James Ball
@jamesrball.com
Tech, policy, politics.
Political editor @ The New World
Opinion @ The i Paper
Fellow @ Demos
PhD researcher @ UCL Laws
newsletter @ techtris
Latest book: The Other Pandemic – How QAnon Contaminated The World. 🏳️🌈
https://www.jamesrball.com/
Political editor @ The New World
Opinion @ The i Paper
Fellow @ Demos
PhD researcher @ UCL Laws
newsletter @ techtris
Latest book: The Other Pandemic – How QAnon Contaminated The World. 🏳️🌈
https://www.jamesrball.com/
Pinned
James Ball
@jamesrball.com
· Aug 11
Techtris | James Ball | Substack
A weekly(ish) newsletter on technology, policy and society, from James Ball. Click to read Techtris, by James Ball, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
www.jamesrball.com
Enjoying my posts? (If not: sorry..?)
I have a newsletter here, plz do subscribe: www.jamesrball.com
Details of books I’ve written here: www.jamesrball.com/p/books
And all my writing for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social is here: www.thenewworld.co.uk/contributor/...
I often pop up elsewhere, too.
I have a newsletter here, plz do subscribe: www.jamesrball.com
Details of books I’ve written here: www.jamesrball.com/p/books
And all my writing for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social is here: www.thenewworld.co.uk/contributor/...
I often pop up elsewhere, too.
The train, she is wrecked.
Trump amplifies post that says NATO — not China or Russia — is part of the “real threat” to America.
January 20, 2026 at 4:44 PM
The train, she is wrecked.
I think it says a lot about how ~busy~ the news is this week that this story is only intermittently on my feed. It’s MAD.
can't stop thinking about how any bus driver can just kidnap a fuckton of people and the only reason it doesn't happen all the time is because what the fuck do you want to do with a busload of people
January 20, 2026 at 4:42 PM
I think it says a lot about how ~busy~ the news is this week that this story is only intermittently on my feed. It’s MAD.
Reposted by James Ball
Great speech by Carney. Manage to convey significance of current moment without mentioning prescription charges
January 20, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Great speech by Carney. Manage to convey significance of current moment without mentioning prescription charges
I’ve written about George Osborne making his Davos comeback – trying to convince governments to buy into OpenAI.
But it’s really about the tactics of different AI companies, and the *serious* need for them to find big customers (and revenues) this year.
www.jamesrball.com/p/guess-whos...
But it’s really about the tactics of different AI companies, and the *serious* need for them to find big customers (and revenues) this year.
www.jamesrball.com/p/guess-whos...
Guess who's coming (back) to Davos
It's (mostly) not about Donald Trump – another Davos returnee has got nearly as tough a sell.
www.jamesrball.com
January 20, 2026 at 4:22 PM
I’ve written about George Osborne making his Davos comeback – trying to convince governments to buy into OpenAI.
But it’s really about the tactics of different AI companies, and the *serious* need for them to find big customers (and revenues) this year.
www.jamesrball.com/p/guess-whos...
But it’s really about the tactics of different AI companies, and the *serious* need for them to find big customers (and revenues) this year.
www.jamesrball.com/p/guess-whos...
Presumably that’s why Scott Bessent doesn’t want Europeans to do the same thing.
Except with the tariffs, China *did* escalate against the US and ended up with the upper hand.
US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent:
What I am urging everyone here to do is sit back, take a deep breath, and let things play out. The worst thing countries can do is escalate against the United States.
What I am urging everyone here to do is sit back, take a deep breath, and let things play out. The worst thing countries can do is escalate against the United States.
January 20, 2026 at 3:43 PM
Presumably that’s why Scott Bessent doesn’t want Europeans to do the same thing.
No Supreme Court tariff ruling today. Again.
LAST opinion - no tariffs - Rule 60(b)'s "reasonable time" requirement (for seeking relief from judgment) applies when alleging that a judgment is void.
www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
www.supremecourt.gov
January 20, 2026 at 3:09 PM
No Supreme Court tariff ruling today. Again.
Reposted by James Ball
“This is ‘sell America’ again within a much broader global risk off,” Krishna Guha, head of global policy and central banking strategy at Evercore ISI, wrote in a note to clients.
www.cnbc.com/2026/01/20/s...
www.cnbc.com/2026/01/20/s...
'This is sell America' — U.S. dollar, Treasury prices tumble and gold spikes as globe flees U.S. assets
The 'sell America' trade is in full swing Tuesday morning.
www.cnbc.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:34 PM
“This is ‘sell America’ again within a much broader global risk off,” Krishna Guha, head of global policy and central banking strategy at Evercore ISI, wrote in a note to clients.
www.cnbc.com/2026/01/20/s...
www.cnbc.com/2026/01/20/s...
Reposted by James Ball
1. ICE has STOPPED PAYING for medical treatment for its 73,000 detainees
ICE has not paid its bills to 3rd party providers since OCTOBER and the situation will likely persist for MONTHS, a Popular Information investigation reveals
Meanwhile, critically ill ICE detainees are not receiving care
🧵
ICE has not paid its bills to 3rd party providers since OCTOBER and the situation will likely persist for MONTHS, a Popular Information investigation reveals
Meanwhile, critically ill ICE detainees are not receiving care
🧵
ICE has stopped paying for detainee medical treatment
ICE halted payments in October, and the situation will persist for at least several more months
popular.info
January 20, 2026 at 1:42 PM
1. ICE has STOPPED PAYING for medical treatment for its 73,000 detainees
ICE has not paid its bills to 3rd party providers since OCTOBER and the situation will likely persist for MONTHS, a Popular Information investigation reveals
Meanwhile, critically ill ICE detainees are not receiving care
🧵
ICE has not paid its bills to 3rd party providers since OCTOBER and the situation will likely persist for MONTHS, a Popular Information investigation reveals
Meanwhile, critically ill ICE detainees are not receiving care
🧵
There are many surreal things about Donald Trump suddenly turning geopolitics into influencer drama by publishing world leaders’ DMs – but one standout is Trump truly doesn’t understand flattery might be insincere or tactical. It just works on him. He’s that easy.
January 20, 2026 at 2:12 PM
There are many surreal things about Donald Trump suddenly turning geopolitics into influencer drama by publishing world leaders’ DMs – but one standout is Trump truly doesn’t understand flattery might be insincere or tactical. It just works on him. He’s that easy.
I wrote this for @capx.co last year on the bizarre situation in which the UK government might green light the Chinese embassy – as it just has – only to find planning appeals derail the whole thing. Try explaining that to China’s diplomats.
capx.co/nimby-watch-...
capx.co/nimby-watch-...
READ MORE
Big debates on public policy should be had on their own terms
capx.co
January 20, 2026 at 1:10 PM
I wrote this for @capx.co last year on the bizarre situation in which the UK government might green light the Chinese embassy – as it just has – only to find planning appeals derail the whole thing. Try explaining that to China’s diplomats.
capx.co/nimby-watch-...
capx.co/nimby-watch-...
This is one hell of a quote. European leaders really are running out of patience.
January 20, 2026 at 12:51 PM
This is one hell of a quote. European leaders really are running out of patience.
The UK did this deal, btw, at significant political and financial cost, so that the US could keep operating a crucial regional military base at Diego Garcia.
Donald Trump and Marco Rubio both welcomed the deal. There is nothing in it for the UK other than helping the US relationship. So: hmmmm.
Donald Trump and Marco Rubio both welcomed the deal. There is nothing in it for the UK other than helping the US relationship. So: hmmmm.
Trump on his website laying in to the UK over Diego Garcia as an act of “GREAT STUPIDITY”, cites it as a reason the US should “acquire” Greenland
January 20, 2026 at 12:41 PM
The UK did this deal, btw, at significant political and financial cost, so that the US could keep operating a crucial regional military base at Diego Garcia.
Donald Trump and Marco Rubio both welcomed the deal. There is nothing in it for the UK other than helping the US relationship. So: hmmmm.
Donald Trump and Marco Rubio both welcomed the deal. There is nothing in it for the UK other than helping the US relationship. So: hmmmm.
New Nimby Watch! In which a parish council – who are supposed to be ‘as objective as possible’ on contentious policy issues (like planning) – absolutely does not do that.
capx.co/nimby-watch-...
capx.co/nimby-watch-...
READ MORE
A Bedfordshire parish council is working in lockstep with local Nimbys
capx.co
January 20, 2026 at 11:57 AM
New Nimby Watch! In which a parish council – who are supposed to be ‘as objective as possible’ on contentious policy issues (like planning) – absolutely does not do that.
capx.co/nimby-watch-...
capx.co/nimby-watch-...
Reposted by James Ball
Just reflexively oppositional, YOU NEGOTIATED THIS DEAL! If you'd not held the election when you did, Rishi would have signed it. YOU WERE IN THE FOREIGN OFFICE AT THE TIME.
This is (1) disgraceful at a moment of national danger, (2) laughably unserious and (3) deeply unwise when the President is obviously becoming incapacitated and the most unpopular person in the whole UK. Utterly disqualifying.
January 20, 2026 at 10:07 AM
Just reflexively oppositional, YOU NEGOTIATED THIS DEAL! If you'd not held the election when you did, Rishi would have signed it. YOU WERE IN THE FOREIGN OFFICE AT THE TIME.
The news just keeps on coming!
Chinese embassy approved. Now the Chinese have to face the British final boss: NIMBYs and the courts t.co/b7pHCQ9EVh
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696f5853f6aa424b452e334b/260120_Combined_DL_IR_RtoC_-_Royal_Mint_Court_London__3353754_and_3353755_.pdf
t.co
January 20, 2026 at 11:10 AM
The news just keeps on coming!
Reposted by James Ball
Just to point this out: Trump had signed off on the Chagos deal. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
Donald Trump signs off UK’s handover of Chagos Islands to Mauritius
No 10 says deal to cede UK’s last African colony is being finalised after months of doubt
www.theguardian.com
January 20, 2026 at 10:56 AM
Just to point this out: Trump had signed off on the Chagos deal. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
This reads more like a country club charter (with an owner who’s not willing to hand over any control) than any kind of serious founding document for an international body.
Below is the text of Trump's semi-international club intended to replace the UN.
www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-ch...
www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-ch...
Full text: Charter of Trump’s Board of Peace
No mention of Gaza, which bolsters ToI's reporting that US also envisions panel helping resolve other conflicts worldwide; member countries must pay $1 billion for permanent spot
www.timesofisrael.com
January 20, 2026 at 10:59 AM
This reads more like a country club charter (with an owner who’s not willing to hand over any control) than any kind of serious founding document for an international body.
Yes, it’s a confirmation of what everyone said would happen. But a confirmation is still useful.
“Foreign exporters absorbed only 4% of last year’s U.S. tariff increases by lowering prices, while American consumers and importers absorbed 96%.
“Rather than acting as a tax on foreign producers, the tariffs functioned as a consumption tax on Americans.”
www.wsj.com/economy/trad...
“Rather than acting as a tax on foreign producers, the tariffs functioned as a consumption tax on Americans.”
www.wsj.com/economy/trad...
Americans Are the Ones Paying for Tariffs, Study Finds
New research contradicts President Trump’s claim that foreigners are footing the bill.
www.wsj.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:22 AM
Yes, it’s a confirmation of what everyone said would happen. But a confirmation is still useful.
Reposted by James Ball
It's cool that these guys just use pepper spray casually now, against people who are wholly within their rights, without a moment's hesitation. Several shots of them using it as they climb into their cars and drive away, not even a pretense of urgency or need. Just a parting "fuck you" to them.
This is what happened in our neighborhood yesterday. ICE snatched a human being off of our streets, roughed them up badly, and then pepper sprayed legal observers as they documented it all. This is a daily occurrence happening all throughout Minnesota right now.
January 19, 2026 at 4:44 PM
It's cool that these guys just use pepper spray casually now, against people who are wholly within their rights, without a moment's hesitation. Several shots of them using it as they climb into their cars and drive away, not even a pretense of urgency or need. Just a parting "fuck you" to them.
Reposted by James Ball
He was a Communist, Elmo.
January 19, 2026 at 9:59 PM
He was a Communist, Elmo.
Fairly sure it’s unintentional, but the end date on this mug being sold by the Smithsonian does make it sound a little like they’re saying America dies in 2026…
January 19, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Fairly sure it’s unintentional, but the end date on this mug being sold by the Smithsonian does make it sound a little like they’re saying America dies in 2026…
AI detectors – especially when it comes to text – are always unreliable, and often just outright scams.
Used an online word counter tool for a text I wrote /project I'm involved in. Ad next to it:
"Hey the text you wrote with your own hand looks a bit AI-generated. Use our AI tool to rewrite it, so that it doesn't sound like AI". Yeah right.
"Hey the text you wrote with your own hand looks a bit AI-generated. Use our AI tool to rewrite it, so that it doesn't sound like AI". Yeah right.
January 19, 2026 at 7:41 PM
AI detectors – especially when it comes to text – are always unreliable, and often just outright scams.
Elon Musk has managed to make X the preferred social network for racists, harassers, conspiracy theorists and now child abusers.
But more than that, he’s made politicians nervous to step in even on issues as clear-cut with the public as these.
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-e...
But more than that, he’s made politicians nervous to step in even on issues as clear-cut with the public as these.
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-e...
Elon Musk’s green light for paedophilia
First Musk embraced the global hard right and now, by failing to limit images of child sexual abuse on X, he has added child abusers to his list of fellow travellers
www.thenewworld.co.uk
January 19, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Elon Musk has managed to make X the preferred social network for racists, harassers, conspiracy theorists and now child abusers.
But more than that, he’s made politicians nervous to step in even on issues as clear-cut with the public as these.
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-e...
But more than that, he’s made politicians nervous to step in even on issues as clear-cut with the public as these.
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-e...
Reposted by James Ball
“With a single letter to Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre, though, Trump has thrown out all pretence of caring about anything other than himself – or that he understands the very basics of how the Nobel is awarded, what it’s awarded for, or even how international relations are supposed to work.”
Trump's letter to Norway proves it: he's lost his mind over the Nobel Peace Prize
The US President is governing America like a mad king. The question is what the world is going to do about that
inews.co.uk
January 19, 2026 at 12:27 PM
“With a single letter to Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre, though, Trump has thrown out all pretence of caring about anything other than himself – or that he understands the very basics of how the Nobel is awarded, what it’s awarded for, or even how international relations are supposed to work.”