RIP James Earl Jones. This is indeed a disturbing universe.

Fun Fact about the one and only James Earl Jones: James was the first celebrity guest to appear on Sesame Street in 1978. His character was a movie star in search of the perfect egg cream. He recited the most carefully clear and distinctly spoken alphabet the world has ever

Mixed messages out of Australia - if you’re under 16 it’s dangerous to be on social media, but if you’re 10 years old you’ll be fine in jail #auspol

Frantic lobbying from #China to stop tariffs on EV exports to Europe - "Fifteen of the bloc’s 27 member governments would have to vote against the duties – decided upon after a European Commission anti-subsidy investigation – otherwise they would be set in place for 5 years."

There are some very provocative and exciting opinions about this happening off the record in various locations in #HongKong - the #hkrugby/#HSBCSVNS to be the "test" for the newly opened facility? Exciting times...

Great analysis of UK & US attempts at age restrictions for social media. "If the govt pursues a method where companies require all users... to verify their ages before being able to use a platform, it could result in social media companies being forced to collect user ID..."

The EU's top court upheld a €2.4bn fine first issued against Google in 2017... then another fine of more than €4bn euros in 2018 for using its Android mobile operating system to promote its search engine... then a €1.8bn fine for Apple for precenting access to cheap music

Kurt Campbell on China's rising support for Russia: "These are not dual-use capabilities... these are basically being applied directly to the Russian war machine." politico.eu/article/united…

Harry Harrison on the people who’ve helped fund the new charity formed by the #HongKong Jockey Club to assist ‘socioeconomic challenges in Asia’: today’s #cartoon

Back in 2020 we made a #podcast series looked at how Trump's tariffs were having an impact - for both businesses in #China and the #USA. US companies lose, consumers pay the tariffs. Best quote? "In a trade war, everybody loses." #TrumpHarrisDebate scmp.com/podcasts/serie…

"They're eating the pets." And the fact check in response? "ABC News did reach out to the city manager there..." #HarrisTrumpDebate2024

"It would be nice to hear this Nazi-style rhetoric about blood-hungry immigrants rebutted directly and forcefully.” Yes, it would be nice of someone to rebut a 21st reincarnation of Nazi rhetoric and propaganda. #HarrisTrumpDebate2024

Hilariously, the news agenda/narrative following the #HarrisTrumpDebate was suddenly upended…

Transactional geopolitics in action… or a reminder of the golden rule: if you got the gold, you help ‘advise’ the rules

My latest: Russia says it launched massive naval and air drills Tuesday with #China that span a huge swath of oceans and involve more than 400 naval vessels, at least 120 military aircraft and upwards of 90,000 troops. voanews.com/a/china-russia…