In an interview, Michel Houellebecq on modern leftism, to put things into perspective: In 2012, 18% of European 15-year-olds lacked basic reading proficiency. By 2025, that figure had climbed to 31.3%.

Mélenchon tells the Israeli ambassador that, if elected, he would take France to war with Israel in defense of Palestine. That is, of course, assuming there’s anything left of France’s finances by then.

The Polish ambassador to China has resigned from his post because of the ongoing coup d’état in Poland. This is the first time something like this has happened since martial law was imposed in 1981.

Thank you for your leadership, @michaelgwaltz. For the first time in decades, the United States has decided to move away from a MINURSO mission that has failed to resolve the Western Sahara conflict and instead helped perpetuate the very stalemate it was created to end: "“Unfortunately, Russia vetoed what 11 other members of this Council supported — taking historic steps toward finally ending a 50-year conflict in the Western Sahara. We presented a path to finally stem the real, devastating human cost of this conflict by extending the UN mission in Western Sahara for 12 months, supported the Personal Envoy and the political process, and called on UNHCR to register the refugees in the Tindouf camps who have been waiting 50 years for a durable solution. “Russia’s veto means the mission’s mandate will now expire on October 31. The Council chose not to take a step back from the historic progress of Resolution 2797 by not supporting Russia’s alternative text. This was all Russia’s choice. “President Trump refuses to accept that this conflict is simply too difficult to solve—and under his leadership, we acted. Our resolution would have taken the next steps on that road to freedom and peace. We will not lend our vote to business as usual in the face of terrible conditions that the UN’s own High Commissioner for Refugees has called ‘untenable, unsustainable, and genuinely, truly inhumane.’ “We are prepared to work with the Secretary-General on an orderly drawdown that protects UN personnel and addresses legitimate security and humanitarian needs. And we will continue working with Personal Envoy de Mistura and each of the concerned parties to negotiate a lasting peace. Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States has done more for peace in Western Sahara this year than in decades. We will not stop now.”"

On Morocco, Russia, and Western Sahara: Russia no longer has the strategic foothold in Syria that it once enjoyed, its old friend Gaddafi is long gone, and the fallout from Wagner has complicated Moscow's ability to pursue a coherent strategy across Africa. So yes, of course that keeping the Western Sahara conflict alive serves a larger Russian objective of obstructing U.S. influence and preventing the emergence of stronger regional partnerships that could challenge Moscow's interests. More importantly, the Russians have also failed to appreciate how much Morocco's position has changed. The kingdom isn't simply an American ally in North Africa anymore. Morocco has become a major economic and financial power in West Africa, with Moroccan banks controlling nearly 30% of the West African banking market, and Moroccan investments spanning telecommunications, fertilizers, infrastructure, and industry. The proposed $25 billion Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline, stretching approximately 6,900 kilometers across 13 countries, could further transform the kingdom's strategic importance by connecting West African energy markets to Europe, which will inevitably make Russian gas irrelevant. It's safe to say that Moscow has certainly noticed this transformation, which explains why Russian diplomatic rhetoric has become increasingly accommodating toward Rabat (as I pointed out in their draft). But the underlying calculation hasn't changed since Russia still treats an abstention, rather than a favorable vote, as a diplomatic concession for which Morocco should offer something in return. That approach may have worked when Moscow enjoyed greater leverage, but Morocco's growing strategic weight has fundamentally changed the equation. By vetoing today's resolution, Moscow apparently believed it could reaffirm its commitment to Algeria, one of its principal regional partners, while preserving its ability to bargain with Morocco. But the Russians have misread the room. Rabat now has much less reason to believe that engagement with Moscow produces meaningful diplomatic returns. In many ways, this could be a blessing in disguise for Morocco, exposing Russia's priorities and giving Rabat every reason to deepen its alignment with Washington and Europe. Putin is accelerating the very Western alignment he wanted prevent.

I've said it earlier, but the Russians are in the Sahel, want ideally to have the conflict ongoing because it helps them when putting pressure on Morocco and/or Algeria. The situation arranged them. They see any "abstention" as a favor.

Given Russia’s efforts to sabotage peace, as I have argued numerous times, the United States shouldn’t waste its time trying to be the world’s policeman. Washington should instead focus on defending American interests by empowering allies capable of taking responsibility for their own security. It's time to designate the Polisario Front as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).

‼️ A COUP IS HAPPENING IN POLAND 🇵🇱 Poland's Constitutional Tribunal is being subjected to an extraordinary takeover operation by pro-EU Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Its official website has been taken over, an announcement has appeared removing its president and vice-president from their duties, and police have been deployed around the institution. The Tribunal's existing leadership has declared the operation illegal and accused those responsible of committing a coup d'état. The Constitutional Tribunal is the institution responsible for reviewing whether laws comply with the Constitution. It is broadly comparable to the constitutional-review function of the United States Supreme Court. Today, its website announced that President Bogdan Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański had been suspended for one month. The person now claiming authority over Poland's Constitutional Tribunal is Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, elected to the Tribunal by Donald Tusk's parliamentary majority in March 2026. But there is a fundamental legal problem: she has never taken her judicial oath before the President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki. Under Article 4 of the Act on the Status of Constitutional Tribunal Judges, newly elected judges must take their oath before the President of the Republic. Nawrocki refused to receive her oath. Instead, on April 9, Korwin-Piotrowska participated in an alternative swearing-in ceremony organised inside the Polish Parliament, without the President's presence or participation. The Presidential Chancellery explicitly declared that this procedure had no legal basis and could not confer judicial authority. The existing leadership of the Constitutional Tribunal maintains that she is therefore not legally a judge of the institution. And now, a woman whose authority to serve as a constitutional judge is rejected by the President and the Tribunal's existing leadership is being presented as the person entitled to take control of the entire court. Poland's Constitution does not give the prime minister or his government the power to dismiss the Constitutional Tribunal's leadership. Article 194 establishes the Tribunal's composition and the procedure for appointing its president. Article 195 guarantees the independence of its judges. The announcement of a suspension relies on Article 130 of the law governing ORDINARY COURTS. Invoking this article to suspend the leadership of the Constitutional Tribunal is a legally indefensible distortion of the law, revealing a staggering disregard for elementary constitutional principles. HOW DID POLAND GET HERE? Donald Tusk returned to power in December 2023, promising to reverse the judicial reforms introduced under the conservative Law and Justice government. Those reforms had been fiercely opposed by the European Commission, which initiated rule-of-law proceedings against Poland and linked access to European funding to judicial conditions. Tusk's government subsequently presented Brussels with a programme for restructuring the judiciary, including the Constitutional Tribunal. The European Commission welcomed that programme and ended its Article 7 proceedings against Poland in 2024. The methods used by the EU and its supporters undermine the very constitutional principles they claim to restore. President Karol Nawrocki has reportedly interrupted his journey to Senegal to return to Poland.

A great honor to meet UAE Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba (@UAEEmbassyUS) at @HudsonInstitute for a wide-ranging discussion on developments across the Middle East and the UAE’s upcoming initiatives to deepen strategic cooperation with the United States.

What is so repulsive about his posture is the contempt, the sheer, absolute contempt. He puts on a Maoist uniform and seems to take an almost perverse pleasure in being seen dressed like a man responsible for the deaths of millions. A genuine psychopath.

A sign of the uniformization and homogenization of the human spirit. People are so horrified of offending, transgressing and challenging common wisdom that they’re forcing themselves to just swallow it. Podcasts are very quick and easy for that.