war-on-wel... 040
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 28/04/2025The midterms are coming. And the next coup won’t look like January 6th. It’ll look like voter purges, closed polling stations, rigged election boards, and a Supreme Court that shrugs. www.theindex.media/the-midterms... 0101
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 23/04/2025The U.S. didn’t get conned. It chose the con. Because every filter—media, voters, donors—was calibrated for charisma. Not wisdom. Not skill. Not integrity. Just the loudest guy in the room. www.theindex.media/americas-nex... 040
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 21/04/2025“Freeze the conflict” = Let Putin keep the land he stole. “Block NATO membership” = Leave Ukraine defenseless. “Recognize Crimea” = Erase international law. Trump’s peace plan is a blueprint for capitulation. www.theindex.media/trumps-ukrai... 042
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 18/04/2025You don’t win a tech war by slapping export bans on yesterday’s chips. You win by inventing tomorrow’s. www.theindex.media/chip-wars-ar... 031
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 15/04/2025Unless every university in America is ready to say no to federal ideological coercion, this moment will not be a line in the sand. It will be a footnote in the obituary of academic freedom. www.theindex.media/harvard-didn... 032
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 11/04/2025This week wasn’t a crash. It was a warning. When power governs by impulse, the economy can’t forecast, and institutions can’t think. The cost isn’t just money. It’s memory. www.theindex.media/the-epistemi... 030
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 09/04/2025This is how the far right has always governed and always will: not through complexity but siege, siege on truth, trust, trade, and every structure that binds us to each other in mutual obligation. www.theindex.media/america-the-... 152
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 09/04/2025The virus doesn't care what supplements you take. It doesn't care how many Instagram followers your favorite wellness influencer has. It only cares that herd immunity has collapsed. www.theindex.media/measles-misi... 021
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 09/04/2025Three children dead. Hundreds infected. This isn't an unfortunate coincidence. It's policy by neglect, ideology by omission. www.theindex.media/measles-misi... 153
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 27/02/2025This week, Jeff Bezos cemented his place in the annals of the world's smallest men, and - by his own words - humiliated himself in the process. www.theindex.media/jeff-bezos-j... 040
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 21/10/2024If you read The Index on the web feed, you can now reply to each news story from your Micro blog, Bluesky or Mastodon (ActivityPub) account! theindex.media 020
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 08/10/2024🇮🇱 Israel’s PM Netanyahu confirms airstrikes have killed two of Hezbollah’s top commanders, including Nasrallah’s successor. As Hezbollah struggles under continued strikes, its deputy leader hints at a truce. www.theindex.media/airstrikes-have-… 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 07/10/2024🇮🇱 Fighting intensifies as Israel marks the one-year anniversary of Oct 7 massacre. www.theindex.media/october-7-annive… 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 04/10/2024🇺🇸 US military escalates response to Houthi aggression Today on The Index: top news links, social posts from Reddit, Bluesky and Threads www.theindex.media/us-military-esca… 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 04/10/2024🇺🇸 Jan 6: By the Numbers 1,265+ charged in all 50 states for Jan 6 Capitol attack. 452 charged with assaulting officers. 140 officers assaulted: 80 Capitol Police, 60 DC Police. $2.9M in damages. 5 deaths. 718 pled guilty. 139 found guilty at trial. 467 sentenced to prison. 011
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 04/10/2024🇺🇸 Court filing reveals Trump's 2020 playbook: declare victory regardless of votes, treat election results as obstacles, not outcomes. Top headlines + Reddit, Bluesky and Threads posts: www.theindex.media/court-filing-rev… 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 02/10/2024🇺🇸 President Biden refuses to support strike on Iran’s Nuclear facilities. Top news headlines re: Israel/Iran + top Reddit, Bluesky and Threads posts: www.theindex.media/president-biden-… 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 02/10/2024🇮🇱 Israel faces Iranian missile barrage, intercepting majority with US assistance. Netanyahu vows swift retaliation. Top headlines + Reddit, Bluesky and Threads picks: www.theindex.media/israel-sustains-… 001
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 01/10/2024The Index is a paywall-free, ad-free news service and always will be. You can donate any amount to contribute to The Index here: www.theindex.media/israeli-commando… 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 30/09/2024Top headlines + Reddit, Bluesky & Threads posts: 🇮🇱 Israeli commandos conduct covert raids into Lebanon, gathering intelligence on Hezbollah positions and infrastructure near the border. www.theindex.media/israeli-commando… 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 29/09/2024🇺🇸 Hurricane Helene's devastating impact: At least 89 lives lost across five states, millions without power, and damage estimates ranging from $15B to $100B+ Top headlines, Reddit + Bluesky + Threads posts: www.theindex.media/hurricane-helene… 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 27/09/2024🇸🇩 Sudan's humanitarian crisis deepens as famine grips millions, with UN aid blocked by warring factions. #news #sudan Top links + Reddit, Bluesky & Threads posts: www.theindex.media/sudans-humanitar… 001
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 25/09/2024🇮🇱 Israel escalates violence in Lebanon as military chief Herzi Halevi signals potential ground assault, citing preparation for troops to enter "enemy territory." Top headlines, links, Reddit + Bluesky + Threads posts: www.theindex.media/israel-escalates… 010
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 24/09/2024🇺🇳 In his final UN address, President Biden declared Russia's Ukraine invasion a failure, urged a diplomatic solution between Israel and Hezbollah. Top links + Reddit + Bluesky + Threads posts www.theindex.media/president-biden-… 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 23/09/2024🇱🇧 Israel launches escalated airstrikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, hitting over 1,300 targets and killing at least 492 people, with 1,640+ injured. Top news links + Reddit, Bluesky and Threads posts: www.theindex.media/israel-launches-… 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 22/09/2024Go deeper: the Brandenburg election 🇩🇪 In a crucial Brandenburg state election, Chancellor Scholz's Social Democrats narrowly defeated the far-right AfD. Top news links + Reddit, Bluesky and Threads posts… www.theindex.media/social-democrats… 011
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 20/09/2024Headlines + links + Reddit + Bluesky +Threads: 🇮🇱 Israel dramatically escalates tensions with Hezbollah, launching a precision airstrike in Beirut that killed top commander Ibrahim Aqil and other senior figures. www.theindex.media/israel-dramatica… 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 18/09/2024THE INDEX: WaPo, WSJ, MarketWatch, Coindesk roundups + curated posts from Bluesky, Threads and Reddit. 🇺🇸 Federal Reserve slashes interest rates by 0.5%, a shift towards monetary easing amid job market concerns www.theindex.media/federal-reserve-… 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 15/09/2024Today... 🇺🇸 FBI launches investigation into second assassination attempt on Donald Trump in 2024. Roundup + Bluesky + Threads + Reddit links: www.theindex.media/fbi-launches-inv… 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 13/09/2024🇻🇦 Pope Francis, returning from Asia-Pacific tour, weighs in on US election: Harris and Trump both "against life" - Harris for abortion stance, Trump for immigration policies. www.theindex.media/pope-francis-ret… 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 12/09/2024🇵🇸 Israel's deadly strike on Gaza school shelter sparks global outrage, killing 18 including six UN workers. Israel claims Hamas used site as command center, offering names of alleged militants killed. www.theindex.media/israels-deadly-s… 000
Westenberg @westenberg.bsky.social · 11/09/2024🇺🇸 Trump's debate performance imploded as Harris dominated, leaving GOP insiders disappointed, with some questioning his fitness for office. www.theindex.media/trumps-debate-pe… 000
