The Cosmopolicast

Show notes

Detectives urgently investigating what led to man’s fatal sword rampage.

Truly impressive scenes from Tbilisi: Over 100,000 people are protesting against the Russia-inspired foreign agents bill in the capital, with protests also occurring in other cities. Georgians are rallying to defend their country from becoming a Russian satellite state:

John adds: “Think we are on the verge of something really happening there, and at a time where Putin would struggle to respond.”

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claireberlinski.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claireberlinski.substack.com/subscribe

Show notes

Found on the sidewalk, destined for the dump:

After my weekend’s ministrations:

My brother thinks I could make a lucrative side gig out of writing a newsletter about finding junk in the streets of Paris and restoring it. He thinks more people would subscribe to that than they would to the Cosmopolitan Globalist.

I don’t think I have the time to write two full-time Substacks—especially since writing a newsletter about scouring Paris for trash and restoring it would require that I actually scour Paris for trash and restore it, which is pretty time-consuming. But it’s nice to think I have a backup plan if it doesn’t work out for me in geopolitics.

It does occur to me that The New York Times is the only newspaper that’s managed to figure out how to turn a profit. The key is their recipes. Their reporting is financed by their cooking section, their games, and the Wirecutter, where they review things like sheets and air fryers. If I were to add the occasional premium feature about restoring some piece of Parisian junk, might that be the ticket to our riad in Marrakesh?

I do figure, though, that if I had to find junk on the sidewalk and restore it, I wouldn’t love doing it anymore. It’s only as fun as it is because it comes with the special frisson you get when you’re evading gainful work. As soon as I felt obliged to pick over my neighbors’ trash, I bet it would feel like work. Then I doubt I’d love doing it as much. And that would be a shame.

Blinken in China:

* China’s overproduction of clean energy goods needs to be mitigated, Yellen says

* China’s big factories had a terrible March, even as automakers roar to new highs.

* “It is desolate.” China’s glut of unused car factories. Manufacturers like BYD, Tesla and Li Auto are cutting prices to move their electric cars. For gasoline-powered vehicles, the surplus of factories is even worse.

* Xi warns Blinken: Stop being two-faced: America is “saying one thing and doing another,” Chinese leader cautions top US diplomat.

* Hyping “overcapacity” in China is the real threat to world.

“Some people in the US are hyping up the so-called overcapacity in China with the real purpose of suppressing the development of China’s emerging industries and of maintaining its long-standing monopoly position in the global industrial chain through unfair means. Yellen attributed the bankruptcy of US’ solar companies to Chinese suppliers lowering prices in the interview. Although the attribution was wrong, it also exposed the real intention. It is not difficult to see that the so-called overcapacity rhetoric in China’s new energy industry is nothing more than a copy of the ‘America First.’ In the eyes of the US, the rapid development of China’s green industry challenges the strength and status of the US, and China's competitiveness is ‘translated’ into a ‘security threat’ to the world (the US). It can be seen that the excess is not China’s production capacity, but US’ anxiety. … Shifting contradictions, smearing and suppressing, and decoupling will only lead to a “lose-lose” situation.”—Global Times

Goodbye, Niger. A continent-wide belt of Russian influence:

* All US soldiers are set to leave Niger, ending their role in the fight against Islamist insurgents.

* American troops withdraw from Niger while facing pressure from Chad. Washington’’s announcement on Friday that it is withdrawing 1,100 soldiers from the Agadez base in Niger marks the loss of a strategic point for intelligence operations on armed groups in the Sahel, coinciding with Russia;s growing influence in the region.

* Russian troop arrival spells end for US military presence in Niger.

* Russia has tightened its hold over the Sahel region—and now it’s looking to Africa’s west coast.

* The US is losing its battle in the Sahel as Chad joins Niger in demanding withdrawal of military personnel. With Russia lurking and diplomatic channels failing, Washington is preparing to redeploy its troops from Nigerien soil while pressure from the Chadian army threatens to end its operations

Al Hol

* Syrian Kurdish officials hand over 50 women and children linked to Islamic State group to Tajikistan.

* Syria’s Al-Hol camp: child inmates and false identities

* Iraq to repatriate over 700 ISIS-linked people from Rojava

Muskwatch

* Elon Musk lashes out at Australia’s prime minister after court orders X to take down church stabbing posts.

* “Arrogant billionaire who thinks he’s above law, choses ego over common sense.”

* Elon Musk targets Australian senator and gun laws in deepening dispute over violent video. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, whose platform X has been ordered to remove video of a bishop being stabbed, called the senator “an enemy of the people” and promoted other posts attacking Australia.

One senator, Jacqui Lambie, deleted her X account to protest the publication of the footage and called for other politicians to do the same, saying Musk had “no social conscience or conscience whatsoever.” She added that Musk should be jailed.

In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro's far-right supporters are hailing Elon Musk as a “hero.” Here’s why. The tech-billionaire got himself embroiled in major controversies as he unleashed an attack on Bolsonaro’s arch nemesis, the Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes.

Brazil judge orders probe on Elon Musk after refusal to block accounts on X. Judge Alexandre de Moraes accused the owner of X of “criminal instrumentalization” of the platform.

Musk burns bridges in Brazil after calling for senior judge to be impeached. Tycoon threatens to ignore court order banning far-right accounts on X.

Elon Musk’s X removes general option to report misleading info about politics

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claireberlinski.substack.com/subscribe

Show notes

Found on the sidewalk, destined for the dump:

After my weekend’s ministrations:

My brother thinks I could make a lucrative side gig out of writing a newsletter about finding junk in the streets of Paris and restoring it. He thinks more people would subscribe to that than they would to the Cosmopolitan Globalist.

I don’t think I have the time to write two full-time Substacks—especially since writing a newsletter about scouring Paris for trash and restoring it would require that I actually scour Paris for trash and restore it, which is pretty time-consuming. But it’s nice to think I have a backup plan if it doesn’t work out for me in geopolitics.

It does occur to me that The New York Times is the only newspaper that’s managed to figure out how to turn a profit. The key is their recipes. Their reporting is financed by their cooking section, their games, and the Wirecutter, where they review things like sheets and air fryers. If I were to add the occasional premium feature about restoring some piece of Parisian junk, might that be the ticket to our riad in Marrakesh?

I do figure, though, that if I had to find junk on the sidewalk and restore it, I wouldn’t love doing it anymore. It’s only as fun as it is because it comes with the special frisson you get when you’re evading gainful work. As soon as I felt obliged to pick over my neighbors’ trash, I bet it would feel like work. Then I doubt I’d love doing it as much. And that would be a shame.

Blinken in China:

* China’s overproduction of clean energy goods needs to be mitigated, Yellen says

* China’s big factories had a terrible March, even as automakers roar to new highs.

* “It is desolate.” China’s glut of unused car factories. Manufacturers like BYD, Tesla and Li Auto are cutting prices to move their electric cars. For gasoline-powered vehicles, the surplus of factories is even worse.

* Xi warns Blinken: Stop being two-faced: America is “saying one thing and doing another,” Chinese leader cautions top US diplomat.

* Hyping “overcapacity” in China is the real threat to world.

“Some people in the US are hyping up the so-called overcapacity in China with the real purpose of suppressing the development of China’s emerging industries and of maintaining its long-standing monopoly position in the global industrial chain through unfair means. Yellen attributed the bankruptcy of US’ solar companies to Chinese suppliers lowering prices in the interview. Although the attribution was wrong, it also exposed the real intention. It is not difficult to see that the so-called overcapacity rhetoric in China’s new energy industry is nothing more than a copy of the ‘America First.’ In the eyes of the US, the rapid development of China’s green industry challenges the strength and status of the US, and China's competitiveness is ‘translated’ into a ‘security threat’ to the world (the US). It can be seen that the excess is not China’s production capacity, but US’ anxiety. … Shifting contradictions, smearing and suppressing, and decoupling will only lead to a “lose-lose” situation.”—Global Times

Goodbye, Niger. A continent-wide belt of Russian influence:

* All US soldiers are set to leave Niger, ending their role in the fight against Islamist insurgents.

* American troops withdraw from Niger while facing pressure from Chad. Washington’’s announcement on Friday that it is withdrawing 1,100 soldiers from the Agadez base in Niger marks the loss of a strategic point for intelligence operations on armed groups in the Sahel, coinciding with Russia;s growing influence in the region.

* Russian troop arrival spells end for US military presence in Niger.

* Russia has tightened its hold over the Sahel region—and now it’s looking to Africa’s west coast.

* The US is losing its battle in the Sahel as Chad joins Niger in demanding withdrawal of military personnel. With Russia lurking and diplomatic channels failing, Washington is preparing to redeploy its troops from Nigerien soil while pressure from the Chadian army threatens to end its operations

Al Hol

* Syrian Kurdish officials hand over 50 women and children linked to Islamic State group to Tajikistan.

* Syria’s Al-Hol camp: child inmates and false identities

* Iraq to repatriate over 700 ISIS-linked people from Rojava

Muskwatch

* Elon Musk lashes out at Australia’s prime minister after court orders X to take down church stabbing posts.

* “Arrogant billionaire who thinks he’s above law, choses ego over common sense.”

* Elon Musk targets Australian senator and gun laws in deepening dispute over violent video. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, whose platform X has been ordered to remove video of a bishop being stabbed, called the senator “an enemy of the people” and promoted other posts attacking Australia.

One senator, Jacqui Lambie, deleted her X account to protest the publication of the footage and called for other politicians to do the same, saying Musk had “no social conscience or conscience whatsoever.” She added that Musk should be jailed.

In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro's far-right supporters are hailing Elon Musk as a “hero.” Here’s why. The tech-billionaire got himself embroiled in major controversies as he unleashed an attack on Bolsonaro’s arch nemesis, the Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes.

Brazil judge orders probe on Elon Musk after refusal to block accounts on X. Judge Alexandre de Moraes accused the owner of X of “criminal instrumentalization” of the platform.

Musk burns bridges in Brazil after calling for senior judge to be impeached. Tycoon threatens to ignore court order banning far-right accounts on X.

Elon Musk’s X removes general option to report misleading info about politics

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claireberlinski.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claireberlinski.substack.com/subscribe

Hey, it’s us! John will be in London for a while now, so you can look forward to receiving the Elephant Cage every weekday without further interruption.

Show notes:

Popular protests continue against Foreign Agents’ law

Rallies continue in Tbilisi against the Foreign Agents law, as citizens of all generations gathered again on April 21 in Tbilisi, again blocking Rustaveli avenue. Many demonstrators came with their families, representing several generations. The demonstration began with the Georgian national anthem, followed by the EU anthem, after which the demonstrators marched to the Supreme Court to demand a free and transparent judiciary.

The demonstrators chanted “Samachablo [Tskhinvali region] is Georgia!”, “Abkhazia is Georgia!”, “Yes to Europe, no to Russian law!”, “We are here to Slay, not to Obey”, “Where are we going? To Europe!”, “No to Russian law, No to Russian government, No to offshore law!”

For a full year, the bodies have piled up in Sudan—and still the world looks away:

… Even though it has been a year, there is still a sense of whiplash, of disbelief that it has actually happened, is actually happening. Every development expands the theater of war and makes a return to peace more remote. Writing these words is a halting, painful process, like stepping on shards of broken glass. Something similar plays out on an almost daily basis, where one tries, and fails, to trace and keep track of all the individual and national tolls.

And more jarring is that the world has gazed with indifference upon this crucible of war. The “forgotten war” is what it’s called now, when it’s referenced in the international media. Little is offered by way of explanation for why it is forgotten, despite the sharpness of the humanitarian situation, the security risk of the war spreading, and the fact that it has drawn in self-interested mischievous players such as the United Arab Emirates, which is supporting the RSF, and therefore extending the duration of the war.

One of the reasons for this is Gaza and the escalating Middle East conflict, and how they have monopolized global attention and diplomatic bandwidth for the past six months. And another is that for those reporting within Sudan and the few who manage to get in, doing so is difficult and fraught with danger, limiting the output of images and details that can be broadcast consistently to galvanize attention. But the rest, I suspect, is down to what to most will seem unremarkable: this is just another African country succumbing to intractable conflict.

How Mike Johnson’s faith changed his path on Ukraine:

In a letter last week, four high-profile Baptists—including Dr. Richard Land, the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission—urged Johnson to “consider the plight of Christians” in Ukraine. Pastors there have faced threats, torture and removal from their positions by Russian forces, the letter noted.

“Despite Russian efforts to paint Ukraine as intolerant of Christians, it is the Russian government that has aggressively harmed peaceful law abiding faithful Christians in the occupied areas of Ukraine,” the letter added. “The Russian army has destroyed hundreds of Baptist churches where evangelical Christians once exercised their faith freely in Ukraine.”

Daniel Darling—who also signed the letter and directs Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s center for cultural engagement—told NOTUS the group felt compelled to send it after seeing distorted narratives spread that Russia is defending Christianity. Some of Johnson’s own colleagues hold that view. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the speaker’s fiercest Republican opponents, said this month that Russia “is not attacking Christianity. As a matter of fact, they seem to be protecting it.”

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claireberlinski.substack.com/subscribe

Hey, it’s us! John will be in London for a while now, so you can look forward to receiving the Elephant Cage every weekday without further interruption.

Show notes:

Popular protests continue against Foreign Agents’ law

Rallies continue in Tbilisi against the Foreign Agents law, as citizens of all generations gathered again on April 21 in Tbilisi, again blocking Rustaveli avenue. Many demonstrators came with their families, representing several generations. The demonstration began with the Georgian national anthem, followed by the EU anthem, after which the demonstrators marched to the Supreme Court to demand a free and transparent judiciary.

The demonstrators chanted “Samachablo [Tskhinvali region] is Georgia!”, “Abkhazia is Georgia!”, “Yes to Europe, no to Russian law!”, “We are here to Slay, not to Obey”, “Where are we going? To Europe!”, “No to Russian law, No to Russian government, No to offshore law!”

For a full year, the bodies have piled up in Sudan—and still the world looks away:

… Even though it has been a year, there is still a sense of whiplash, of disbelief that it has actually happened, is actually happening. Every development expands the theater of war and makes a return to peace more remote. Writing these words is a halting, painful process, like stepping on shards of broken glass. Something similar plays out on an almost daily basis, where one tries, and fails, to trace and keep track of all the individual and national tolls.

And more jarring is that the world has gazed with indifference upon this crucible of war. The “forgotten war” is what it’s called now, when it’s referenced in the international media. Little is offered by way of explanation for why it is forgotten, despite the sharpness of the humanitarian situation, the security risk of the war spreading, and the fact that it has drawn in self-interested mischievous players such as the United Arab Emirates, which is supporting the RSF, and therefore extending the duration of the war.

One of the reasons for this is Gaza and the escalating Middle East conflict, and how they have monopolized global attention and diplomatic bandwidth for the past six months. And another is that for those reporting within Sudan and the few who manage to get in, doing so is difficult and fraught with danger, limiting the output of images and details that can be broadcast consistently to galvanize attention. But the rest, I suspect, is down to what to most will seem unremarkable: this is just another African country succumbing to intractable conflict.

How Mike Johnson’s faith changed his path on Ukraine:

In a letter last week, four high-profile Baptists—including Dr. Richard Land, the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission—urged Johnson to “consider the plight of Christians” in Ukraine. Pastors there have faced threats, torture and removal from their positions by Russian forces, the letter noted.

“Despite Russian efforts to paint Ukraine as intolerant of Christians, it is the Russian government that has aggressively harmed peaceful law abiding faithful Christians in the occupied areas of Ukraine,” the letter added. “The Russian army has destroyed hundreds of Baptist churches where evangelical Christians once exercised their faith freely in Ukraine.”

Daniel Darling—who also signed the letter and directs Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s center for cultural engagement—told NOTUS the group felt compelled to send it after seeing distorted narratives spread that Russia is defending Christianity. Some of Johnson’s own colleagues hold that view. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the speaker’s fiercest Republican opponents, said this month that Russia “is not attacking Christianity. As a matter of fact, they seem to be protecting it.”

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claireberlinski.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claireberlinski.substack.com/subscribe

For those of you who listen through a podcast player, here’s the edited, one-hour version of our conversation with Judith Levy about the failure of the Oslo Accords and the relationship between that and the present catastrophe. Make time to listen to it: You’ll find it worthwhile.

If you’d like to listen to the unedited version—and watch it, too—here’s all three hours. I had to cut lots and lots of interesting stuff to get the podcast down to an hour, so if you’re interested in the topic and have three hours to spare, you’ll enjoy this.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claireberlinski.substack.com/subscribe

For those of you who listen through a podcast player, here’s the edited, one-hour version of our conversation with Judith Levy about the failure of the Oslo Accords and the relationship between that and the present catastrophe. Make time to listen to it: You’ll find it worthwhile.

If you’d like to listen to the unedited version—and watch it, too—here’s all three hours. I had to cut lots and lots of interesting stuff to get the podcast down to an hour, so if you’re interested in the topic and have three hours to spare, you’ll enjoy this.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claireberlinski.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claireberlinski.substack.com/subscribe

Show notes:

Vows of revenge mark a funeral for Iranian commanders killed in an Israeli airstrike in Damascus:

“Our brave men will punish the Zionist regime,” General Hossein Salami, the commander in chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, told the crowd attending the funeral in Tehran. “We warn that no act by any enemy against our holy system will go unanswered and the art of the Iranian nation is to break the power of empires.”

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claireberlinski.substack.com/subscribe

Show notes:

Vows of revenge mark a funeral for Iranian commanders killed in an Israeli airstrike in Damascus:

“Our brave men will punish the Zionist regime,” General Hossein Salami, the commander in chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, told the crowd attending the funeral in Tehran. “We warn that no act by any enemy against our holy system will go unanswered and the art of the Iranian nation is to break the power of empires.”

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claireberlinski.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claireberlinski.substack.com/subscribe

Prime Minister Oxley runs through the options for dissuading Iran from targeting dissidents on British soil. Secretary of State Berlinski is worried no one has an Iran policy. The PM realizes he’ll need to lead the Free World in devising a comprehensive plan to deal with Iran’s nuclear program, which will require him to call upon Defense Minister Oxley for a briefing. (The DefMin was in an urgent meeting today but will brief us tomorrow.)

Show notes:

* Iran is winning the war. Right now things look good for Israel. But the Islamic Republic is playing the long game. And its advantages, alas, are many.

* Iran executes 853 people in eight-year high amid relentless repression and renewed “war on drugs.”

* The EU compromise machine is breaking—and everyone’s blaming Germany. Berlin’s domestic spats are gumming up the EU’s delicate policymaking process.

* How Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could doom Joe Biden

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claireberlinski.substack.com/subscribe