Thanks to the Republican Congress, and a tsunami of lies from Musk and others, the only US agency dedicated to tracking and exposing Russian and Chinese propaganda around the world ceases to exist france24.com/en/live-news/2… france24.com/en/live-news/2… An example of a Russian project exposed in Africa
state.gov/the-kremlins-e…

Once again, more comprehensively: I wrote what I think about this election before it happened, will put it all together here.
My book Autocracy Inc, described the background, the network of autocrats who seek to undermine democracy, everywhere penguinrandomhouse.com/books/725302/a… My podcast, Autocracy in America, described the ways in which American democracy was already weakening podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aut…

Here's what I think.
1. We are living in an incredibly dangerous world. A network of autocracies is now working actively to undermine the democratic world. I wrote about this in my book, Autocracy Inc. Will we fight back?
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/725302/a… American democracy is already failing, in multiple ways. Autocratic tactics are already visible. @peterpomeranzev and I described some of them in our podcast, Autocracy in America. theatlantic.com/podcasts/autoc…

In which @sikorskiradek notes that the Russians are now kidnapping Ukrainian children just as the Nazis once abducted Polish and Soviet children

https://twitter.com/PolandMFA/status/1838721206041628719

If you want to know more: Here is the ICC arrest warrant for Putin "for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation"
icc-cpi.int/news/situation…

AUTOCRACY INC
published today!
amazon.com/gp/product/038… On the way to @Morning_Joe...

Five weeks from now, my new book will be published: Autocracy, Inc: The Dictators Who Want to Rule the World. It’s a short book, an argument, really, about the way the world now works...Read the introduction here:
anneapplebaum.substack.com/p/autocracy-inc
At the center of the book is a network (not an axis, alliance or bloc) of dictatorships. They are not united ideologically. They do not meet either openly or secretly to make policy. They have many conflicts with one another.

Czech intelligence services have uncovered a Russian influence operation, based in Prague, designed to influence elections across Europe. They have placed sanctions on "Voice of Europe," a website that promoted far-right politicians and parties.

denikn.cz/1388000/odhale… Voice of Europe was a heavy promoter of Viktor Orban and Orban's own influence operations

https://x.com/panyiszabolcs/status/1773302258496618776?s=20

The US now squarely facing the security threat posed by Hungary.
US ambassador notes that HU foreign minister made 6 trips to Russia since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; Orban met Putin in China.
"Hungary’s allies are warning Hungary"
theguardian.com/us-news/2024/m… "The choice to issue, on a daily basis, dangerously unhinged anti-American messaging is a policy choice, and it risks changing Hungary’s relationship with America,” he said

Americans don't seem to realize that Trump's policy - "Let Russia Win" - is slowly becoming America's policy. For more than 6 months, at his bidding, a minority in the House has blocked aid to Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1767107722070159649

Depriving Ukraine of weapons means that Russia can occupy Ukraine, set up concentration camps, carry out mass murders and deport children to Russia, which is what they have done on all of the occupied territory. It also means Russia can prepare to invade other countries.

Russian occupiers torture and pressure the tiny number of Ukrainian employees still working in Zaporizhzhia at the largest nuclear plant in Europe. This is a catastrophe waiting to happen, and Russia bears full responsibility. From @ngumenyuk
theatlantic.com/international/… The plant is severely understaffed, writes @ngumenyuk: "Whereas 11,000 employees once ran the facility, only about 3,000 people were working there as of last month. These employees are pulling longer shifts with fewer days off."

In 1994, the president of newly independent Estonia made a famous speech calling for NATO expansion: Balts, Poles and and others were already being bullied by Russia. The US at first refused, then agreed to expand NATO - but without moving weapons or men to the East. The speech, by Lennart Meri, made in Hamburg, is quoted here. Putin, then the deputy mayor of St Petersburg, walked out of the room in anger. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…

Oleg Orlov has been sentenced to prison for condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and for calling Russia a fascist state. Read his remarkable courtroom speech:
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/… At the end, he addressed the judge and the court officials:
"I am speaking to you, your honor, and the others accusing me: Are you yourselves not afraid? Are you not afraid to watch what our country is becoming, our country that you, too, probably love?"

Donald Trump, who is not the president, is using a minority of Republicans to hand a victory to Russia, and to weaken American power and credibility. Why? theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/… Trump rarely talks about Ukraine, because Ukraine is still popular and Russia is not. But he threatens and manipulates legislators, including Speakers McCarthy and Johnson, to persuade them to block the money and weapons that could keep Ukraine fighting this year

Don't let Republicans, or anyone else, turn Trump's remarks about NATO into an argument about levels of spending. The news story is this: Trump told Russia to invade U.S. allies, to do "whatever the hell they want." This invitation to violence makes the world more dangerous. NATO is not a protection racket. There are no payments to the US and no one is "delinquent." American alliances, especially in Europe and Asia, are the backbone of American power and economic strength. Without them we will be much poorer and weaker.

Yesterday, the Polish president pardoned two politicians who were sentenced by a Polish court. For the record: these two are infamous for forging documents used against a political opponent (that's what they are accused of). Also for putting spyware on opponents phones... ...after which they put fake material on those same phones. In addition, they were part of a system that ran campaigns of harassment against innocent people, locked up businessmen and others who had not been indicted (see FT article) ft.com/content/445140…

BBC News: Polish state TV channel off air as Tusk reforms kick in

This is a balanced account, though it doesn't illustrate how vicious state TV became...

bbc.co.uk/news/world-eur… Some examples here, for example the use of manipulated clips:

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

What happens to NATO if Trump wins? theatlantic.com/magazine/archi… What happens to American democracy if Trump wins?

theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…

"Even if Zelensky agrees to negotiate, there is no evidence that Putin wants to negotiate, that he wants to stop fighting, or that he has ever wanted to stop fighting."

On the challenge Putin still presents to Europe and the rest of the world:

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/… Even well-meaning talk of a "South Korean solution" for Ukraine misses the point: Putin still thinks that if he waits us out, he will win.
Until he or his successor decides that the invasion was a mistake and that Ukraine is not Russia, the war will continue.

Polish election thread:

1. The national post office distributed this leaflet, "Your Referendum Vote," to everyone in Poland. An acquaintance got it yesterday. Main headline: "IT'S ALREADY AN INVASION, THEY ARE SAILING HERE!" Photo is of African refugees on the Mediterranean 2. the leaflet is printed by the deceptively named "Indepedent Media Foundation," a state-funded organization, according to this article: wiadomosci.onet.pl/kraj/poczta-po…

Poland's far-right, 'anti-immigration' government has blamed the EU for forcing them to take migrants. The same government has giving out work permits all over Asia and Africa: In 2021 (before the war) more than 790,000, a number dwarfing the rest of the EU, reportedly for profit (reposting to eliminate typos)ec.europa.eu/eurostat/datab…

I met the engineers whose sea drones were blocked when Starlink didn't function in September 2022. But they tried the same attack again a month later, and they hit several targets in Sebastopol.
World War Three did not break out.
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/… Musk was deterred by Russian propaganda. So are many others. But the Russians respect strength - they will pull back, recalibrate when they meet resistance. Weakness propels them forward.